Mike Dias and Greg McVeigh discuss building trust in artist relations on the Roadies and Rebels Podcast

Greg McVeigh (00:00):

Hi everybody. Welcome to the Roadies and Rebels podcast. My name is Greg McVay. Join me today with my guest, Mike Dias, as we talk about artist relations branding, the Roadie Clinic. My book, just 100 questions and a funny little anecdote. I like to call the Nickelback episode. Join us. Let's hit it.

It's Mike Dias. Welcome to Roadies and Rebels, the podcast. How are you doing, my friend?

Mike Dias (00:52):

I'm doing great, man. I'm honored to be here, Greg. Thank you for having me.

Greg McVeigh (00:56):

Well, it's nice to have you. How's the weather where you are? Are the leaves turning yet?

Mike Dias (01:00):

The leaves are turning. It's gorgeous. There's a day of gardening ahead of me. As soon as we finish this. The longer northeast we do this, please. The less work I have to do.

Greg McVeigh (01:10):

But as I mentioned, my air conditioner is off. One man's gardening is another man's, I'm going to die. So before we get going, there's two things I want to talk about before we get into the branding and the artist relations. One is talk about your background and your career path and what got you into this fix essentially. And then I want to talk about the roadie clinic.

Mike Dias (01:36):

Perfect. And we can weave both of these in throughout the new thing you

Greg McVeigh (01:40):

Weave. I'll follow. Well, no, it's my show. God damn it. Okay, go ahead.

Mike Dias (01:44):

I think the most important thing to just put front and center is that I am not a sound engineer. I'm not a musician. I'm here completely by accident. I am an accidental tourist, and I actually think that's what makes me good at my job. I just happen to really love the cast of characters that I end up working with that I fell into and everything else in life. I came about it from all the wrong reasons. I wanted the sex, drugs, rock and roll. Who doesn't?

Greg McVeigh (02:23):

I got to write that down. I didn't think of

Mike Dias (02:25):

That. Yeah, I was just a skinny Jewish kid. Nerdy kid in Las Vegas growing up. Always loving music, always wanting to be in a band, but I'm not a good drummer and I have no rhythm.

Greg McVeigh (02:36):

Wait, wait. I want to stop you. So you played drums?

Mike Dias (02:39):

Yeah.

Greg McVeigh (02:40):

So much of our career paths are similar. I was a terrible drummer. We won't on,

Mike Dias (02:45):

I wasn't a drummer.

Greg McVeigh (02:46):

I couldn't keep time, but I was excited.

Speaker 2 (02:50):

Yeah, I was

Greg McVeigh (02:50):

Excited. Anyway, go back to your story.

Mike Dias (02:52):

I

Speaker 2 (02:52):

Had a van, so that helps.

Greg McVeigh (02:54):

I had a van too. My dad had the car dealership. Having the van helps. Oh yeah.

Mike Dias (03:03):

I've always wanted to be part of it, but it just never clicked and never went that way. And my dad's a general contractor. I came up through construction working for my dad. I came in through the landscaping route of it. I was like, this beats roofing. It turns out that actually digging holes in the desert doesn't beat roofing at all.

Greg McVeigh (03:28):

It's all the same. It's pretty much the same. I would imagine

Mike Dias (03:34):

There was this intellectual property attorney and he's like, Hey, I want to fund you. And I was like, oh my God, this guy wants to bankroll my idea of an arboretum or plants or something. And when I pitched him my idea, he's like, that's literally the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I only wanted this meeting with you because I have a client I want you to work for. You can help them raise capital. And that client was Mindy and Jerry Harvey when they were first starting out at ultimate years. Okay, got it. Got it. Yeah.

Greg McVeigh (04:05):

And they started ultimate years.

Mike Dias (04:07):

They started ultimate, ultimate years. It was Mindy and Jerry and ex-wife and ex-husband dynamic duo. And I started, not only was my first job in the industry to write Ultimate Ears business plan with this attorney, but in learning what their business was to write this business plan, I ended up doing a lot of writing for Jerry. So all those old Live sound International articles with his name on them, that was Jerry teaching me the fundamentals of what an in-ear monitor is, what a frequency response is, what Monitor world is. And I am sure nobody really took this horse seriously, because who's going to bet on a gardener to make any moves, not

Greg McVeigh (04:55):

Me. And I think the story gets lost that Jerry started Ultimate Ears. He's known as JH Audio and then now that's been, I think sold. But he was the original guy with,

Mike Dias (05:12):

He was the original guy and in Ears Mind existed before Jerry, but I knew that Jerry commercialized in ears. Jerry blew in ears up to where they are today because that's Jerry. Anything Jerry touches is going to succeed because Jerry does not lose.

