Name: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (really!)

Company: Bananagement

Partners: None

Clients: Deep Banana Blackout, On the Corner w/ Fuzz

Other Projects: Co-Entertainment coordinator, Gathering of the Vibes; Entertainment Chairperson, SoNo Arts Celebration

College: Southern Connecticut State University

Major: Communications

Favorite Bands/Performers: DBB, The Beatles, Miles Davis, The Dead

Number of years in the Music Business: Five

First Gig Promoted: Moon Boot Lover, Buzzbomb, The Twisters at the Globe Theater in Norwalk, Ct

College Band I Played in: Token Rhyme, I was the singer

How I met DBB: I was promoting shows at the Globe Theater in and they had just formed. I promoted one of their first shows.

CZ- What steps have you taken to transcend the stereotypical "white-funk band" label that some media have branded you with. The band constantly kicks ass on stage and defies the generic categorizations of such a label. Describe the relationship you have with media and how you market the band's music to them.

BK- The media always feels the need to put a label on things. The harder it is to classify something, the deeper they go looking for a label. There's two ways to interpret the "white" comments. One is a skin color thing (which I can't even dignify), the other is a "soul" thing. Usually when a band is referred to as a "white" funk band, it means they don't have as much soul as a "black" funk band. I used to worry more about it until last year. We had Clyde Stubblefield (the legendary "funky drummer" from James Brown's band) sit in at the Wetlands. He was reading the Voice and he came across the little blurb which refers to us as a "white funk" band. Clyde said something to the effect that this guy wouldn't know funk if it grabbed him by the ass. If Clyde Stubblefield, possibly the funkiest man on earth, thinks DBB is funky, that's enough for me. I just try to let the music speak for itself. A lot of reporters will ask me "How do you describe the music?" I tell them to listen to it and come up with their own description. Sometimes it backfires, but usually it doesn't.

Another funny story happened in Colorado when the first line of the story read: 'If you saw Deep Banana Blackout last night and thought they sounded exactly like Phish, you weren't the only one" I mean, come on...there are very few similarities. I've learned to take it all with a grain of salt. After all, most music critics are frustrated musicians.

CZ- The band has gone out of their way-often making great demands on their music-to include special musical guests at their shows. Describe how this community of musicians evolved over the years and where its going. Are fans receptive to all the special guests? When is enough enough? Do fans complain that they just want to see DBB?

BK- One of the great aspects of the "jam-band" scene is the fellowship among different bands. One of my favorite things is to see a different person thrown into the mix - it forces everybody to stay on their toes. Some of my favorite musical moments have occurred with guests who had no preconceived notion as to what direction the song was supposed to go, so they took control and brought it to a place that DBB had never thought of. We've made a lot of friends over the last year - John Scofield, Fred Wesley, Clyde, DJ Logic, Warren Haynes, Oteil Burbridge. Some have been influences on the members since they were teenagers. Some have become influences this year. I think the fans are receptive to any guests for the same reason - it gives them a different interpretation of something they're familiar with. I think the band really enjoys it, but there are situations where they want it to be just them. Irving Plaza was one of those. They wanted to do that one on their own.

CZ- Tell us about Fuzz's solo project and the positive and negative impacts on the band.

BK- Fuzz is one of those people who is oozing with creativity. He can't stop creating. DBB has a certain way of writing songs - They like to do it in a group setting where everybody can have some input. Occasionally Fuzz will come to the table with a complete song, like Ballade, but mostly it's a group effort. Anyway, Fuzz is always overflowing with ideas, and a lot of the stuff on that album are things that he wrote, but weren't necessarily right for DBB - a lot more jazz and mellow stuff. So this was his forum for that. It didn't really effect DBB too much, because it was done in his spare time - while the band was traveling in the van, he'd be scribbling out charts and talking on the cell phone to the other guys. Even the weekend of the Vibes this year while everyone else was partying, he was dragging Logic and Michael Ray to the studio in Hartford.

CZ- Are you managing his solo career? Where is it heading? Are other members of DBB performing outside of the band?

