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Feature
Article - February 2000
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Manager's Forum:
Tom Baggott and Chris Cate of Sector 9 |
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by Chris Zahn |
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This month's interview spotlights Sector 9's co-management team of Tom
Baggott and Chris Cate. As MT Productions, they provide artist management
for Sector 9, book Center Stage in Atlanta and serve as booking agents
for such bands as The Disco Biscuits, The Recipe, Tim Reynolds and
Sector 9--to name a few.
CZ: Tell us about your backgrounds. How did you guys get into the music
business?
TOM BAGGOTT: I'm a 30 year old, happily married workaholic.
I started working summers and vacations on my father's farm when
I was 12. Wholesale sales, marketing and diplomacy (sometimes 10
ton shipments of corn have worms) became my specialties, but I hated
business. I was certain I was going to teach college and be a rock
star on the weekends. Upon starting school at UVM in 1987, I got
heavily involved in radical politics. In addition to school and
work, I was writing for and editing an alternative paper on campus
and organizing political educational events. Through these activities
I promoted or co-promoted a number of small and large benefit concerts,
featuring artists such as Public Enemy, Blues Traveler and The Wailers.
I was also playing percussion and harmonica in some local bands,
and as a dispensable side-man, learned to manage and book in order
to survive as a useful member of these bands. The convergence of
my event organizing experience, my forced role as a manager/agent
and an accidental background in business was bound to produce unfortunate
results. While in grad school in the early Spring of 1995, nearly
part-way through my plan to teach college and be a weekend rock
star, I lost my marbles and started doing business as MT Productions
(MTP), leaving behind the relatively stable world of academia. I'm
happy to say I have supported myself ever since in this crazy business.
CHRIS CATE: I was born in Detroit in 1965. Both of my parents
were born in France, my mom to French parents, my dad to American
parents living abroad. Europe has always been a second home. My
mom still lives in the south of France. My dad was a journalist,
so we moved around a lot. I went to high school in Los Angeles where
I met my wife. We married 10 years later. I have a 2 1/2-year-old
son who is looking hard for a quality agent. After graduating from
CU Boulder in 1987, I was a land use planner with several environmental
consulting firms in California. In 1995, I moved to Vermont to pursue
some twisted dream of being in the music business. 5 years later,
I find myself in Atlanta with the best job in the world. Work hard,
very hard, and always believe in your dreams, always.
CZ: Who are some of the people in the industry that have
inspired you?
CHRIS: I saw Andy Gibb in 1978, at the height of his popularity.
Shadow Dancing was number 1 and he was playing a beautiful theatre
in Chicago. My dad took my sister and me. What an experience. Live
music was cool. Išm sure it was quite cheesy, but to a 13-year-old
boy in junior high, it was the coolest. About 200 concerts followed
that one. Then I discovered the Dead. What followed was 15 years
of Grateful Dead tour! The Grateful Dead are the reason I am in
this business. If I ever get stressed out or frustrated, I slap
on a show from 1974 and all is good again. Bill Graham made magic
happen, and since my entire Dead experience was on the West Coast,
I was fortunate to experience his magic over and over again. He
was the man. He was truly the man. My bands inspire me, my talent
buyers and promoters inspire me. It is those folks who are making
it happen. Without them, there would be no me, so I look to them
for inspiration. It is all about the music, it is all about the
magic that is a live show. I love what I do, because so many people
involved with this scene are just as passionate about it as I am.
Passion invokes inspiration.
TOM: Chris just said it best. Some people have inspired
me through example, and some through their ideas or their successes.
I had the good fortune of having a ringside seat for the whole Phish
experience. They were a small band just starting off when I first
met them, and I would say that, from a business perspective, the
guys in Phish and their manager Jon Paluska have been very inspirational.
I'm sure they were inspired by one of my heroes, the late Bill Graham.