Greg McVeigh (05:30):

And he had Van Halen. He do a lot of it was Alex or he told, and I don't want to get distracted from your story, but I mean I always thought that was pretty interesting

Mike Dias (05:41):

Actually. Their intersecting stories. I really came up by being Jerry's invisible left hand. And so they're the same story. Jerry just does it better. I'm just the assistant to it. But this is eternal theme of who started in-ears, why they're relevant. And it's a movie project I've been working on as you know, and I get a little bit more me. There were two competing companies, two existing in-ears that were on the market. And Jerry got the gig with Van Halen because he was a monitor, an in-ear monitor expert at the time, which means he had 30 hours within ears. And he had just come off of Humper Dan because of hearing needs. And the first set that he gave to Alex, Alex sets the sticks down and leans into the snare mic and he's like, Jerry, I thought you knew what you were doing. Ooh,

Greg McVeigh (06:41):

Yeah, yeah. Right, right. We'll get into horror stories later, but I want to hear that one.

Mike Dias (06:46):

Oh, it gets worse. And Jerry scrambles and he runs over. He is like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, boss. He gives him the next one and he sets the sticks back down. He's like, if you'd like to keep your job with Van Halen. Ouch. And that's what started Jerry off on this run. And to me, what the greatest line is in this whole story. Had any of the existing manufacturers listened to some of Jerry's requests? It's not like he wanted to go off and do this. He just wanted a tool that worked.

Greg McVeigh (07:26):

Right.

Mike Dias (07:26):

So first he called everybody, he's like, Hey, can you change? He

Greg McVeigh (07:28):

Wanted to take care of the artist.

Mike Dias (07:29):

Yeah, the topic. This is the thread of everything we're going to talk about. Jerry just wanted something that worked because he wanted to keep his job and the rest is history. And I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for that. And I think that I've had a positive impact on the industry and everybody that I've been able to help all from that.

Greg McVeigh (07:51):

How long were you at ue? I mean, that's when I met you.

Mike Dias (07:55):

Yeah, well that would be the second time around.

Greg McVeigh (07:57):

Yeah, maybe I'm jumping ahead. Go ahead.

Mike Dias (08:01):

I mean, I've been at UE my whole career in one way or the other. I've been there 20 plus years. I don't think I was employee number one. I preceded employee number one and was probably employee number two. So remind me how we first met, because it's really, I'm not good with time and I don't really remember a life without Greg.

Greg McVeigh (08:24):

That's so sad. I had this thing in my head that I was so fascinated by in-ear monitors. I don't know why. I just thought it was amazing. I'd been obviously been around it. I started bugging you first, I was bugging anybody at Youi at a trade show, and I was so naive to the whole thing. I said, I could help you with artists, and I dunno if it was Jeanette or somebody said, everybody's an artist that we talk to. I thought I was going to open some doors for you

(08:56)
Not knowing the whole background of how this stuff works. And then you and I became friends would hang out, and I remember being at dinner somewhere and you said, give me a price if we can do some freelance work together. And that's really what we got going. And you and I became a good team. I really enjoyed our time. I knew I could call you, and we will get into this a little bit deeper later, but I could call you and you'd support me or vice versa if I felt like I think we should give this guy a set of ears, which rarely happened. If you felt it was right, you'd go to bat or take care of the person. Maybe it wasn't free necessarily, but hey, so-and-so has had a bad run with something and we got to take care of 'em. And that was really how we unit. I got together and became friends, and here we are

Mike Dias (09:51):

Are the only person I know when I call and I'm like, Hey, I've got this idea and I pitch it to you, you're like, that's horrible. I hope I don't always

Greg McVeigh (09:59):

Say that.

Mike Dias (10:00):

Not always, but you're the only person who, besides my wife that shoots me straight. And likewise, if you say, Hey, I think we should do this, you've bypassed every filter. And I always say yes. And to me, that's actually the root of my success of placement in all of this is listening to the people who come before me and who know,

Greg McVeigh (10:22):

Yeah, well, I

Mike Dias (10:23):

Don't mean to make it that simple, but it really is.