BK- I guess I'm managing his solo career by default. The album was released on our label (Artkin Touchya) so I'm doing publicity and marketing for it. At this point, it's not really even a "band" so to speak, just a fun thing to do on the side when DBB's off. We had a CD release party at the Knitting Factory in November and it was a lot of fun because it was a low-pressure kind of thing. Everyone was just there to fool around. Benj LeFevre (DBB's bassist) even joined the horn section on trumpet for most of the night.

I think it's really healthy for band members to play in other projects. It gives you a lot of inspiration that you can't always get from playing with the same people every night. Eric and Johnny both play on John Scofield's next album, and Eric will be doing a short tour in the spring as part of Sco's band. He's (obviously) excited because John Scofield is a big influence on his playing (when I lived with Eric, we must have listened to "Groove Elation" a million times ). When he's done with that tour, I'm sure he'll have a lot of new ideas for DBB from doing those shows.

CZ- Tell us about your role in the development of new material and choice of cover songs. Do you take a part in constructing set lists? What kind of input-both positive and negative- do you find yourself giving on the band's live show recently?

BK- I've always encouraged the band to mix it up. For a long time, it was hard for them to get together to write, because they were on the road for 48 weeks a year. It really forced them to keep their songs fresh by opening them up. It also gave them the idea of switching up the solos. This way a song could have a sax solo one night and a keyboard solo the next. They could always keep it interesting for themselves and the fans. Just recently, they debuted twelve great new songs. It was refreshing for everyone because there's only so much you can do with a particular song. As far as setlists, I always make requests because I have certain songs that I like, and I always think of stuff that would sound cool segued together, but pretty much that's the band's call.

I haven't gotten to see as many shows as I used to because they've been traveling so much and I need to stay in the office, so when I do get to hear them, I really notice a lot of difference - even from the beginning to the end of a tour. First of all, I notice how tuned in each member is to one another. I don't know if I've ever seen a band that could segue any song into any other song without blinking an eye. I'm not talking about spacing out the end of a song and noodling into the next, I'm talking about turning a corner and being in another song. It blows me away every time. I don't have too many negative things to say except sometimes at the end of a tour when everyone is tired (which is probably my fault), people tend to miss cues or not pay as much attention as they should.

CZ- What can we expect from the band live in the year 2000? In the studio? Care to discuss imminent label negotiations?

BK- We're going to be in the studio in January to record a new CD. We're not sure yet if it's going to be independent or for a label, although we have been talking with some people and the prospect of recording for a label is very exciting. As far as the live shows, we're starting to play much bigger places and so we'd like to add to the production - more lights, more theatrics. We're excited for the summer. We plan on doing a lot of festivals - we just confirmed High Sierra for July and it's their tenth anniversary, so I'm sure they'll be pulling out the stops.

CZ- What bands would you most like to see DBB play with and are there any plans to manifest these shows in the year 2000?

BK- I'd love to do a show with the funky Meters. They've been such a big influence on DBB and I think it would be an amazing experience. Medeski Martin & Wood would also be a great band to play with. Fuzz & John Medeski played together with Project Logic and Eric, Johnny and Chris Wood make up the rhythm section of Scofield's album, but we've never gotten the chance to play with those guys outside of a festival situation. I think it would make a great theater show. I guess the third would be Santana. Maybe a long shot for 2000, but he's such an amazing inspiration, not just in music, but in life. I'd put him up there in the Miles Davis, John Coltrane, John Lennon category of people who can't help but overflow with spirituality. DBB occasionally does Soul Sacrifice, usually because I'm yelling for it from the side of the stage. I saw Ozomatli open for Santana this summer and I couldn't help but think how great it would be for DBB to get a shot at that. I'm always networking and meeting new people and trying to turn them on to DBB. I've yet to meet anyone from the Santana camp. I think he would really enjoy DBB's stuff. Another goal for the future is to team up with the Beastie Boys for a show. I can't get enough of those guys.

CZ- Does DBB perform better outdoors or indoors? And why?

BK- I think it's two different scenarios. Sometimes I really like to see them in a dark sweaty club. Like the Middle East in Boston. It brings a whole different emotion out of the audience and the band. Nobody's afraid to get sweaty and so the energy level gets insane. At outdoor shows, especially daytime outdoor shows, I always felt like it had more of a "party in the streets" New Orleans-type feel to it. It's a whole different dynamic.

