Monte Entertainment Information

What gave you the idea to become an agent? One of my dearest friends, Bob Harper who is owner of The Ringside Pub, always told me he thought I would make a great agent. At the time my band was with an agency he was constantly having problems with. He had the foresight to see that in me and has always been a big part of my transition. Also at that time I started to help one of my best friends, Walt Stacey, who had just formed a band called Big Orange Cone. I would just tell club owners hey, my buddys new band is fantastic, you should give them a try. The rest with them is history but it made me realize people actually listened to what I was saying. I started thinking maybe Bob is right? I was also instrumental in some musicians and bands getting together just by socializing within the industry. I started educating myself on what was going on, how deals were made and why. That whole musician mentality of I just want to work got replaced with why am I working? Where is the work coming from? There is a lot of grey in this business and not so much black and white. I learned a lot of what not to do from certain people. I also learned a lot of what you should do from others. Ive always been a realist; I knew there would be a shelf life for what I was doing. The fire I had as an entertainer burns hotter as an agent and I think in some way it was always there. Was it a hard transition to make and do you miss performing? As an entertainer you yearn to please the masses, its your life blood. I can see why most musicians who try to become agents fail. Dont get me wrong, some agents I know are ex musicians but they are the few of many who have tried. My transition was a little bumpy, I opened Monte Entertainment in October of 2008. At the time the industry was so bad some of my friends laughed and said, Nice time to start an agency. I just responded theres nowhere to go but up and Ive been working hard ever since. As far as performing, I feel like I left everything I had on the table. My life was an open book for a while ...