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10 Questions with ... Bram Teitelman
August 10, 2021
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. Everything I’ve done in my career has led up to what I’m doing now. From chronicling the changes in all aspects of the radio and record industry via journalism, I’ve gotten to interview and know some of the key people on all sides of the industry. Writing about trends in radio and music before or as they happened gave me an outside-looking-in perspective that went beyond being in the thick of things.
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1. What made you want to get into the music business and who were some of your early mentors?
I know I’m not the only person that got the initial spark from listening to American Top 40. Casey Kasem exposing a world of music beyond what I heard the rest of the week and giving context to the artists and songs fascinated me. College radio helped me realize that there was actually a potential career in being a music fan thanks to talking to people like Cheryl Valentine every week, and my tiny 10-watt station (WDNR/Chester PA) where I became the metal director and program director led me to an internship at Friday Morning Quarterback. Working with Ray Koob and Mark “Schpeen” LaSpina in the metal department there also turned into a stint as Ray’s assistant for the “Rockers” metal specialty show when it existed at the legendary WMMR. Once I made it up to New York, working under the infinite fountain of radio knowledge that is Sean Ross helped in how I approached the articles I wrote and the research I did for them.
2. What was your first job and give us a rundown of the labels and positions you’ve held over the years?
An internship at FMQB my senior year of college led to them asking me to join part time, and eventually full-time, where I became the music news editor and metal radio director. My next move was to New York as the Managing Editor of Billboard’s Rock Airplay Monitor, and then Rock Editor of the combined Airplay Monitor once the magazines combined. I then transitioned to The Syndicate, where I ran the Metal Radio department, helped launch the website Metal Insider, and was part of the marketing department there, working with clients including Adult Swim and HBO. I joined Napalm in 2018.
3. Besides your Promotion experience, you’ve also been Managing Editor at Metal Insider and Rock Managing Editor at Billboard. How has that side of the business perspective helped you at Napalm?
While I’ve been label-adjacent my whole career, and Napalm is my first actual label gig. That said, everything I’ve done in my career has led up to what I’m doing now. From chronicling the changes in all aspects of the radio and record industry via journalism, I’ve gotten to interview and know some of the key people on all sides of the industry. Writing about trends in radio and music before or as they happened gave me an outside-looking-in perspective that went beyond being in the thick of things. Also, working at the Syndicate, who do a lot of street marketing and experiential events in addition to radio and PR, we’d sometimes have company-wide brainstorming sessions that transformed into hugely successful campaigns. The spirit of collaboration certainly helps what I do, not just internally, but with the other companies we work with and our radio partners. And running a website allowed me to learn about advertising, which has been advantageous on the other side of things.
4. How long have you been at Napalm Records and for those who aren’t familiar with Napalm, give us a little history of the label and your primary responsibilities?
Napalm will be celebrating its 30th Anniversary next year. The label formed in 1992 in Eisenerz, Austria, where it still has its headquarters. Starting out as primarily a metal label, Napalm has kept true to its roots, with bands including Hammerfall, Candlemass, Monster Magnet, W.A.S.P. and Life of Agony still on our roster, but we’ve increasingly embraced active rock. The first artist we went to active with was DevilDriver’s cover of “Sail” in 2013. We’ve had a U.S. presence for years, but in early 2019, we set up an office in Hoboken NJ to go along with our Eisenerz and Berlin offices.
As the North American Marketing Manager, I oversee all radio efforts for commercial and metal radio in the United States and Canada, while also handling print and digital advertising and other marketing initiatives.
5. Tell us some of the artists you’re worked with in the past few years at the label?
It was pretty exciting to jump right into my label career by working with Smashing Pumpkins. Alter Bridge is another high-profile artist I’ve had the opportunity to work with, as well as solo albums from Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti. Reintroducing radio to Scott Stapp was rewarding. Mushroomhead and Cold put out some of the best work of their careers, and while we went to radio with Sumo Cyco earlier this year, I think when they get to properly tour the States, they’ll make a lot more fans.
6. There’s a great new single “If Not For You” from Tremonti from his LP “Marching In Time” coming September 24th. I know it’s early, but what’s the plan for this new Tremonti single?
Between his work in Creed and Alter Bridge, Mark Tremonti has been a constant at rock radio for nearly 25 years. His solo career has helped establish him not just as a phenomenal guitarist, but also an accomplished songwriter with a great voice. “If Not For You” exemplifies all of that, and with Mark on the road starting next month until the end of the year, we want to make sure that radio champions this song and lets his fan base hear it.
7. You also have a new LP from Dee Snider (“Leave A Scar”) That just dropped. What can you tell us about this project at Rock Radio?
Dee Snider is nothing less than an icon. In the current radio landscape, however, Twisted Sister is almost viewed as a classic rock act, which is unfortunate because he’s a vital as ever. We went to active with the mission statement for his sophomore solo album Leave a Scar, “I Gotta Rock (Again).” And while the perception at active was that primarily he’s a metal guy, the whole album is as hooky as it is heavy, and we may be revisiting with another track.
8. Besides the artists you’re already working with, who are some other new and emerging Rock bands that we should keep an ear out for in the future from Napalm?
We’re very excited about the Andrew W.K. album, God is Partying, that’s coming out next month. It’s his return to rock in a big way, and if you’re only familiar with “Party Hard,” give a listen to “Everybody Sins” by dropping me or Mark Gorlick at Red Light a line. Alien Weaponry is another big one. They’re a New Zealand trio that embrace their native Maori tribal culture in their music and lyrics. They’ll be on tour with Gojira later this year. And Jinjer’s fourth album, Wallflowers, will be out later this month. They’re a Ukranian four-piece progressive metal band getting more popular with every release due in part to their amazing vocalist Tatiana. We’ll also have new singles from Myles Kennedy and Tetrarch as they’ll both be hitting the road this fall.
9. Let’s talk about the Rock format and Active Rock as a whole. What’s your take on the State of Rock Radio today?
It’s a very tight format these days, and I’ve really come to appreciate some of the stations with personality that know exactly what their audience likes and program to it. It’s also exciting to see some newer bands and sounds being featured. Bands once thought of as Alternative-only, like Rise Against and Coheed and Cambria, are being spun alongside newer metal-leaning bands like Architects and Gojira. Hopefully younger-skewing artists like Post Malone, Olivia Rodrigo and Machine Gun Kelly embracing guitar-driven music will lead to more interest at the format from potential new listeners, but between the aforementioned newer artists and the heritage acts of the format, the format is as much of a melting pot as any time I can remember.
10. Finally…on a personal note, what do you like to do for fun when you are not in “work” mode?
I’ve played keyboards for a while now. I’m currently in a band called Black Wail that plays around North Jersey and Brooklyn. I even got to do a little touring with Mastodon and Clutch a handful of years back in my previous band! I also run, bike, watch Philly sports (Eagles/Sixers/Phillies), and for better or worse, the pandemic got me back into playing video games.
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