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10 Questions with ... Jeffrey Naumann
May 26, 2020
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1. What made you want to get into the music business? Who were some of your early mentors?
My best friend’s father was a Promotion man in Boston. He loaded me up with his projects: James Gang, Mothers of Invention, all the Bosstown Sound bands like The Beacon Street Union, Orpheus, Ultimate Spinach etc. He grew my record collection from teeny bopper bands like the Monkees, Lemon Pipers, etc. into another level.
Early mentors: Don “Spacey” Delacey (local Boston for RCA for many years). I called him the “FOSSIL” because he seemed so old at that time. I guess I’m now the FOSSIL, lol. The man that hired me for my first promotion job, John Betancourt and a young national for Millinium Records, Don Ienner.
2. What was your first job and give us a rundown of the labels and positions you’ve held over the years?
My first Record job was for RCA Records1976 in Boston as a Jr. Field Associate. I did store displays, inventoried RCA albums at retail (UGH) and called retail to report our singles and albums to radio. Less than a year later I was promoted to Local Promotion out of Hartford, CT.I actually worked Elvis Presley when he was still alive! I moved to Denver in 1978, then to Los Angeles in 1981. Betancourt soon elevated me from Local LA to West Coast Album Director. At the end of 1986 Phil Quartararo hired me at a brand new start up label called Virgin Records America. I was the VP of the Rock Department and the later was promoted to VP, Field Promotion when John Boulos left Virgin. Virgin Records kind of crashed and burned in 2002 and most of us were “let go”. Stupid people they were! I spent about a year helping run a short lived label through BEST BUY with Sky Daniels called RED LINE ENTERTAINMENT.
When that ended, JEFFREY NAUMANN PROMOTION was born. Then in 2005 Elliott Spitzer upset the whole radio and record business as you know and most radio companies were instructed not to communicate with anybody but Record labels or managers.I then helped start a new label we named EMI MUSIC REACTIVE based out of Nashville which consisted of Christian artists and bands such as Thousand Foot Krutch, Anberlin, Under Oath etc. Imagine me working for a Christian label! In January 2007 I reopened my company as it remains today.
3. You worked at Virgin Records for many years and helped break many bands. What are some of the best highlights of your time with Virgin?
Most of the Virgin Records years were the best years of my life in this business. I worked and helped hire many future stars in our current biz like Jim Burruss, Joe “Sodfarm” Greenwald, Phil Costello Mike Easterlin, Steve Walker and so many more. Some of the bands/artists we broke: Lenny Kravitz, Smashing Pumpkins, Cracker, Paula Abdul., Ziggy Marley and yes even the Spice Girls. And then of course working the true icons: Roy Orbison, Tina Turner, Bowie, my good friend John Lydon and Iggy but the best experience of all was the ROLLING STONES!! I can’t tell how much and craziness went on among my good friends Michael “the Attack Hamster” Plen and John Boulos. It’s too crazy for this rant. I cherish almost all the people I worked with in the Virgin years!!
4. How long ago did you start your own company Jeffrey Naumann Promotion and what’s the best thing about doing Independent Promotion?
As I mentioned earlier, there were two phases of JNP. Pre-Spitzer and post-Jesus. I miss working with a staff. What I like most working for me is: no marketing meetings, I kind of got burnt from all the travel, and I don’t miss the LA traffic driving to and from the office.
5. What are some of your best highlights in breaking bands via Jeffrey Naumann Promotion?
I like to have fun with bands/artists that are “work” records but the end result can be huge! Artists like Joe Bonamassa “Drive”, Chris Stapelton “Midnight Train to Memphis” were both records by brilliant artists that literally got no attention at the rock format before those songs. I feel my passion helped put these on the radio at big tight market rock stations.
Fozzy was another rock artist that radio most didn’t take serious because Chris Jericho was a wrestler. A lot hard work and convincing that finally proved successful for this rock artist.
Theory of a Deadman was kind of looked at as a “warmed over Nickleback” until “RX” was released. It was a huge change in sound that completely changed the bands perception at radio.
One more, Scott Stapp. He may have been the most challenging. An artist that had more baggage than an airport. I thought the album was very good but how to change that image? Scott was clean and sober for over five years at the time “Purpose for Pain” was released. He certainly was a massive part of radios change in heart by going and calling to many stations and performing, interviews and a great tour. This is definitely a highlight for sure being part of this relaunch of a career of a one-time super star!
