Hoobastank: Visionary Alternative Rock

Over the past few months I have been paying a great deal of attention to the lyrics of Hoobastank's albums. I had always liked the band, but had not paid much attention to the words until one night. I was working on my computer at around 2:00am when "If I Were You" came on the Internet station I had on in the background.

After hearing that song over 100 times this was the first time I focused on the message. It caught me by surprise that I had not gotten this, so the next song that I heard from Hoobastank, "Outta Control", got my undivided attention so that I could catch the lyrics. Those lyrics also spoke directly to my heart. I went onto YouTube (unbelievable thing!) and fished out about ten songs. All of these songs had some kind of spiritual statement that touched me in some way. Even more, the production, performances, writing, and musical arrangements are top-notch. Being a musician, engineer, producer, manager, and entertainment marketing guy, it's very hard to satisfy my preception of a perfect act. But this is one of them. I went even further, running Googles on the band's sites, and reading the Wikipedia bio about the band, as well as how their tours are fairing.

My conclusion, after a few weeks of thinking this over, is that Hoobastank could be one of the most relevant Alt-Rock acts of the day. Using powerful production methodologies, they profess a point of view about the world on a level that borders religious proffering. Today, when the world seems to be headed backwards by decades, young people need bands like this to put certain issues into perspective. This is not just a rock act, this is a special combination of musicians who are trying to make powerful, but not alienating, statements about what they have learned in their young lives. At this point in time Hoobastank is my #1 rock band. I hope the power of that statement is crystal clear.

Endeverafter: Touring With Poison - Take a Look

I was at my Downtown San Francisco office late one night in March, 2003. I was leaning on my palms listening to CDs that local bands were sending to me. It has always been my policy to listen to at least 2 full cuts, no matter what. But this particular batch had me near comatose stage. My usual clipboard notations were "lousy tunes", "poor performance", "yuck!", etc. Then a CD slapped me right across the face- woke me straight-up.

The CD was sent by Endeverafter, a local Sacramento rock band lead by the, then, 20 year old Michael Grant. I immediately called the number on the disc and left a message. Michael called me back the next morning. When we spoke I asked a lot of questions. I got all of the right answers. They had a major Sacramento radio station giving them 'A1' rotation, the CD I heard was a good-faith gift from a major producer, and they already had calls from several record companies (whom will remain un-named). They did not call the companies back because they had no management, no idea what to say.

I invited them to my office in Downtown San Francisco. They piled into a small puttering car and made the 2-1/2 hour drive. Later, I treated them to the Embarcadero Hilton Atrium for food and drinks to talk. These guys were very respectful, but focused, confident, and serious. Mike, the oldest in the band, was clearly the leader. I went out and saw them play in Sacramento, amazed that the packed crowd was singing to the songs! I knew just what was happening there, and over the next few weeks made an orthodox management offer to the band. The offer stated that I would have them signed to a major label within 2 to 4 months, and I was prepared to put up several hundred thousand dollars to play a hard game on their behalf. If I failed to do so, they would be free and clear to walk.

In the confusion of a lot of third party chatter Mike decided to hold off, which I thought, at the time, was a terrible mistake. I warned him that if they were not careful they could lose the momentum they had. That turned out to be an error statement on my behalf. Over the following two years Mike struggled with a serious lack of guidance and several band member changes. But they never lost their airplay due to their loyal teenage Sacramento fan base, and that's what it's all about. Just this last August, 2006, Sony Music signed Endeverafter. Most people in my position would be upset- that an opportunity got away. But that's not my feeling. Over the past few years I had been very, very, sad that these kids had not been signed- this makes me very happy.

Endeverafter has been touring all summer to packed arenas of 15,000+ people, as 3rd-act-up on Poison's 20th Anniversary Tour. But they just got signed in August, and have no album released (as of this writing). This means that they are being pushed, and pushed very hard. Someone is spending serious political capital on them, and that's how stardom happens. This tour will expose them to nearly 1 million people, creating a buzz and media publicity that will support the eventual album release. Also, the stage experience will tighten them up in the studio, and expose them to the lifestyle antics of the headliners (Poison/Cinderella). They respond very well to studio production support, so the album will Rock. Look out for these guys. There are some very powerful people opening doors for them, and I could not be more stoked!

Michael Grant - Tweeter Arena, Los Angeles