Hidden Gems: Meet Eric Blankenship of All Access Coach Leasing

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Blankenship.

Hi Eric, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I moved to Nashville in 1992 from Texas to try and make it big as a singer-songwriter. Within six months, I had landed a job selling T-shirts on the road for Ricky Skaggs. While working with Ricky, I became fascinated with buses. I got my Commercial license so I could help drive the bus when needed. I continued to work the road selling shirts and co-driving for several years with various artist then in 1997, I started driving full-time for a leasing company owned by Tim Dillman. Tim had brought a mechanic from Indiana to run his shop by the name of Jim Borelli. I came off the road a year later and started working in the office leasing buses for Dillman. Jim and I became really good friends and both had the same work ethic. We ended up leaving Dillman’s company and started All Access Coach in February of 2002.

Our company has grown from 8 buses that we managed to a fleet now of 45 buses that we own. We are a full-service company that builds, maintains, and leases to the entertainment industry.

I still sing and write when I can and enjoy it more everyday.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Wow, the early years were tough. We started February 15, 2002 with $5000 cash and a $10,000 credit card. On February 16th, we were broke. My wife and I had a six months old child and to say it was rough is putting it mildly. Jim and I worked many long hours and finally about 90 days later, we landed our first long-term client Martina McBride.

In 2004, we bought our first brand new bus and never looked back.

We’ve had some ups and downs through the years especially when the Covid outbreak came. We went from being on track for our best year to having the worst year ever.

Although there have been challenges in the last 20 years, we have had great support from our friends, family, employees, and community.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We build and Lease buses to the entertainment industry. We start with a Prevost bus shell (only has a driver’s seat and plywood floors) and we custom build a luxurious home away from home for Musicians, Comedians, Wrestlers. We are proud to provide buses for Eric Church, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, George Strait, and we are currently building a new bus for Luke Combs. We also haul several WWE Wrestlers and many other artists from all genres of music.

What sets us apart from others is our customer service. That is how we have been able to rise up through the ranks to get and keep top Artists.

Our interior department is doing the best build in the entertainer business in my opinion. No detail overlooked and the innovations are way ahead of our competitors.

With my business partner Jim Borelli handling the maintenance end of our business, it sets us apart. Jim is known for being one of the best in the business for diagnosing issues and finding solutions for our Drivers and maintenance staff. A true genius in his field.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Nashville has always been one of the friendliest places ever. Lots of changes since moving to the area in 1992 but it still remains a friendly city. It’s cool to go out and run into one of your musical heroes at the most unlikely places.

Growth has been crazy over the last five years so my biggest dislike is the traffic.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: allaccesscoach.com
• Facebook: All Access Coach Leasing llc
• Other: ericblankenshipmusic.com

Image Credits
All photos by Tony Young Photography