Jeffrey and his dog Haley!6. Tell us some of the bands you are working with now and how these bands are progressing?
Falling In Reverse “Popular Monster” will and is the SURPRISE Smash of 2020. It has all the elements of what most radio hates. Rap and screaming are two of them. The numbers this song had at the beginning of its release last December just grew every week to this day reaching the #1 spot at Rock Radio for 3 weeks.
The Black Moods has been a labor of love since their first single “Bella Donna”. These three guys are the best people you can meet. The live show is unbeatable. They performed a Facebook live concert to celebrate the release of their 1st album “Sunshine.” The show was the best post Pandemic show I’ve seen. Top notch sound, lights and multi cameras. A real plugged in concert playing the whole album and then some.
DED’s new single “A Mannequin Idol” was worth the wait. The video got over 1.2 views in a week. We should have an acoustic version to supplement soon.
7. What other future projects can you tell us about that we need to pay attention to?
Larkin Poe “Holy Ghost Fire” is really starting to catch at Rock. They are sisters that also play in Elvis Costello’s band when he tours. WMMR added the song a couple weeks ago and really helped put this on the map. Very catchy rock song if you’re looking for something non knuckle dragger.
The Dreamers had some strong success a couple years ago at rock with Sweet Disaster”. The new single “Heat Seeker” features Grandson. It’s already crossing to rock. Check it out.
Fame On Fire “Headspace” a band from Florida just came out with a song with an infectious hook that’s bound to catch quick! OCTANE is already over 100 spins in two weeks.
Sons of Silver “Read‘em Their Rights” just came out and already has programmers talking. The band has members from Pearl Jam, Skillet and Candlebox. This one is hard not to like.
Relent is a new rock band from out of San Antonio, TX with a new song just getting out to radio called “Low”. To me it has a lot of similar elements as “Popular Monster” but not as in your face. It’s a very relevant song for our current time.
8. You’ve been in the record promotion business for a long time. What are the most important tools/resources you use to stay on top of the Rock formats' growth and constant daily changes?
Communication and knowing how each and every station “ticks” is most important for me. I still like the old fashioned conversations on the phone. I also stay on top of all the daily news blasts. Obviously, with the pandemic we are all reinventing how we communicate. Unfortunately email is sometimes the “best” way to communicate. Not much passion with emails.
9. Let’s talk about the Active Rock format as a whole. What’s your take on the State of Rock Radio today?
It really doesn’t matter what I think of any format of radio. What does matter is adapting to the constant changes through the years. I try to stay focused on what radio’s needs are and respect their jobs. One note, I constantly hear programmers complain there is just no room for all the great songs out there to be “added” to their playlist. My remedy to solve this problem is to increase currents. When there aren’t as many great songs, scale back the currents. Radio and Records are like a living organism also in flux.
10. Finally, you’re famous for coining names for industry folks. How did this so-called “Naumannclature” originate and what are some of your favorite names and why?
Well not just industry folks. It started way back in my life with some close friends. I guess we just see humor in certain nicknames. Some my favorites include:
- “Boxjesus” is Art Phillips. His real last name is Boxman and for some reason anybody’s name ending MAN becomes jesus. I guess that would make me Naujesus.
- “Don Ameche” is Ken Anthony. In his younger days at KSJO he had a mustache and he looked like Don Ameche.
- “The Attack Hamster” is Michael Plen. Looks kind of like a hamster and is relentless at promoting radio.
- “Sodfarm” is Joe Greenwald, who was hired at Virgin to be our Detroit rep. I realized early on Joe needed a lot of training because he was as green as a sodfarm.
- “The Painted Wonder” was Rick Williams because he painted his bald spot with something like black paint.
- “Hedgehog” is Tommy Delaney. When at Virgin he got a whiffle haircut and he looked like a hedgehog.
Bonus Questions
What do you like to do for fun and relaxation when you’re not in “work” mode?
I love wine, Sports, Hiking, my cabin, my boat, BBQing, The Three Stooges, and most of all, listening to music. My music library has close to 10,000 albums and CD’s combined.
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