Athens, Georgia.  Home of the B-52s, REM, Widespread Panic, and now me.  Being a Yankee from the North, I never could have fathomed that I'd call the South my home. When opportunities present themselves, however, I find it is best to trust your instincts.  After all, that is what so much of this jamband community is centered around.  Whether you are a musician in a band that has dreams of grandeur, or someone like myself who is on the business side of things (and has similar dreams), you need to trust yourself and follow your heart.

Just to give a little background, and if you follow my columns you'll know all of this, I worked at Gamelan in Boston for the first five months of 2000 and then I went on tour (as tour/road manager) for the summer with Addison Groove Project and Uncle Sammy.  I wrote about my departure from Gamelan for the June issue of Jambands.com and I chronicled my experiences on the road for the September edition.  For the months of August through October, I was working independently, booking AGP, looking for my next place of employment.

  That search has come to a close as I have recently accepted a job at Treeline Artists (www.treelineartists.com)  in Athens, Georgia.  The last month has been quite hectic, as I've had to relocate my life and my work to the South.  So, to the three (maybe four?) people who noticed I did not contribute to Jambands.com last month, I apologize for missing the November issue, but please understand, I was moving.

I sincerely hope I am not being presumptuous by writing about myself, but I think my story of the past couple of months is an interesting tale.  In fact, my move to Athens never would have happened if I did not write for Jambands.com.  When I wrote my article for the June issue about volatility in the music business, I interviewed Chris Cate, who was also undergoing job changes.  Chris was just going out on his own, dissolving a partnership with Tom Baggot.  Chris told me about his new agency, Treeline Artists, and also said that I should keep in touch.  Sure, I thought, as I hung up the phone.

For no specific reason, as I lived in New York City for the month prior to the summer tour, I sent Chris a package with the tour press release and CDs from Addison Groove Project and Uncle Sammy.  I guess I figured that it couldn't hurt for Chris to see what I was up to and listen to the music I was working with.  Well, Chris really liked the CDs and was impressed with the tour I had put together.  Nothing more really came of it, until the night before Berkfest, at our gig in Great Barrington, at a great little venue called Club Helsinki.  (As an aside, I must say that it was fairly genius of me to book a gig in Great Barrington on the night before Berkfest...brilliant routing.)

At that show I met Liz Daley who, at the time, was interning for Chris at Treeline.  Liz was up north for Berkfest and Chris had also wanted her to see the Club Helsinki show to report to him what she thought of AGP and Uncle Sammy.  I remember standing outside the club and Liz asked me what my plans where once the tour was over.  I really wasn't sure; I knew that I'd continue booking AGP, but I had no clue what context that would be in.  Liz told me that Chris Cate was looking for a new agent down in Athens and that I should definitely give him a call.  Without thinking, I blurted out "Georgia! Why the *$#% would I want to move to Georgia?"

Once the tour ended and the reality of not having a "real" job sank in, I rethought my initial reaction about moving to GA.  In fact, I gave Chris a call and we decided to schedule some meetings.  I bought a plane ticket and flew down to Atlanta where Chris was living and working at the time.  We met in person, saw a few shows, and basically got to know each other.  I was pleased to see that Chris and I seemed to be thinking on the same level in regards to the music business.  Chris told me of his plans to move the agency to Athens.  Before returning to New York, I took a drive out to Athens and scoped out my new potential home.

It was Sunday, so the town was basically empty, but I walked around and tried to get a feel for the place.  I took a break from my stroll and decided to get some lunch.  I walked into a deli and it occurred to me that my turkey sandwich might be the true test.  Being a native New Yorker, I can be a bit of a sandwich snob and I thought that if the sandwich wasn't any good, I'd have serious difficulties moving down to Georgia.  (After all, the bagels down here are pretty weak, so the sandwiches need to compensate.)  But, alas, my turkey sub was tasty and I thought that maybe there was some merit in moving to Athens.

After returning to New York, Chris and I had numerous phone conversations and he offered me a position at Treeline and I accepted. So it was, on November 6, I packed up my car and drove down to Athens (with a stop at a friend's place in DC).  Within a week, I found a place to live and Chris and I began the expansion and relocation of Treeline Artists.  As the roster now stands, our exclusive bands are Addison Groove Project (from Boston, MA); Emma Gibbs Band (Winston-Salem, NC); Garaj Mahal (San Franciso, CA / Chicago, IL); Hannaward Pass (Tuscaloosa, AL); Mori Stylez (Hartford, CT); The Recipe (Morgantown, WV); Smokin' Grass (Burlington, VT); and Sound Tribe Sector 9 (Atlanta, GA).  We are also working with Astral Project (New Orleans, LA); Jerry Joseph (Portland, OR); and Larry (Austin, TX) on a non-exclusive basis.

I originally planned for this article to get in depth on what makes the Athens music scene tick.  However, I realized that I've only been here a month and I don't know much about Athens at all.  In the coming months, I hope to bring some interesting stories with a Southern twist to the e-pages of Jambands.com.  One thing is for sure, a lot of great music is happening in this town.  In my first WEEK of living here I saw John Scofield; The Slip; Medeski, Martin & Wood; and The String Cheese Incident.  My new home in the South will definitely give me a different perspective on things and hopefully will expose me to more great music and many great people.