Blog 53: Band Management: When Management Fails

I manage “Band A.” Or maybe they manage me. I had a plan to make them famous – and I was like a dog chasing a car. I couldn’t quit. Until I was run over. Sometimes things are so obvious – and I get run over.
2020 started with grey skies and damp weather and every member of “Band A” is running a side project band. I am affiliated with two of these other bands, so I take a moment to step back from “Band A.”
Witnessing these two other bands is a learning experience. They are both going great. Bad Banker – band – a weird synth, violin, drum machine, anarchist band – where I play rhythm guitar – has a crowd of people singing along to our final song at The Odditorium. And this is the first time we ever played the song! “I don’t care what you do – this punk rock show – is better than – nudes!” (A friendly homage to The Deathbots.) To be clear – this response isn’t actually a surprise. The positive energy of the band is unbelievable. Band members show up and show off – you want sexy disco dance beats? I have sexy dance disco beats for this song.
A second affiliated band – Rosie and The Rats rolls up to the El Rancho Morbido Studios, after being in existence for only three weeks, and records a beautiful five-song EP. I can sense the electricity in the air. The creativity is there, and the heightened listening is there, and the space takes on an ultra high def intensity and everything is saturated with meaning. Everything is new and also like it has been around forever. Ahhhhh…
Oh I loved it and I was jealous. I was run over. I think my management is inhibiting joyful creativity. To be clear, a band member did crack a joke about how “Band A” is over managed. These six individuals of “Band A” are star athletes. I want all that wildness and joyfulness and thoughtfulness. I want them in the studio this spring and I want them for one more season, one more ride. Maybe I’m an idiot – ummm – but I do know when the spirit is in the room…