The Windish Agency is always on the forefront of live entertainment. A booking agency started by Tom Windish (pictured above) in 2004 their roster is teeming with the best of new music and their approach toward the seriously changing music industry seems to benefit everybody; artist, promoter & audience. I think most people can recall memorable concerts but I think Windish really makes these memories into full on experiences.
A: I listen to NPR a lot in my spare time. I listen to the music by my clients constantly when I'm driving, running, working and also at home.
Q: Have you seen an act do anything that made you really want to leave a performance? Most of the time lead guitarists faces make me really want to get the hell out of wherever I am.
A: LOL, I can't think of anything. I've seen some crazy things. I was once wrestled to the ground by David Yow of The Jesus Lizard during one of their shows. I was standing on the side of the stage behind a curtain and he came over and grabbed me and shoved me onto the ground and kept me there for a few minutes. This was in the middle of their set while he was singing one of their songs! The only other thing that would make me leave a show was if I didn't enjoy the band!
Q: What is it you look for in a band/act you book? What makes someone "Windish Worthy," I think I just coined that, you can have it for $50. (that is a joke)
A: First off, I have to love the music. I have very broad tastes which explains the diversity of our roster. I don't enjoy much mainstream music. A lot of the artists we represent are pushing boundaries in their song writing. I really like that. For example Animal Collective or Dirty Projectors.
These Are Powers
Animal Collective
Q: Where do you find most of the acts you book? Is it more people approaching you or you approaching people?
A: It's a combination of keeping up with my network of friends and associates in the music business from all over the world and from scouring the internet. I've never taken on a band that sent me an unsolicited CD.
Q: I read somewhere you started your agency with a handful of bands in 2004 and now have over a hundred acts, this after leaving a well established career with another agency- what made you want to be a booking agent in the first place? It seems like such a strange move- like a band pimp or something? (that was a joke too) but really?
A: That's not exactly true. I started The Windish Agency in January 2004 with approximately 50 artists on my roster. I had been working at Billions, another agency, for eight years before that where I had built up my roster. When I started Windish, these artists came with me. Before joining Billions, I had another agency on my own called Bug Booking. I booked about 20 artists for that company.
I was always interested in music. I joined the college radio station at SUNY Binghamton. It was a "free format" station, we could play whatever we wanted. I learned about a ton of music during this time. The radio station put on a few concerts a year and by my sophomore year, I was the person in charge of putting on those concerts. By my junior year, I was the director of all concerts on the campus. That summer, I got an internship in the music department of the William Morris Agency in New York and it was there that I decided I wanted to be an agent. I started booking tours for bands when I was a senior in college.
Q: It seems what sets booking agencies apart from eachother is their relationships with venues and, more importantly, the relationship they have with their artists- how would you describe The Windish artist relationship?
A: Relationships with promoters (the people that book venues) is critical. On one hand, the better your relationships with promoters, the better the job you can do for your clients. On the other hand, the stronger the following of the band, the easier it is to present them a multitude of opportunities. One of the ways we have really tried to set ourselves apart from other agencies is by establishing strong relationships with a wider variety of promoters - colleges, museums, performing arts centers and civic organizations - in addition to the standard promoters and festivals.
I like to think we have great relationships with the artists on our roster. We try to fulfill their needs with good solutions, good advice and great communication and great access to the information they need from us.
Q: A big part of your agency is booking acts from different countries and helping them through the visa process to play in the US, how did that start? What was it that made you want to help facilitate that process?
A: I book artists that I appreciate musically and if they are not from the USA, I won't let that get in the way. I was hearing a lot of great music from Europe and I figured out what was involved in getting them into the USA legally. The process is generally the same, no matter what country you're from. As I started adding international artists to my roster, I started building relationships in more and more countries and started adding artists from those countries to my roster as well. I have also traveled extensively and I generally travel to meet promoters, managers, artists and record label people. I also like to check out local venues. I've met a lot of people this way. These personal relationships have led to the diversity of my roster.
Q: On your website when you click an artists name there¹s usually live footage of them performing- where do you get the footage from? Is seems like found audience footage, is it? Why did you choose this format to showcase your performers?
