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10 Questions with ... Gary Jay
February 19, 2013
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1. What made you want to get into the music business and what was your first job?
Like a lot of us in the business, I got bit by the bug early ... I was an only child, raised by a single, working Mom, and music got me through a lot of lonely times as a kid. I was also lucky enough to grow up in Philadelphia which had not one, but two great Rock radio stations (WMMR and the now-defunct WYSP) that turned me on to the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Police, Van Halen, Pink Floyd, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Who, Rush, The Doors, AC/DC, back when it wasn't Classic Rock ... it was just "Rock."
There was also a pretty vibrant music scene in Philly in the early '80s; bands such as Cinderella, the Hooters, Robert Hazard & The Heroes, Britny Fox, Tommy Conwell and John Eddie were all getting record deals and playing all-ages gigs, and that was an exciting time to be an impressionable rock youth.
Also like many of us who work in the biz, I was (am?) a musician ...once I figured out that I didn't possess the natural talent, nor the dedication, to master my instrument, I figured the next-best-thing would be to work in the business. So, I knew what I wanted to do before I graduated high school, and that gave me a kick in the ass to get busy working early. I interned in college at Columbia Records, and began working records at (the late, great) Paul Yeskel's AIM Marketing within a month of graduating college.
2. You spent quite a few years doing Rock Promotion at TVT. Tell us about those years and some of the bands you worked with.
TVT was a terrific experience for a number of years, maybe not all 10, but a lot of them ... I got to travel the country as a national promo rep, meet a ton of radio programmers, and build a network of people who were legitimately interested in hearing new music and breaking bands. Not all of the bands I worked with there were great ... which was always the rub of working at a label for me ... sometimes you loved the artists they signed, sometimes you didn't, but either way, you had to live and breathe them each and every day, and that was tough sometimes. The great bands compensated for the not-so-great ones, though: Sevendust, Default, Gravity Kills, Nothingface, Guided By Voices ... those bands were inspiring and a blast to work with, I'm very proud of the time I spent working with all of them, and I'm very fortunate to still be working with Sevendust here at Land Shark, that's something that I take a great deal of pride in.
3. After years working in Rock Promotion for TVT and Rykodisc, in 2007 you formed Land Shark Promotion Studio. What is the primary business model for the company ... promotions, consulting, artist management, or all of the above?
Land Shark was very much born in the mold of AIM Marketing -- a full-service boutique firm where a band could secure label services, ranging from Radio Promotion to Video Promotion, Publicity/P.R., and online/Viral Marketing. If your band doesn't have these weapons in your war chest, we can be your soldiers-for-hire. I also wanted Land Shark to be a safe haven for artists and bands where they knew they had a team they could trust ... people who'd sweat blood for them on a daily basis, not phone it in. If we don't believe in a particular project, we'll turn it down ... I spent enough time in my career working records I wasn't passionate about; I vowed not to do that ever again if I didn't have to ... thankfully, I can afford to be that choosy now, I turn down stuff on a weekly basis that's just not up to snuff, or frankly all that exciting to my ears ... and if I don't get off on it, how can I expect anyone else to?
4. Do you have any certain criteria for taking on a promotion project?
Well, Ken, like I said, if it doesn't make the fur on my arms stand up, if it doesn't speak to me in some way, I'd just as soon let someone else take a whack at it ... we look at a lot of different metrics before taking on a project -- what does the band have going on their own already, do they have strong management, and booking, are they a touring/working band or are they sitting at home waiting to become rock stars? What's their work ethic like? Do they utilize the free tools available to every musician on the planet online? What's their fan base like in their hometown, as well as in other markets?
...but, more than all of those, it has to get me and the team here hot and bothered ... I have to want to put the Land Shark brand behind it, and believe that it has the potential to move and inspire other rock fans and be ready to take the next step forward.
5. How was the experience going from working for a label to working for yourself?
It was the scariest, yet most satisfying thing I've ever done, professionally. There's a great deal of comfort and security in a weekly paycheck, not to mention health benefits, paid vacation times, an expense account, etc., and that was nerve-wracking to leave behind. They say the magic happens when you leave your comfort zone, and there's a great deal of truth in that ... I give my wife credit for giving me the push to take that first step ... she told me 'let's give it one year ... if it's not working, then it's back to the drawing board and go get yourself another job somewhere' ... the first six months were ghastly and I didn't sleep much ... some people, who I hope are reading this right now, threw me a lifeline or two, and I'll never forget them as long as I live ... right around the one year-mark, the company started to make some money, and positively impact some records that broke and I began to believe it could work for me as a long-term career, not a short-term fix or stop-gap. In year #2, I began building my team here, and my fellow Sharks took the company from a very-stressed one-man show to what it is now -- a true promotion and marketing force to be reckoned with. They are difference-makers, and I truly believe they are the very best at what they do. I hope that they know how important each of them are to the artists that we support, the stations they work with, and in seeing the vision of the company through year after year.