My good friend Brian Ross has also been a definite source of support
and inspiration. Johnny Z. has definitely taught me a few things
and Steve McClellan at First Avenue in Minneapolis was the first
club agent to tell me what my job was as an agent, and he took the
time to explain his 4 page offer sheet to me. Although I don't know
him well, Rick Bonde at The Tahoe Agency is someone I respect. He
started an agency from scratch and has worked his ass off to make
it one of the better agencies in the business. My father has also
been a big influence. He owns and runs a large produce farm, and
you could never imagine how many similarities there are between
the produce business and the music business.
CZ: MT Productions is more than a management company, it's
also a booking agency. Tell us about your artist roster.
CHRIS: Our agency prides itself on the quality of our talent
and the musical diversity of the artist's we represent. I sincerely
feel that if you are on our roster, you stand out in the minds of
talent buyers nationwide within this scene. Bands like The Recipe,
Sector 9, the Disco Biscuits and viperHouse are really generating
excitement on a national level. Tim Reynolds, who can perform an
unbelievable, intimate solo acoustic set on one tour and on the
next tour an ear-ripping Nine Inch Nails meets Hendrix-esque electric
set, provide us with extreme variety within the same artist. Modern
rock bands like Chin Ho! And Johnny Society show our more commercial
direction, a direction we plan on pursuing more aggressively. Wešve
been thought of as a jam band agency, when in reality, we only represent
one or two real "jam" bands. We are tapped into the grassroots scene
and that community has embraced many of our bands and our diversity.
Many talent buyers in the scene look to us to let them know what
is "next". It is a special place to be.
CZ: How did you meet Sector 9?
CHRIS: Kyle Pilgrim at the Georgia Theatre in Athens recommended
that I do a show with viperHouse and Sector 9 when the 'vipers came
to Athens. Once I heard the band, I arranged for the Disco Biscuits
to play with them in Atlanta. This was an epic show. A month later
Sector 9 played with viperHouse in Atlanta and a month after that
I was living in Atlanta and working with Sector 9.
CZ: Have you guys ever managed bands before?
CHRIS: Yes. I used to manage the Burlington, VT based Smokin'
Grass. I was also their booking agent, soundman, and tour manager.
I did that for about a year. It was a terrific learning experience
and I felt I had some good successes. But other opportunities were
to be had and I moved on. We still, however, book Smokin' Grass.
Prior to that experience, I was the soundman and tour manger for
another Burlington-based band Belizbeha. We had a heavy touring
schedule and I had the opportunity to work in many of the premier
rooms in the country. Those three years on the road provide a unique
perspective for an agent. I've been in those dives, I've played
in front of 3 people, and I've sat in the stinky van 6 hours a day
for 6 weeks. I've paid those dues, and I can relate to and respect
the amazing character that many of these bands must possess to make
it possible to get to the elusive "next level".
TOM: I have only managed bands I was performing in, and
this job requires much more than the job I did for my own bands.
Having worked as an agent with or a number of good managers and
not-so-good managers, or managers that were mismatched with their
clients, I have learned a lot of the do's and don'ts. I also have
some friends who are very successful, experienced managers, and
who have been very generous and supportive with their advice and
experience over the years.
CZ: It must act as a huge advantage to be both booking
agent and manager of the band. How do you balance the two jobs?
TOM: Thebookingagency.com
and artistmanagers.com
are actually two legally distinct companies, although they are comprised
of some of the same people. thebookingagency.com has three agents,
and we work with most of our artists regionally. Chris and I therefore
both book Sector 9 in our own regions. We also both undertake different
management tasks for Sector 9. Of course there are some inherent
conflicts in this kind of an arrangement, and we have continued
to address these. There are small differences between the agendas
of agencies and artists, and by recognizing these we can actually
bring the two together more effectively. As managers for Sector
9 we have to always think of the band's interest first- not the
agency's. To deal with this I am nominally the manager for Sector
9, and Chris is the responsible agent. Having addressed this issue,
the manager/agency arrangement essentially streamlines communication
and increases efficiency and productivity. We can essentially turn
on a dime, so to speak. For example, when urgent situations arise
that require an agency to get a decision from a manager, or a manager
to get information from the agency to make a decision, we don't
have to track anybody down other than Sector 9- and we know where
they are- and thus have the ability to make the quick decision in
a pinch. There is also nothing lost in the translation of a situation
between the agent and manager. Furthermore, as an agency we work
many of our artists with the same promoters in a number of markets,
and thus we are very tuned-in to the needs of these promoters and
may have a better perspective on how to promote a show in a market
than a manager who is only familiar with the same market or promoter
only from the perspective of her band. Of course we also don't keep
things from ourselves. Often a manager may feel it unnecessary for
an agent to know certain details about an artists' career. In this
setup, all of the information is clearly on the table. You never
know when a piece of information may be relevant.