A: The artist pages of our website are set up to educate promoters about the artists. Ever since I picked up my first band when I was still in college, New Radiant Storm King, I felt like I was talking to promoters about artists they had never heard of before. Because promoters may be hearing about an artist for the first time when we contact them about holding a date, I want to be able to direct them to a place on the web where they can learn a lot about the artist - a live video, a song, what label they're on, and links to significant things that are with the artist in press, radio and TV. I like to think that providing this information in one place is really helpful for the promoters. My website is not designed for fans and I don't intend to generate a lot of traffic from fans of our clients. There are other places on the web for that.
Q: You're probably one of the few people in the music industry who has profited off of music file sharing stuff, shows are essential to bands making a profit now- did you anticipate the way music was changing? Did you foresee the need for a change of approach?
A: Well, beyond me profiting, many artists are profiting in ways they haven't before. I did not really see the change coming but I recognized it as it was happening. To be honest, I haven't really changed my approach much at all since I started 16 years ago. I seek to book the most memorable shows possible for the artists I represent. I vividly remember seeing My Bloody Valentine with Superchunk and Pavement at the Ritz in NY when I was in college, also The Feelies at the old 930 Club in DC. Then I booked The Feelies and Superchunk at my college, both free shows. Superchunk played in the center of the student union at 12 noon as part of a lunch time concert series. All of these concerts, and many others, left a tremendous impression on me.
I've sought to do what I can to present my clients in the most memorable situations possible - whether it's a unique venue, amazing lineup, amazing sound, part of a larger event, cheap ticket price, etc. My goal is for the fans and artist to walk away at the end of the show with an experience they remember forever. I realize this doesn't happen all the time but if I can help deliver it some of the time, I feel a tremendous amount of satisfaction.
Diplo, Girl Talk
A: To me a great DJ plays great music that the audience can get in to. A great DJ kind of gathers the audience up and takes them on a musical "journey" or something. I realize that sounds cheesy but I think it's true. Booking DJ's grew out of my relationships with electronic artists and electronic labels such as Warp Records and Ninja Tune. I started working with these labels with their live acts. Up until that point, there was a big distinction between a "live" agent and a "dj" agent. These labels had a tough time finding an agent that could book their live acts, such as Coldcut or Autechre. There wasn't an agent out there that really understood their technical needs and what a venue needed to provide, with the level of organization and depth of relationships with live venues that I could provide. After doing a fine job with many of the live acts on their rosters, the labels started to ask me to book a few dj gigs here and there. Often it was the artists that I had booked live shows for that wanted to add some dj gigs. Nowadays, a lot of our rock bands ask us to book them dj gigs as well.
Q: I read somewhere you are one of the pioneers of taking bands out of club settings and having them play in museums and other "alternative venues" how did that start? How do you think it changes the context of live performance? What do you think using alternative spaces adds to a show? Does it sometimes detract?
A: I talked about this earlier. I do try to present artists in unique spaces. It's difficult to pull off for many reasons. For one, it's really expensive to bring in a PA and make a venue sound good, especially just for a few bands for one night. There are also issues with permits, acoustics, loading equipment, etc. Once in a while it all comes together and it works. I do think a unique venue can contribute to the memory of the show. The show can stand out from all of the bands that you've seen at the place most bands play when they come through town.
Kaiju Big Battle
Deerhoof
A: If I knew the answer to these questions, I'd be very fortunate. It's really tough to say. I can envision more successful boutique festivals surfacing, if they're booked well, as well as more large festivals. There is tremendous opportunity in the music business these days, more so than ever before, in my opinion. I'm not exactly sure what the opportunities are but they're out there.
For me, I suppose it's mostly in the bands. It's so much easier for bands to gather attention and fans these days. Bands used to have to play by certain "rules", sign to a label, spend a bunch of money recording an album, wait for the album to be released and promoted by a wide variety of people, tour constantly. A lot of this is still true. I do believe the harder a band works, the greater their access to opportunities. But today a band can make a record for a lot less money. They can get noticed by a huge number of people without spending a dime. The speed at which fans are generated virally is so much faster today than it was 10-15 years ago. I do think there is danger in that, especially in people's attention spans, but if a band has the music to back up what everyone is excited about, they have a good chance of success.
No comments:
Post a Comment