Have you ever wandered the back parking lots of a Dead show, winding your way through the aisles of cars, wondering where you were and what had brought you there. Have you found yourself sitting down the street from a theatre, ears ringing from 3 hours of insane jamming, trying to figure out what you were doing in this place, at this time. Who brought you here? Why would they play Vegas in June? How could you end the tour in Chicago? What the hell am I doing in northern Maine, anyway?

Who makes the decisions for these bands? What were they thinking? How did Phish get so big? Who’s the next big Jamband? How did everyone get to hear about this new band so quickly? Who is that guy with all the laminates? Have you have been plagued by these questions, as I have, for years? Then I would like to welcome you to Jamband Business School.

Welcome to the first installment of Jamband Business School. Over the next several months I hope to introduce everyone to the people behind the scenes. In this column, I will introduce you to the role players behind the struggling artists that we adore. We’ll take a peek into the wings, and see the gears cranking.

Booking agents, publicists, managers, bus drivers, instrument techs, label execs, tapers- everyone plays a part in this great music scene. That is one of the great things about being a jamband fan. Everyone plays his or her part. Now we are going to see who plays these vital roles, and how talented people are helping to drive this scene that drives us as music fans.

I will introduce you to the different jobs, the people who are making it happen, and the varied tales of their success and hardships on tour. We’ll visit the big players, and the folks who are struggling just to make rent. In order to gain perspective, we will meet people in both the jamband business, and in the business of other styles of music.

It is my hope that as fans you can gain a perspective about how the whole industry works. You will be able to have an understanding for how hard people work. You will meet bands that you’ve never heard before, and you will gain insight on the bands that you’ve been listening to for years. Feel free to email me and let me know if there is anything that you would like to see in the column, any tidbit of information that I can try and gather for you. I want to know what you want to know.

What do I know? Well, I’m not really sure, but we’re sure going to find out. Who the hell am I to say? Just let me say that I am writing this because I have been completely obsessed with jambands and the jamband industry for the last twenty years. In 1979, my older brother and sister bought Pink Floyd’s the Wall. In 1987, my older brother introduced me to the Grateful Dead at the Providence Civic Center- starting a journey that finished with 69 shows. In 1990, I fell in love with Phish, and have spent many a night with those kooky guys from Vermont. I am also an avid fan of Max Creek. For the last several years, I have been doing my best to sample as many jambands as I can, no matter how obscure. Some for a few minutes, others for hundreds of shows.

My obsession is so complete that ten years ago I decided to dodge the business school bullet that I had fired at myself. Instead of getting a job with a corporate giant, I have been working with jambands professionally since I graduated from college. Mostly as a booking agent, but also as a club agent, publicist, band manager, stage crew, security, guitar player, singer, songwriter, cheerleader, and fan. I had my own booking agency for a few years, and now I am the principal booking agent at a multi-media outfit in Boston.

No one is an expert in anything, so I hope that together we can learn more about this crazy musical world in which we live. Let’s figure out who helps to make these bands go and find out more about what they do. See you next month! a