CZ: How does the experience of being a manager help the
bands you book?
CHRIS: Having worked with such a variety of managers, types
of bands, and development strategies I've gotten a real good idea
of what works and what doesn't. Most importantly, I have learned
what it takes to properly manage a band. I think I know what managing
means because of what I expect as an agent from the management position.
Strides I make as a manager will only open new opportunities for
whomever I work with, be it an artist I manage, a band I book, or
a local musician I hang out wit
CZ: With the band touring so much, how do you get quality
time with them to discuss business and strategy?
TOM: Its difficult. We try to get as much done when they
are off the road as possible. In terms of strategy, we have three
month, six month and 12 month plans. When the band is touring we
have to communicate about the progress of these plans and the multiple,
interrelated tasks involved. For the most part we establish the
details and have the pieces of the puzzle that we need from the
band before they leave. When Sector 9 is off the road we try to
spend as much time together as possible. You have to know your artists,
care for them as people, and essentially try to think from their
perspective to best represent them. Still, much of the time we have
together is spent in meetings discussing business issues, so we
try to see as many of their shows as possible, and go on the road
with them on occasion. We also speak on the phone everyday and exchange
lots of email. We are currently setting up an intranet to house
databases, schedules and important documents like offers and contracts.
CZ: Why did you guys relocate from Vermont to Atlanta?
TOM: There were a number of reasons, including climate
and being sick of Burlington- I was there for 13 years. Chris and
I had turned the agency into a national agency with some pretty
well-respected artists, but people kept assuming we were a regional
agency that could book them at Nectar's. We were doing more in LA
than in Burlington. We were also looking for an opportunity to diversify
and get into other aspects of the music business. The southeast
was a particularly strong region for our agency and many of our
artists, and, as I said, we were looking for a climate change, too.
We knew that there was room in the southeast for a mid-level indie
promoter, and we knew Atlanta was popping, and about to become a
major national scene. It all seemed to add up. I, for one, still
have a great love for Vermont and Burlington. I'll always be at
home there.
CZ: Give us an idea of where the company is heading in
the next few years.
TOM: The keys to the next few years will be flexibility,
anticipation of change, and the internet. MT Productions, LLC is
a diversified music business. We are an agency- thebookingagency.com,
and the majority owners of Synergy Presents, LLC, an Atlanta-based
talent buyer and promoter. The principals of MTP- Chris and I- also
work in artist management doing business as artistmanagers.com.
In the next few years thebookingagency.com would like to brand its
domain name and utilize it to establish an online middle agency
that can basically provide any artist for any talent buyer. We are
also diversifying our roster, and plan to continue that effort.
A few labels have contacted us about working with their developing,
commercially oriented pop and rock acts. So many labels are complaining
that they can't get their artists on the road, and that many of
their artists have no fanbases or live touring experience.
