大象传媒

By day Steve Smithers is an accountant who looks after six hospitals, but by night you can usually find him at places like Club 85 in Hitchin, Bedford Esquires or The Arena Tavern in Letchworth, where he'll probably be attending one of the 100 or so live gigs per year that he goes to.

His passion for live music has led to a second career. In his so called "free time" Steve is now a manager for several bands, helping them to move out of the local scene and onto bigger and better things.

His clients include Chris Phillips, Little Alaskan Workshop and the Dan Williams All Stars and he is also the tour manager for Look See Proof.

He told Katy Lewis how it all came about and his hopes for the future.

Managing bands isn't your full time job is it?

Steve: No - I actually work for a company called Partnership in Care who are a group of psychiatric hospitals and I'm an accountant looking after six hospitals within the group.

Chris Phillips

So you're an accountant but you manage bands as well. How did this all come about?

Steve: I go to at least 100 gigs a year and over that period of time you get to know the guys at the venues and guys in the bands if you see them a few times. It started when Dan Williams All Stars started out as a band which was in about 2003. They were just playing on the local circuit but that was as far as they were going to get. I knew a promoter in Cambridge and got them a gig there and they went down really well so he wanted them to play again and I think that made me enthusiastic that I could actually do the job and do the job well. But it also made the band enthusiastic to want to go onto bigger and better things.

From there we had London gigs at the Camden Barfly and the following year I took them out on a UK tour starting out in Bedford and ending up in Glasgow.

Do you have a background in music?

Steve: Not at all, it all really stems from a passion for live music. I had a guitar from about the age of 13 but was never committed enough to want to learn to play it that well and there were so many people around who were better than I would ever be!

I grew up with older brothers and sister and they'd be playing music and I'd listen to that. When I was growing up they'd be listening to The Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

So you've almost ended up managing accidentally! Do you approach bands now or do they come to you?

Steve: It's a mixture of both. I've recently started working with a band from Pirton called Fruition and they came to me to ask for a hand. They've reached a point in their career where they've got so far but now want to take it up to the next level. Over the years I've built up contacts and I've got contacts who can help them do that. I'm looking to get them bigger and better things and move them up a level.

I also know Steve LeMaq reasonably well so it helps having contacts like that who can actually make a difference to you.

What do you look for in a band that makes you think you can help them?

Steve: I really have to like the music. It's important to me that it's something that I believe in. I couldn't work with anyone that I didn't believe in because it takes up a lot of my time, commitment and energy so unless I believe in it 100 per cent it's pointless for me and pointless for the band. If I'm going to do it then I want to give it 100 per cent and if the music doesn't inspire me then I won't do it. There have been occasions where I've been approached by bands and gone to listen to them and it hasn't been right for me.

I think also that with my commitments at the moment, it has to be someone really special to make me juggle those commitments to fit them in. I've got a full time job so for me to give up my evenings and weekends, and what free time I have, they really have to inspire me.听听听听听听

But you'll look at all types of music?

Steve: Definitely. I think Chris Phillips, Little Alaskan Workshop, the Dan Williams All Stars and Fruition are all very different musically but the underlying factor is that they are all really good bands with really good musicians.

Little Alaskan Workshop

Are you also involved in getting record / publishing deals for bands?

Steve: I do my best on that front but I'm not at a level where I can have that much influence with a record company. I can take bands up to a level but then it would be up to another manager to step in who has got more time to take them on.

What I'm doing in management I see very much as a stepping stone. Bands come to me because they've reached a level where they can't get any higher. I can take them up another level but then it would have to be someone else to take them to a further level.

As a tour manager though, that involves the logistics of getting a band around does it?

Steve: Yes - a good example is one that I've just done, taking Look See Proof to Glastonbury. That came through the booking agent but then it was case of
looking at who we needed to take with us, how we were going to get there, what vehicles we needed etc, so that all the band have to do is arrive at the
alloted pick up point at the right time, go on stage, do their stuff and then go again. It's really taking the pressure off the band so they only have to
think about playing.

It sounds like you do a bit of everything! Do you do their accounts as well?!

Steve: [laughs] I don't, no! I tend to steer away from accounts when I'm out of work!

What are some of your best experiences of managing a band?

Steve: Definitely Glastonbury has to be pretty much at the top! It's such a big deal to play Glastonbury and as much as it's an achievement for the band to do it, it's also an achievement for the people behind them.

With the Dan Williams All Stars, the first time that they played the Barfly in London was a big deal too. I'd been going to gigs there for years and years and to actually have your own band there was a real sense of achievement.听听听听听听

Bailiie and the Fault

Have you got an ambition?

Steve: Not really. I'm quite happy doing things at this level where I can make a difference to the people I'm involved with. I'd rather work almost at the grass roots level and make a difference to people who need help. I want to help people move up out of the local scene and on to bigger and better things. If I could make some money out of it that would be great but it's not my driving ambition. Everyone that I manage I have become friends with so I want to do what's right for them and work in their best interests.

The live music scene is very buoyant at the moment. There are a lot of bands out there and a lot of people who want to go and see live bands. It's a really good time to be in a band and for live music as well.

So, what's your best advice for bands?

Steve: The one thing that I stress to all of my bands is that they might only be playing gigs at weekends but you really need to have a professional attitude. You need to turn up at the venue on time, you need to talk to and work with the venue. What's in the interests of the venue is also in your interest so you should work hard to do the publicity in advance and bring people along and just have a professional attitude in everything you do. I don't see any point in going out and doing it half-heartedly. It doesn't matter if there's five people or 1000 people in a room you still need to try and be at your best. For me that's a philosophy about life. There's no point doing anything if you're not going to try and do it to the best of your abilities.听