6. Your company seems to focus on all aspects of Rock promotion from Active Rock to Mainstream and Classic Rock. How do you effectively work in all three of these distinct formats?
Actually, it's four, we always keep ourselves in the Modern Rock world as well ... clearly, that format still believes in breaking new artists, and even though I personally don't love many of the artists, you have to admire and appreciate watching them go from a tiny, indie fan base to Platinum status ... so I always want to maintain our relationships with those programmers who go to work every day looking for the next-big-thing and then turning their listeners onto 'em.
It sounds cliché, but I believe in the power of rock ... it has the unparalleled ability to motivate minds, inspire ideals, and move your ass all at the same time, so I don't see moving from Active Rock to Mainstream Rock as that vast a transition, it's just about understanding and appreciating the credo and vision of each individual radio station you address ... you have to admire and quite frankly, respect what they want to do each day, and then see if what you want can somehow assimilate into that.
Classic Rock is a labor of love; these are the legends of rock whose posters adorned my teenage walls and logos were on the back of my denim jacket. Calling them clients now is something that blows my mind on a pretty consistent basis. The 16-year-old fanboy inside me can't fathom that I have many of these rock icons' phone numbers and e-mail addresses now and that they actually ask and care what I think about their new music ... we make a real effort to treat them with the dignity and respect they've earned and we're so very proud to continue to develop their legacy.
7. You've done Rock Promotion at a high level for years. What's your take on the current state of Rock radio?
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about it ... too many stations are playing fewer currents than ever before, and in many cases, they've got even less autonomy to program to their own market. I have a strong disbelief in and distaste for the antiquated methodology we all live and die by in radio, be it callout research or PPM meters, and I'd like to see more programmers trusting their guts -- following their instincts -- and breaking records and bands in their backyards. I understand the delicate, high-wire balancing act they all have to do to maintain market share, garner ratings, and accrue revenue ... this is a business, after all ... but I hope that they still get a big-ass buzz out of discovering a song, turning their audience on to it, and making it a hit in their market ... I know that I do, and that, like always, remains what keeps radio relevant, fresh, and vital here in the 21st century.
8. Who are some of the artists you're currently working with? Any other artists that you're going to be working with you can tell us about?
We wave our clientele like a flag; I'm not really sure why some other folks are kinda cloak-and-dagger about who they work with ... right now, we're promoting incredible new records from Alice In Chains, Slash, Sevendust, as I mentioned, Thousand Foot Krutch, Anthrax, Tom Keifer, and Middle Class Rut ... we're about to help Columbia/Legacy release the first new Mad Season music in 20 years, as part of the deluxe/anniversary-edition of their classic "Above" album. There's a very exciting new Eve To Adam record on the way that's going to elevate that band to new heights, and the one I am really over the moon about is the new Rob Zombie record, "Dead City Radio," that's dropping in just a couple of weeks. With a hot new album and two major movies on the way, he's about to have a very big year ... that Land Shark is playing a role in that is putting a very big spring in my step these days.
9. When you're NOT in Rock Promotion work mode, what do you like to do to relax and get away from the business?
Anyone who knows me, or even is my friend on Facebook, knows that the sunshine of my life is my daughter, Clover. She's turning 4 next week and she is an amazing kid. Spending time with her reminds me how very blessed I am.
I've also come to love the game of golf since I moved to Jersey ... swinging a club during the warm-weather seasons is incredibly satisfying and therapeutic ... never woulda believed I'd be a rock n' roll, tattooed golfer one day, but here I am ... who's up for hitting the links with me?
10. You're a HUGE Philadelphia Eagles fan. What do you think of the Eagles new coach Chip Kelly? Do you think he'll be able to translate his major success in college at Oregon to the NFL?
To tell you the truth, I don't know what to think yet ... quite honestly, I didn't want a college coach who didn't have any NFL experience, yet that's exactly what I got. I also wanted a more defensive-minded coach, and Kelly is more of an offensive-scheme "mastermind," or so I'm told, so I'm going to hope that he's a step forwards, not backwards ... although after a dismal 4-12 season, how much worse can it get?
Bonus Questions
What was the first album or single you purchased on your own?
I begged my mother to buy me a copy of KISS' "Destroyer" (on vinyl) in 1976; they just looked -- and to my delight, sounded -- like rock n' roll super-heroes ... they're still one of my favorite bands in the world. The first album I ever bought with my own money was The Cars' debut album (on cassette) in '78, and it's still song-for-song one of my favorite records ever recorded.
Let the good times roll, Ken ..."let them leave you up in the air, let them brush your rock and roll hair..."
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