CZ- Do you find most fans think you guys are raking in the dough when in reality it's a tougher battle than they think to pay the bills. Both you and I know what it takes to keep a band alive day in and day out. I know its a grind. How do you keep morale up in the band from day to day?

BK- Our fans are really cool about that kind of thing. Obviously we want to keep the ticket price as affordable as possible, but as the band gets bigger, the cost of doing a show is a lot more, and that reflects in the ticket price. Occasionally we get complaints, but usually some kind-hearted fans will stick up for us and I don't have to defend it. It's especially hard for us because we have such a big band - a lot of mouths to feed. Although we get paid more now than ever, the expenses of running the operation seem to grow faster that the income. We are by no means getting rich off of this. We were laughing just the other day about a time a few years ago where the band played in Long Island and then drove 9 hours overnight to Virginia for the next afternoon because we were getting paid $900. We're glad to not have to do that anymore.

One of the most important part of my job is to keep the morale of the band up. When things go wrong, I try to take care of it and smooth it over so that the band doesn't have to deal with it. On the flip side, I try to always share cool emails or comments that I get from fans and promoters. I think the audience plays a huge part in that as well. For example, in October we had a rough few weeks. We went out as the opener for Gov't Mule, which was great exposure and a great opportunity to meet them and jam together. The hard part was that the sets were 30-45 minutes long and the commutes were 6 or 7 hours between cities. At the end of the tour, we played a headlining show in New Orleans where 1100 people showed up and went nuts. The band was so starved that they ended up playing until 6:30 in the morning. And the audience was there 'til the bitter end. This made the whole tour worthwhile and brought the morale back to overflowing.

CZ- Do you guys discuss writing radio songs? Is radio airplay a major goal of this band?

BK- I think airplay is important in the sense that it's really hard to achieve serious growth without it. I think DBB has some songs that could get commercial airplay if we had recorded three minute versions of them, but that's not what we're about right now. We've talked about it, and everyone agrees that before we go that route, we want to build a solid foundation of fans that like us for the music, not because we're MTV's flavor of the week. Then if we achieve any kind of mass success, we'll know that when that fades(in like two weeks), we'll still have people that love us because of the music and not because someone told them to.

CZ- What new music are you listening to today?

BK- I've really been getting into Vinyl and Karl Denson's Tiny Universe. I can't get enough of Percy Hill's album Color in Bloom. It's been out a year and it's already a "classic". Soulive is another one that everyone will know about by this time next year. Great players! Eric Krasno, the guitar player has sat in with Deep Banana a couple of times - Man, that guy can play! I'll never pass up the chance to see Peter Prince in any configuration. Project Logic's new CD is innovative and totally far out. Also a few local bands that not too many people know about yet called Electric Hill and Fro. They're both playing with us at the Wetlands for New Years. They're both great bands.

CZ- Tell us about your relationship with Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth of the Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club.

BK- They live kind of close to us and so they were turned onto the band last year some time. In March we were out at a ski area in Colorado and they happened to be at the show. Since then they've become friends and have been very encouraging to me and the band. We talked about having a "Tom Tom Club- Deep Banana Blackout Picnic" this summer, but we were never around at the same time. They've really been a morale builder as well. It's great when you have people like them offering words of wisdom and advice, as well as being genuine fans of the music. We'd love to do a show with them sometime.

CZ- Do you play "band psychiatrist" on occasion? Is this a role you dread or relish?

BK- I try to always be there for anyone who needs to talk about anything, business or otherwise. We're really like a family, with all the good and bad that goes along with it. There will always be situations where one person gets on another persons nerves or whatever. I recently adopted the practice of "open office hours" where every Tuesday from 7 - 9 PM any band member can come in and talk about things. It doesn't always happen because they're traveling, but when they're in town, I love for them to stop by and chat, ask questions, make requests, etc. I don't mind it at all.

CZ- Tell us about the crew and what they do?

