-
10 Questions with ... Phil Kaso
November 22, 2016
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. -
1. What made you want to get into the music business? Were there any early mentors?
My love of music made me want to get into the business. I'm a fan of music first. I worked in a mom & pop indie record shop in Queens when I was in high school, and interned for Epic Records while in college - and knew right then that I wanted to work for a label. Early mentors ... have to give props to Dave Loncao and Ron Poore for giving me my first gig, and to Elias Chios for connecting me with them. I also have great mentors that I work with now - and have worked with since the end of 2007 when Roadrunner joined forces with Lava/Fueled By Ramen - and became Roadrunner Promotion - Mike Easterlin, John Boulos and Greg Dorfman. I continue to learn from them every day.
2. Can you give us a rundown of the record labels and positions you've held over the years?
I've worked at two labels. I interned at Epic Records Retail Marketing department in 1994. Started at RCA Records in 1997 as Rock/Alternative Promotion Coordinator, and have been at Roadrunner Records since April of 1999. Positions at Roadrunner - I've gone from Promotion Coordinator, to Promotion Coordinator/Video & College Promotion 1999-2001, to Northeast Regional Promotion Director 2002 - 2014 (based in Boston 2002-3, and then NY 2003-2014) to National Rock/Alternative Promotion Director 2015-present.
3. Before we talk about some of the hot new music on Roadrunner, can you give us some of your proudest past achievements in breaking new acts with this label?
I'd have to say some of my proudest moments would be working bands like Slipknot, Nickelback, Theory of a Deadman, Twenty One Pilots and seeing their careers grow. Seeing some of those bands grow from being in small clubs to arenas - it's amazing. Also working with other great artists like Paramore, Panic! At The Disco, Killswitch Engage, Trivium, Young the Giant ... just to name a few.
4. Let's talk about the success of the new Korn project. After being away for years, this has become one of the biggest recent success stories at the Rock format. To what do you attribute their big comeback?
Korn actually hasn't been away at all - they've been going non-stop for 22+ years! This album "feels" like a comeback because it is a return to their roots - and a sound that they created and helped influence many bands that have followed in their footsteps. Korn has always been a band that is not afraid to take chances and try new sounds. This album has a very familiar sound to it - and it reminds people of their first three albums -- Korn, Life Is Peachy and Follow the Leader - and those were some of their most successful albums - and that's why it feels like a big comeback. But they've never been gone, and based on the first-week sales, and the successful touring they did this year - to huge crowds - it looks like 2017 will on be a bigger and more successful year for KoRn!
5. You also have several other songs on Rock radio now with the latest Dream Theater and Killswitch Engage among others. Can you give us an update on these projects?
Actually, Dream Theater, while on Roadrunner, is being worked by Lea Pisacane and the Atlantic staff. We are currently working "Cut me Loose" by Killswitch Engage; "All Messed Up" by The Amity Affliciton, which is close to charting - and is already outselling/oustreaming half the records on the Active Rock chart; "Take Me" by Korn; we're finishing up a Top 20 track "Heathens" by Twenty One Pilots - and have a new one coming first week in December - "HeavyDirtySoul," which could be their most accessible track for Rock radio. It has a Prodigy feel to it.
6. What else does the label have coming down the pipeline in the future?
Well, like I just mentioned, we have "HeavyDirtySoul" by Twenty One Pilots coming in December. We also have new music in 2017 coming from Stone Sour, Motionless in White, Theory of a Deadman, and then we have new bands like Basement, Turnstile, SWMRS, and others.
7. What is the best live show you have seen this year on yours or another label and why?
Best live show I've seen this year, on Roadrunner, I'd have say the Korn show - whether it was on the Korn/Rob Zombie tour. I saw a few dates, or the show they did on release day at the Ace Theater in L.A. for SiriusXM Octane.
Best live show I've seen this year on Fueled by Ramen would have to be Twenty One Pilots at Madison Square Garden (two sold-out nights in August).
As for not on my label ... hmmm, tough one, since I do go see a lot of shows ... I just saw Temple of the Dog last week at MSG and that was very cool, but I might have to give the edge to Iron Maiden at MSG .
8. As a promotion person, what are the most important tools/resources you use to stay on top of the Rock format's growth and constant daily changes?
I try to use everything that I have available - whether that is sales, streaming numbers, social media stats, concert attendance, merch, etc. It's all important when trying to see the big picture of why a band is important. There are so many different things to look at, to fully gauge what is going on with a record/band.
9. Do you see a direct correlation today between Rock radio airplay of your artists and record sales or streams?
When a song is getting played - if it is getting played in dayparts when there are people listening - usually you can see an increase in sales and streams pretty quickly on a local and a national level. With all the options that the consumer has to consume music, radio still can have an immediate impact on their ultimate decision to purchase, add to their collection, or stream/view a song.
10. Finally, let's talk about the Rock format as a whole. What's your take on the state of Rock radio today.
There are lot of great releases from bands that have been established - and have huge fan bases. Bands like Metallica, Avenged Sevenfold, Korn, Volbeat, Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc. There are some exciting new things happening as well - as bands like Highly Suspect, Ghost and The Pretty Reckless, who are becoming staples at the format. I hope that Rock radio continues to look for new bands and new genres to expand because "Rock" is such a wide thing; there are so many sub-genres of rock that sometimes people forget that Rock is not one thing - and that there are a lot of people out there who like different kinds of "Rock" music. Whether that's hard rock, grunge, post-grunge, metal, alt-rock, punk rock, metalcore, classic rock, arena rock, whatever you want to call it, the music stands the test of time - and the bands that last come from all different forms of "Rock" - but the one thing they usually all have in common is a lot of people discovered them on the radio.
-
-