In addition to maybe working to help some of these artists, we
would like to turn some of these labels on to the fact that there
are hundreds of grass-roots artists out there that do have commercially
viable, radio friendly songs, as well as established fanbases and
touring experience. The demand for grass-roots, or "jam", "groove"
or "hippie" bands is growing. There are hundreds of college radio
stations playing their music, and the internet is helping to drive
this demand on technology-savvy college campuses. It reminds me
of when today's "modern rock" was called "alternative", itself relegated
to college playlists. AOR, AAA, none of it really means anything
anymore. Slowly, grass roots music is working its way into the mainstream...
just look at Train. Grass roots artists are today's alternative
bands, and may be part of tomorrow's mainstream. As for the promotion
company, Synergy Presents, LLC, the plan to become a southeastern
talent buyer and promoter after we have gotten ourselves settled
into the new room we are booking and promoting for. artistmanagers.com
will hopefully grow into a company where a number of managers pool
resources and ideas, while working independently for their clients.
Sort of like a law office. Through artistmanagers.com we want to
be able to provide our clients with merchandising, mailing, publicity,
press and radio promotion services. A one-stop shop if you will,
where managers and their clients can tap into in-house resources.
In this day of consolidations, we feel that diversified revenue
streams will allow us to weather the changes in the music business,
while providing more options for our artists.
CZ: Tell us about the new club you're booking?
TOM: Center Stage is a fantastic room. Its basically a
small theatre, set up in a half-shell with about 800 fixed seats.
We can put another 200+ seats on the floor or another 300+ in a
general admission scenario. There isn't a bad seat in the house-
the farthest seat from the stage is barely more than 50 feet away.
You can see clearly over everybody in front of you, and there is
plenty of room in the seats, between the seats and in the aisles
so you can dance comfortably in front of or next to your seat. The
acoustics are flawless- absolutely perfect- and we work with the
best sound and light company in Atlanta. The room is a perfect intimate
setting for a larger act looking for a smaller show, for a seated
event such as a jazz show, theater or a comedy event. We've been
programming a lot of great jazz such as Chick Corea and Maynard
Ferguson, and we have 2 nights of Gallagher coming this summer.
We will be programming a lot of urban contemporary artists, soul,
R&B, reggae and rock shows. We aren't looking for the real hard
stuff, but it is a 1100+ capacity room, and we need to work with
acts that will sell tickets. Many consider it to be the nicest place
to see a show in Atlanta. We are trying to keep our ticket prices
low, even as we try to cater to the needs of the artists. As promoters
coming from an agency and manager perspective, we have done away
with any notions of a merch tax in our venue and at our shows. We
want to add something to the Atlanta music scene, not take away
from it. There are some great clubs and promoters here, such as
Steve and Brad at Windstorm and the Variety Theatre. We want to
work with these promoters and rooms as much as possible, and not
go out of our way to lure their artists away from them. There are
a lot of ways we can elevate the scene by finding our own niche,
and bringing a fresh perspective to the market.
CZ: You just got back from the Pollstar CIC and Concert
Industry Awards in Las Vegas. How did that go?
TOM: CIC was fantastic. Anytime you get 1000+ promoters,
agents, managers, label reps of all types and other music biz people
together for five days you can expect a lot of people to go home
inspired. There are many changes taking place in the industry, and
no matter who you are, you just can't see everything around you.
All the different perspectives, experiences and wisdom present at
CIC had a profound impact on my own perspective. You don't often
get the chance to schmooze with the likes of Doc McGee. Meeting,
speaking with and especially listening to the people who are truly
huge in the industry reminds me that I am still completely insignificant
in the big picture of the music biz. It was especially great to
meet and party with some of the people that I do business with on
an almost daily basis. Remember, its all about the relationships...
CZ: At CampBisco I was very impressed with your firewood
ripping techniques. Where do you find time to practice?
TOM: Firewood ripping is a necessity-based art form. Fortunately,
the opportunities for practice don't often arise, as I am a student
of the ancient Two Hands technique. The Two Hands technique, as
demonstrated at Camp Bisco, requires a virtually meditative approach
that allows you to displace your self from your mind and body, or,
in other words, to be out of your mind and inflict what would otherwise
be great pain on your body. Although the result was hours of raging
fire, one needs to remember that this is a necessity-based art form,
and it just doesn't replace a good axe or splitting maul if one
is available. Don't try this at home!
Contact:
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