Music: The mystery of Mr. Chan

The name has nothing to do with Charlie Chan, the old detective of literary and cinema fame, but that hasn't stopped local concert promoter Mr. Chan Presents from becoming something of a local mystery.

The company behind seemingly half the touring shows in Twin Cities nightclubs these days, Mr. Chan books acts at venues ranging from the Fine Line and Varsity Theater to Station 4 and Maplewood's behemoth Myth. Its upcoming shows include OneRepublic, Sia, the New York Dolls, Angels & Airwaves and NOFX.

For many local music insiders, the origins of Mr. Chan remain hazy. Many assumed the company was simply a satellite office of Live Nation, the national concert conglomerate that used to be Clear Channel. In some ways, it has been just that.

Officially, though, Mr. Chan is an independently owned company founded by James DeCoursey, 33, who worked for Clear Channel when it booked Quest and Target Center.

Never forthcoming with the local press (a Clear Channel trademark), DeCoursey at the very least remained a close partner with the company that became Live Nation when he started Mr. Chan in January 2006.

"They took over Live Nation's Ticketmaster account and kept a lot of the Live Nation shows," said First Avenue booker Nate Kranz, a chief rival. "It wasn't all that 'independent' a company."

The mystery of DeCoursey/Chan took another twist last month when DeCoursey relocated to Austin, Texas, to work for C3, the company behind the Austin City Limits Festival and the Chicago revival of Lollapalooza. He's leaving Mr. Chan in the hands of longtime cohort Todd Mulloy and new booker Amy Henson, another Clear Channel alum whom he hired away last month from Sue McLean & Associates.

However, DeCoursey's exit from the local scene could signal a return of Live Nation to Twin Cities clubs. DeCoursey's former Clear Channel boss, Tommy Ginoza, has been courting local club owners to work with the Live Nation offices in Chicago and Detroit.

Thus, Mr. Chan -- the company that people thought was just another arm of Live Nation -- might actually butt heads with the concert giant.

"It could get very interesting around here over the next few months," said Fine Line booker Kim King, who had nothing but good things to say about working with Mr. Chan Presents. "They've been great for discovering and developing new artists, the ones too big for the Entry and not big enough for First Avenue."

Varsity Theater owner Jason McLean plans to meet with Ginoza and isn't quite sure what to make of the prospective Chan/Live Nation competition.

"I'm roughly aware of the concerns volleyed against [Live Nation] as a big corporation, but there are so many other damning things" in the concert business, said McLean. He also had praise for Mr. Chan: "They helped make the Varsity what it is."