Lawrence Vavra (born 15 November 1977) is an American Media Entrepreneur and Private Equity Investor. Vavra is best known for co-founding music management company

SFX Entertainment LiveStyle, Inc. is a Los Angeles-based live events conglomerate founded by media entrepreneur Robert F. X. Sillerman. The company was formed in June 2012 as SFX Entertainment—the new incarnation of Sillerman's previous company of the same nam ...

and Deckstar.

Education and career

Vavra graduated from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

undergrad in 1999 and

Hastings Law School The University of California, Hastings College of the Law (UC Hastings) is a public law school in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings, UC Hastings was the first law school of the University of California as ...

in 2002 where he received his Juris Doctor. After graduation, Vavra created the San Francisco based company Vintage415.

Vavra and DJ AM

In early 2002 upon his return to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, Vavra began working with

DJ AM Adam Michael Goldstein (March 30, 1973 – August 28, 2009), known professionally as DJ AM, was an American disc jockey (DJ). Born in Philadelphia, Goldstein became interested in deejaying as a child after watching Herbie Hancock perform his 1 ...

. The two had known each other through mutual friends and reacquainted through Vavra's brother. The two quickly built up DJ AM's career giving validity to the DJ art form and paving the way for many of today's DJ acts. Together they opened up the popular night clubs LAX in both

, as well as

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Vavra also established DJ AM as the first Las Vegas resident DJ at The

Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and ro ...

, before re-negotiating AM's biggest career move to The

Palms Casino Resort Palms Casino Resort is a hotel and casino located near the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned and operated by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. It includes 703 rooms and a casino. It was originally owned by th ...

where he became the highest paid DJ. The two remained close friends and business partners until DJ AM's tragic death on August 28, 2009.

Vavra and Deckstar

Vavra is the co-Founder and president of ''DECKSTAR'', a company he started with Paul Rosenberg, Matt Colon and

in 2006. The company merged with British Management company James Grant in 2017. Vavra has also produced

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's ''Gone Too Far'' and

Fuse Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protect ...

's ''Hoppus On Music''. Vavra was responsible for producing the first ever Electronic Dance Music performance at the 2012

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

Controversy

The company SFX Entertainment, now known as

LiveStyle LiveStyle, Inc. is a Los Angeles-based live events conglomerate founded by media entrepreneur Robert F. X. Sillerman. The company was formed in June 2012 as SFX Entertainment—the new incarnation of Sillerman's previous company of the same nam ...

quickly raised $250 million to create the Live Nation of Electronic Dance Music, culminating in an initial public offering on October 9, 2013 on the NASDAQ, valuing the company at over $1B. Vavra and the Gabriel Moreno sued co-founder

Robert Sillerman Robert Francis Xavier Sillerman (April 12, 1948 – November 24, 2019) was an American businessman and media entrepreneur. Sillerman was the owner of a range of television and radio stations during the 1970s and 1980s, In 1993 he formed SFX Broa ...

for fraud, and breach of partnership. The suit was subsequently settled in 2016 for an undisclosed amount.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vavra, Lawrence 1977 births Living people American music managers