BK- E! is the tour manager. At this point he does everything - he drives, mixes sound, advances all the shows, deals with all the technical stuff, and makes sure that nobody gets lost (a difficult task when you're dealing with 9 other people) He's really the man. We've had a few different bands try to kidnap him. I think it was Percy Hill who literally picked him up and put him in their van. Heather is my assistant. She wears many different hats as well. She deals with all accounts payable and receivable, all of the mail order stuff and publicity, as well as keeping me in line. The band played at her wedding and she insisted they play Eyes of the World. It was great to see DBB cover a Dead tune, although no tape exists. It's too bad, because they did a great job. Richie is the newest member of the crew. He assists E! at the shows and loads gear, drives the other van and sells merchandise. We have a really dedicated crew of people who are all willing to help out in any manner possible.

CZ- Do you go to the studio and watch the recording sessions? What input have you made in the past to the recordings?

BK- When they recorded "Live in the Thousand Islands" I sat in on a bunch of the sessions, although I wasn't "officially" the manager at that point. A lot of the stuff going on between songs on that recording are from a day where we all entered "another realm of consciousness" so to speak and let the mics run for like six hours. I guess you could say that I actually made a "guest appearance" somewhere on there. I've never seen a royalty for it, though :-). With Rowdy Duty, I coordinated the project and was there for the recording, which was done at a live show in Port Chester, NY. I did go up to the studio in Hartford a few times to listen and add another set of ears to the mixing process. I'll always voice my opinion if I don't like something, but for the most part, I leave it up to them. As far as "On the Corner with Fuzz", I didn't really even hear that until it was complete.

CZ- Do you go on line and chat with the fans? Do you go to many shows? Do you talk to fans at the shows?

BK- I try to be involved with the fans. I always read the discussion group and the message boards to see what people are talking about. Then I know what's working and what's not. The fans are obviously really important in this whole thing, so if they don't like a particular venue or something, I want to know. Like I said before, I don't get to go to as many shows as I used to, so I almost completely rely on the fans for feedback on a particular show.

CZ- What relationships do you have with the promoters? Many managers let the agent book the dates and never really speak to the promoters. How hands on are you? Tell us about the band's agent.

BK- I try to be as involved as possible without stepping on anyone's toes. I always try to meet the promoter, meet the publicist and talk to them about what we can do to ensure a successful show. Of course, there are some promoters who I talk to all the time, even if there's not a show in the works, like Terrapin or Gamelan or the Wetlands folks. There are others that I talk to just a few times before a given show. A lot of that is on them, too. Some promoters sign the contract and don't want to spend too much time working on a show. Those relationships don't usually last very long.

Our Booking Agency is Partners in Music out of Boulder, Colorado. They are really doing a great job for the band right now. Our last two tours have been very successful and they really are a great bunch of people. There aren't too many booking agencies that will go around town and hang up posters for you. They've really become a part of the family.

CZ- How does Jen cope with being the only female in the group? How is her back holding up?

BK- I've never really talked to her about it, but I'll bet it's hard to be the only woman surrounded my men. I'm sure she'd love to have another woman on the road, and it will happen in the future. I'd say she's good at being "one of the guys".

Her health is much better. She was really having a rough time with her back, which is a problem she's had for years. It was definitely aggravated by the rigorous touring schedule that the band has been doing. We had to stop and rethink the entire way we tour so that everyone, not only Jen, could be healthy and rested in order to give 100% all the time. It was a bummer to have to do those shows without Jen, and to have to cancel shows after that. We don't want to have to do that again, so we're being more realistic about everyone's stamina and health.

CZ- What's in store for New Year's Eve?

BK- We're really excited about the New Years Eve shows this year. We're doing three nights at the Wetlands, which is like home to us. The first two nights we plan on inviting some guests to play and the last night, New Years Eve, we plan on playing until the sun comes up. We're limiting the tickets to 500, which is half of what we sold last year, so that our fans can be comfortable while we bring in the new millennium. All Y2K things aside, I think it will be very exciting to be in New York City on this night. The energy is going to be outrageous and I'm sure a lot of it will rub off onto the band.

CZ- Interested in managing any other acts?

BK- The Disco Biscuits have recently contacted me (just kidding...) Actually, I would love to manage other acts in the future, but DBB is a full time job for me at the moment. That combined with the work I do on the Gathering of the Vibes and now the SoNo Arts Celebration is more than enough for me at the moment. Maybe when I can have a bigger staff, I'll sign up a few more bands.