10 Questions with ... Mari Dew

NAME:Mari Dew TITLE:Owner and Manager COMPANY:Sounds+Sights Entertainment / The Pocket Studios FORMATS:Rock, Alternative, Hot AC, Pop LOCATION:Toronto, Canada BORN:San Jose, California RAISED:Dallas, Texas

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

I started out as a manager and booking agent while still in college, then segued to the label side and the radio promotion world just after graduation. Ten years later, in 2001, I teamed up with my husband, producer Trevor Kustiak, to form a management and production company, and I started transitioning back to artist management. We opened The Pocket Studios, a full-service recording facility, in 2004, and I currently manage five bands (Evans Blue, Rains, Vaeda, Mercury City and In My Coma) as well as the studio. Together, my husband and I develop artists, produce their music and help them to build their stories through our imprint Sounds+Sights. Our goal is to get them to a point where we can partner with a bigger label and upstream their albums. So far, so good ... we are having a blast and making some great music.

1) What made you want to get into the music business? Early mentors? First job?

I honestly believe that the music business is in my blood. My Dad, John Dew, has been in radio since the 1960s, and he is still on the air, managing and programming a station in Northwestern Michigan called The Breeze, a great-sounding station. He was one of the founders of the AOR format, launching The Zoo, KZEW in Dallas in the early 1970s.

When I was finishing college, my Dad tried to convince me to get into radio sales (which can certainly be quite lucrative), but I was convinced that the record side was for me. So I took a job interning part-time at Giant Records in Dallas with Mark Niederhauser and waited tables to pay the bills. Thankfully, Niederhauser was a great boss and mentor; I credit him for my attention to detail, which is so important in our business.

My first real promotion job came three years later, when Greg Thompson hired me as the Nashville rep for Elektra Records. Thompson was an amazing boss as well, and I'm always grateful to him for giving a rookie her first shot. While at Elektra, I also met Valerie DeLong, who has been a dear friend and mentor throughout my career as well.

2) What is the strangest record you ever worked and what ended up happening to the band?

"I'll Be There For You" from The Rembrandts, because it didn't start out as an actual record. Not long after I got the Elektra job and moved to Nashville, Charlie Quinn, the PD of Y107 there, taped the "Friends" theme song with his VCR, looped the audio and put it on the air. The response was huge, and I took the information to the label. The band turned the theme into a full song, recorded it, and the label stripped it onto the new Rembrandts album, which then went on to sell platinum. The Rembrandts even appeared in the video with the stars of Friends. You never know!

3) How does your place in the industry differ from where you were five years ago? Better? Worse? The same?

It is completely different, but I love it. Sometimes I miss the company credit card, though. I was good with the company card ... just ask Greg Thompson!

4) Things are changing rapidly in our business. Were it up to you, what would you change in our "system" to give your bands a better shot?

It would be nice if more programmers had the freedom and the passion to take a shot on playing brand new bands from time to time. I would think that would be the most exciting part about programming ... really breaking new artists. I have a huge amount of respect for the ones who do take chances.

5) What artist or project from your past are you most proud of and how did that artist break?

Probably Better Than Ezra, because they were my first baby band to break through. A lot of the early airplay on "Good" started in my territory, and we were really able to build a strong story in Tennessee/Kentucky/Virginia/Carolinas, so they came through on tour often and you could see the crowds grow every time. Their album Deluxe went on to sell platinum (my first plaque); that was exciting to be a part of!

6) What artist are you presently working with and excited about?

I am really excited about Rains (www.myspace.com/rainsband). We have had a great response from programmers to the first single "Liar" across the board, and stations like The Point St Louis and Xtreme in Vegas are playing the song early and finding that the fans are digging it as well. We believe we have a solid hit on our hands, and we are just narrowing down the right label to align with for the project.

7) Every Promotion person has a record close to their heart that for one reason or another never broke through, "The One That Got Away"... What is your "One That Got Away" and what did you learn from that record???

"Beg" from Evans Blue. That song should have been a hit. Unfortunately, it wasn't in the cards for many different reasons, but I learned a lot from that experience ... particularly when it comes to choosing your battles.

8) Repetition breeds familiarity. How does your label increase exposure of your artists outside of traditional radio promotion?

We are always on the look-out for new ways to increase exposure for our artists. For example, our band Vaeda (www.myspace.com/vaeda) will be featured in the new Rock Band 2 commercial that will debut during the VMAs on MTV September 7th -- a great way to get their faces out there. We are also exploring licensing opportunities for our various artists and looking for strategic partnerships with which to promote the music.

9) What current based rock artist do you see having the ability and skills to stick around for several records in today's instant gratification-oriented society?

Definitely Rains. This kid is a career artist at the very beginning of his career. It's exciting; I can't wait to see where he is 10 years, 20 years from now.

10) The lost art of artist development. What do you do to ensure your artist is building a career as opposed to just breaking a song? And does it even matter anymore?

We are bringing the art of artist development back large at Sounds+Sights! We really look for the total package in our artists. We work with them on all aspects of their career, from the songs to the image to the live show, and we believe in educating our artists on what to expect from the music business and how to best navigate it and really carve out a career.

You are the remaining survivor on a remote tropical island with no chance for rescue. You have a CD/DVD player with endless power. What five CD's are a "must" to have with you? What five movies?

CDs: U2 Achtung Baby; Evans Blue The Melody and The Energetic Nature of Volume; Jason Mraz Waiting For My Rocket To Come; The Jayhawks Hollywood Town Hall; Cool For August Grand World.

MOVIES: O Brother Where Art Thou?; Dangerous Liaisons; The Jerk; Shakespeare in Love; American Beauty