a. Matthew. I work retail, at Pac Sun. And I go on tour for a hobby with my friends.
2. I am interested in studying music management. What can you tell me about it?
a. First of all have a well-rounded interest in music. Don’t listen to one genre. ‘Cause you’re going to run into many different bands that are different genres. You need to be stubborn. Because there’s going to be promoters that don’t want to pay you that amount that they agreed to. Just to get that done would be pretty tough. Uhm, just have fun. Just be a goofball. ‘Cause all those guys are going to stress out. You have like eight people in one van. You need to be the person to make it fun.
3. Have you/are you studying in college that would help getting a career in this industry?
a. No. Nope.
4. Who did you get a career in this? How did you start?
a. Like the first band, was called, In for the Chase. They would just be local. And I’d help them out, help them book. And then we went up north to San Francisco for like a weekend. And that’s just how it started. It just started doing little places, like [in] Texas, then Arizona, then Colorado, and then we did a whole two-month tour. Which was like that last one that they’re ever going to do.
5. Who mentored you or helped you get into this industry
a. Yeah! Like the lead singer of the band [In for the Chase], he’s like twenty-six. They kicked him out. But he used to be a tour manager for other bands. That’s how he taught me how to do it. [Like] how to be a meanie, but nice at the same time.
6. How did you become a band manager?
a. Just a bunch of great friends. Like they’re my best friends from high school and asked me to come tag along, take care of the finances, and just have a good time with them.
7. Have you worked closely with any bands? How was your experience?
a. I’ve worked with the first band, In for the Chase, Falco Does it Dirty, Weaker than None, I’ve helped them out. Then my brother just started a band called Take Me. Then I help them out, which is pretty fun. Pretty cool. [My experience] was awesome, it’s fun. Get to get into shows for free like, you can’t complain.
8. Have you seen/heard of any band horror stories? Where something went wrong with money, venue, another manager or band mate, person from the crew ,etc?
a. Yeah like uhm, what’s it called? Well we didn’t see it go wrong, but this other band we went on tour with, called The Greenery, told us that last tour they went on, they almost hit a dear. So our friend Will fell asleep [in the van], pretty much everyone was awake. It was 3:00 o’clock in the morning. We took the van and slowed it down on the side of the street and breaked really hard and yelled. He woke up scared. Nothing really went wrong; it was just a prank from what happened of what we heard. Financially, yeah. Like there was hard times where like we were supposed to get guaranteed three hundred dollars and they’d pay us a hundred bucks. So we’d have to fight, push, and maybe get lucky; one fifty out of it. Then we’d end up sleeping in the van and not shower for three days straight. [Venues wouldn’t pay] just because there were no signed papers. It was all ‘he said she said’ stuff. Its better to have signed documents and stuff.
9. What would you say is key for a band in becoming well known or successful?
a. Just promoting them, playing shows every weekend. Even if it’s a little house show compared to like a venue show. You have to do pre-sales. Do whatever you can do to get your name out there. Internet, MySpace, all that stuff really helps a lot. Facebook these days is getting a lot better too. There’s all sorts of stuff you can do.
10. What would you say is the majority of the income?
a. Merchandising. Shows, sometimes you just play shows for free to get your name out there. But merch is where you do it. That’s where we would get most of our money. Like we took bundles and buckets of merchandise t-shirts and stuff and we’d go around malls [split up] in little groups and hustle them to people. We’d just say, ‘Hey! You want this shirt for ten bucks? Get the CD and we’ll give you both for fifteen.’ ‘Cause they’d be ten dollars each. And we’d leave with like a thousand dollars, so we had a lot of clothes. Mainly, that’s where it did come from, was merch.
11. Are there girl tour managers?
a. Yeah! I’ve seen a couple girl to- well not like tour managers, but they took care of the merch. Like merch girls, kind of like helping them [the band] out. But there’s some girl tour managers out there, like promoters, stuff like that. Its usually guys, ‘cause you’re on the road with guys. [Would the band get weirded out with a girl?] I don’t think so. Just go in there, and act tough but nice at the same time. Know their boundaries.
12. Who else would you recommend I talk to?
a. Some band members, that have experience. Tours too. See what their point of view is being that they’re someone that helps on what to do. Probably like a tour manager. I have friends that I could talk to for you. I have friends from different bands that would be down. I could talk to The Greenery; they’ve been on like bigger tours.
. 13. Where would you recommend I volunteer at for my Service learning?
a. Try to find a local venue. Even some churches these days to some venue stuff. I’m not too familiar about the stuff around here, but I do know about the Glasshouse, House of Blues. I toured at Smart City, in like ’04, ’05. It was a good venue, it was right there in like Azusa.
14. Which books should I read regarding this field? What other resources are there?
a. I haven’t read a book since the 6th grade, haha. I would say the AP Magazine [Alternative Press Magazine]. It’s not a book but that’d be a good thing to read. You could see which local bands are playing. Look at those little ads to see where the little local bands are playing, go se them play and that’s how you could get connected that way. ‘Cause not too many people would go and show up at their shows. So there’d only be like ten, fifteen kids half the time. That’s when you could get really close to the band. When they’re getting big, but not big yet. That’s a really good way.
15. From your perspective, what could I study or do that would be significant in helping people or helping in this industry?
a. Well with the AP [Alternative Press] thing I was talking about. Just doing online chats too. Like sometimes bands would go online and have little chat groups. A bunch of that stuff, reach out in any way possible. It’s a little bit harder these days. Not too many people on MySpace. [Sometimes] its not even run by the band, they have people running it for them. Shows are like the only way. It’s the easiest, even though it’s still hard. But like if you show up two hours earlier, before the band plays, band members are walking around outside, bummin’ in. That’s when you can go up to them and talk to them. ‘Cause I remember when we were on tour, we’d show up to a venue three hours ahead of time, for hours and had nothing to do. If you find someone local that lives really close, we’d go over their house, let the band shower, let us shower there. But for like little local bands, that aren’t big yet, it’s more spontaneous. It doesn’t happen until you get there [to the venue].
16. Thank you so much! Do you have any last words of advice?
a. No, just don’t let anyone tell you, you can’t do it. Just do it, stick it out.
Summary/ What I learned
I learned a lot from Matt. I have to admit, there were a few things I knew about already, but to hear them from a person whose experienced it is a lot better and impacting than reading it off a paper. I’m glad I got to ask him questions like ‘are there girl tour managers?’ or ‘how did you become a tour manager?’ Even though they seem like simple questions, there are some things the Internet or a book can’t answer. And he was able to do that for me. I’m also glad that he was willing to introduce to me other people in the industry. Especially, because he explained that it’s mainly just talking to people and getting your own name out there. If he can help, then, I’m already a step ahead of the game.
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