IN THE BEGINNING...

I was either lucky or cursed (depending on how you look at it) to know that I wanted to be in the music business at a very early age...9 to be exact. My father was a lawyer and I used to go to his office in New York City and see white walls and paper everywhere. To my 9 year-old brain, that's what "work" was. Then in the fall of 1977 my family got invited to go to Hilton Head, South Carolina for an event that would change my life forever...

 

My dad's first cousin had built and owned what eventually became the third largest record chain in the U.S. called the Record Bar.  We got invited to attend a 3-day convention during which all the Record Bar managers flew in for company meetings during the days.  By night the record companies would send their artists to perform concerts for everyone. There weren’t many kids privileged enough to attend so they put all the ones that were there in the first table closest to the stage for an artist called the Commodores. I had never been to a concert before and I don't think I blinked once.  I can still remember the costumes, the musicianship and brilliant stage performance from an act on the verge of superstardom…and I was 5 feet from the stage!!  Suffice it to say my nine-year-old mind was completely blown.

 

The next day I was wandering by the pool when I happened to see the singer lying by himself on a chaise lounge. Being 9 and not knowing any better I went up and introduced myself.  He very kindly introduced himself as “Lionel”.  I told him how much I loved the show and asked him some very innocent questions. I don't recall much about the conversation other than at some point he said the words “music business” and a light bulb went off over my head. For the first time I made a connection that whatever it was I saw last night was a job too and I decided right there and then that I wanted “in”!  

Upon my return home the first thing I did was go to the local record store and rather naïvely ask the owner for a job. He laughed, patted me on the head and said I had to be 14 to work.  On my 14th birthday (almost 5 years later) the guy got tired of me asking and finally gave me my first job in the music business.

 

I never looked back. 

 

 

Post script:

 

All through high school and college I continued my pursuit of a music career.  I wanted to play myself but my non-musical parents dissuaded me so I did the next best thing – I made sure I was around the music by working in record stores, radio stations, entertainment law firms, etc.  I also managed and booked bands and produced a handful of concerts…In short I did anything and everything I could do to learn about the music business.  By the time I graduated college I had real experience and some good contacts.  One of those people called me during my senior spring and said “I heard you're graduating, do you want to job?” Without asking what it was I said “yes!” and he offered me a job to be assistant Tour Accountant on tour with AC/DC. I was on my way…