7S's David Bason

Managers do it all. Things they have a hand in include—but are not limited to—shopping for deals, advising on records, approving syncs, strategizing TV looks, scoping out tours and festivals, pondering brand extensions… We get exhausted just thinking about it. That’s why our next live special, due in October, will focus on these tireless champions of their clients’ needs, wants and whims.

To get to know the managers better, we asked them to fill out our farkakteh questionnaire. Also, because they really needed something else to do.

David Bason

7S Management

What was the first concert you ever attended?

Iron Maiden, World Slavery Tour, Regina, Canada, December 1984. I was 11. My friend’s dad had to escort us. Twisted Sister opened up and my buddy’s dad laughed through the entire thing. Two years later I discovered punk rock and the heavy-metal phase ended.

You can go back in time and see any concert. Whom would you see and when?

My dad wouldn’t let me go out on a weeknight to see Doughboys in a basement on the wrong side of town. If I could do it over I would have seen that show.

What’s the single biggest change in a manager’s responsibilities since you started in the biz?

When I started in the business I worked at major labels. It seemed that managers mostly managed the label. The good ones excelled at extracting marketing spends. They’d come in and work the building and get the various departments to open budgets to help develop and grow their acts.

We now build small businesses around artists and expand the team as needed—the manager’s responsibility is to be savvy enough to get a business running without partners; we have to understand how to grow an artist independently.

Name a manager not in your company whom you admire.

Michael McDonald. He has consistently shown that good people can thrive. He has a “What Would Neil Young Do?” poster, so I know his heart is in the right place.

Describe your all-time-favorite photo, memento or tchotchke from your job.

A friend called to tell me my hero Shane MacGowan was day-drinking in Queens. I get on the subway and go to the Irish neighborhood. There he is, slumped over his stool with a pint glass of gin. I ask if he'd sign a postcard of him I grabbed from my desk. He says, “What’s your name?” I say, “Dave.” He says, “Not MY fucking name, your name!” I repeat it. When I get outside I look and see “Good luck Sahne.” Misspelled his own name. Hero!

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

“Don’t go where they have hits; go where they need hits.” —Lenny Beer