“They copped to wanting to be successful, and they did everything in there to make it happen. They met every fan, posed for every picture. They went to every radio station and record store and got to know the people who championed their band.” - that hits the nail on the head.
The person I learned that lesson from was Huey Lewis - I made the display posters, flyers, etc. for a club in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Huey Lewis came through 3 times before he broke big.
Every time he was in town, he spent his entire day before sound check being nice to everybody who had anything to do with the music business. And he wasn’t a dick about it - he was just…. Nice. Stop by WPLR just to say hi (not even necessarily to do a radio appearance); stop by Rhymes AND Cutlers record stores and buy an album or two; then over to our club TO BRING EVERYBODY WHO WORKED THERE DURING THE DAY A COFFEE. Including the janitor, John Massarro.
You think that went unnoticed?
I didn’t give a fuck about Huey Lewis’ music, but, boy, I was happy when he started to succeed. And I bet every other person he had come in contact with in New Haven felt just as I did and did whatever extra little thing they could do to help that record happen.
And I am absolutely sure he had done that in every city in the USA.
When I became a manager that was a lesson I tried to instill in our artists.
Oh, Gary Smith and I used to LOVE to argue this very point. He was disdainful (in his very Gary way) of the folkie world for being too accessible to its fans.
It's strange how the pendulum swings to every extreme at one point or another. I wonder if Prince could get a foothold if he came along today; for all his otherwordly talents, I can't picture him rushing to shake hands with radio station management or scurrying to his laptop to do a social media chat (though I'm sure he was pressured to do similar things back during his ascent).
“They copped to wanting to be successful, and they did everything in there to make it happen. They met every fan, posed for every picture. They went to every radio station and record store and got to know the people who championed their band.” - that hits the nail on the head.
The person I learned that lesson from was Huey Lewis - I made the display posters, flyers, etc. for a club in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Huey Lewis came through 3 times before he broke big.
Every time he was in town, he spent his entire day before sound check being nice to everybody who had anything to do with the music business. And he wasn’t a dick about it - he was just…. Nice. Stop by WPLR just to say hi (not even necessarily to do a radio appearance); stop by Rhymes AND Cutlers record stores and buy an album or two; then over to our club TO BRING EVERYBODY WHO WORKED THERE DURING THE DAY A COFFEE. Including the janitor, John Massarro.
You think that went unnoticed?
I didn’t give a fuck about Huey Lewis’ music, but, boy, I was happy when he started to succeed. And I bet every other person he had come in contact with in New Haven felt just as I did and did whatever extra little thing they could do to help that record happen.
And I am absolutely sure he had done that in every city in the USA.
When I became a manager that was a lesson I tried to instill in our artists.
I won’t work with an artist who doesn’t prioritize fans. Because they are in their own way.
Oh, Gary Smith and I used to LOVE to argue this very point. He was disdainful (in his very Gary way) of the folkie world for being too accessible to its fans.
Gary was fun to argue with generally.
The BEST to argue with.
It's strange how the pendulum swings to every extreme at one point or another. I wonder if Prince could get a foothold if he came along today; for all his otherwordly talents, I can't picture him rushing to shake hands with radio station management or scurrying to his laptop to do a social media chat (though I'm sure he was pressured to do similar things back during his ascent).
Transcendent talent will always find its way.