Band Management

Here at my home as I listened to the Oak Trees whisper in their rustle to me, I thought with my passion for collecting music that I might make a good label founder someday. I know nothing of the switches and knobs and of the copyrighting and everything else.
But I have a pair of friends, brothers (“We are a family band” I told people) who are writing songs together. So I thought I would help them on this one night.

I believe band management is a formal term for friendship.
Here some notes in a kind of bullet form taken from the first night.
June 7, 2008 The Conservatory: The Nghiems are 1st to play, openers for Mocha Band (friend from The Daily), Approaching August (good people) and Umbrellas.

12 demo Cds handed out.

Accepted donations, won 2 dollars. Handed one CD to Rhett Holmes, head of Neptunes concert and promotions.

Got James’s friend Boggs to sign his name on the fan list to set a precedent. 3 more folks signed.
Sound check @ 7:21, 2 hours after arrival

Never been to the Conservatory at 5:30 before. White light pours through windows. In the light, you can see the rubble, the chipped paint and smell the hot thickness of the place.
Take drums kit parts out of the mini van and into the building through the back. Dustin opens the gate and a big ole boy with a metal shirt and a mohawk straps our wristbands on.

Sound check @ 7:21

Perks: Each band crew gets a case of Aquafina water.

Seth from student film and his girlfriend, the music writer Beck Carmen sit next to me at the merch table. Becky gets more crossword words than I (architects build “to scale,” she figured, better than our civil engineer in the crew Andy Nghiem could remember).

Jim gives David advice after their performance, he watches every band. He works long days at Size Records and long nights at The Conservatory. He is a hairy man of the people. I tell him I bought a Bob Hadley “American Primitive” acoustic guitar album, and he knows what’s inside the cover, everything. He then gives me the names of three artists I have never heard of, but will probably like..

Sound check only lasts 2 mintues, this could be an asset for us in the future. Nghiems, the resourcefuls.

Nghiems begin set at 8:05

A few people bob heads

“Things are never quite interesting….” the lyric goes at 8:24, but it has been an interesting night I think. I didn't have to kill a man, but still had fun.

“It’s the end of the world, but I think it’ll be okay, with my hand touching yours...”
Set ends with Master David's best lyric.

One small girl who signs our list says she really likes the band's music and can’t wait for more… Her favorite song was the second to last one.

Minus: Need to know band catalogue better...

Plus: Talks to plenty of people. Generated a good feeling for the Nghiems.

Pending...The Nghiems spent two hours in the studio recording their first track the other night.