Greg McVeigh (10:25):

No, it's such a rarity. This is going to become just like, oh, I love you, man. But it's such a rarity to have people that you can work with and it is becoming more and more rare. And it's such a shame, I think, because all you have to do is get along with people and talk. Lemme call Mike. Okay. Now granted, you and I are competitors at the moment, but we won't get into that. That

Mike Dias (10:48):

Happens actually, I think that's the most fascinating part of it.

Greg McVeigh (10:51):

I don't, I'm sick of that shit. But that aside, and even having said that, we're still are very, very close. And I would say the same about, I work with sound mics longtime client, and I would say the same about, I know Ryan Smith at Sure, I know everybody. And we do get along. I mean, we're certainly competitors and all that, but I can talk to you guys and go, Hey, what do you think about this? And so many companies, I would put it on companies more. They don't talk outside of their gang. And it's kind of a drag for you and I, because sometimes we are, I think feel like, oh God, we're just all alone out here flailing around. But on the other hand, we talk to everybody. I know you do big time and I do. And it's paid off in some nebulous, intangible way.

Mike Dias (11:53):

So I actually think that when you first proposed this talk, I'm a huge fan of Marin's, WTF, when he's talking to comedians when he's really talking shop. And I was like, oh my God, this is as close as we're ever going to get two old hats who really understand this world inside out from the outside. I think everybody misunderstands relations and placement and makes it, it looks glamorous or mysterious, and it's none of those things.

Greg McVeigh (12:25):

It's just

Mike Dias (12:26):

None of those things. And so being able to shop with somebody who lives it and who really understands it, because if you're good in this world, you can make anything happen. You literally, that is the definition of your job is to make magic happen is the rest of your company or your associations or everything, all the other intangibles that blow it. But you

Greg McVeigh (12:55):

Yeah, exactly. You and I have talked about this, and I don't know how to be careful with what we're saying, but I agree. You've told me you've done something with an artist. I'm going, that's amazing. You got to, I am a fan or I don't even need to be a fan, but I know the power of that artist and Mike is talking and getting that artist to use the gear that you're representing, and I know nothing's going to come of it potential. I see that

Mike Dias (13:27):

A lot. And again, I do this for a lot of companies. You do this for a lot of companies, and so there's no names attached to this. This is just, again, two insiders really talking shop. But what I want to convey to anyone who's listening or who wants to get into this space or who wants to understand this or master this, is that placement is just one part of a much larger conversation. And it's not your silver bullet. If you don't have all your other pieces buttoned up and you're putting your hopes on so-and-so artist is going to use my product, and that's going to change everything. Time out. Don't start. Don't play the game. It's not worth it. I try to understand or I try to think of where did this come from? And the closest analogy I can get is Jordan and what he did for Nike.

Greg McVeigh (14:26):

Yeah, sure.

Mike Dias (14:28):

Except Nike had all the fundamentals.

Greg McVeigh (14:32):

Nike ran with it

Mike Dias (14:34):

Before Jordan. Right? Jordan didn't just happen. There was so much work before Jordan and supporting Jordan and working through Jordan. Jordan was a piece of the puzzle, part of the spice and the recipe, but

Greg McVeigh (14:51):

Not, he was the artist. He was the artist. He was the artist. The rest was the branding. And that's where they had the, and it's an example that mere mortals like us in our industry, we'll never get to, but that's a great example. All the pieces were in place. We're talking millions of dollars in ad spend, and wasn't Spike Lee involved? I mean, they just had stuff going, but the vision was there. And you can still have the vision in our smaller industry, but you've got to have a sense of, okay, what are we going to do this person in a way, or this opportunity, this person, this opportunity?

Mike Dias (15:33):

What are we, the fundamental question, who are we as a company? What do we stand for? What do we want to achieve? Let me flip this around for a second. You've done this for so long. What is success? What does it mean when you have a successful placement?

Greg McVeigh (15:52):

I'm starting to lose track. And I think from my perspective, and this is probably a good time to talk about this, because when you asked me to send you some notes so you could talk, this is what I got back from you, and this is what I'm working on and what's on my arm. So you're going to have to bear with me here. Oh, there's a cocktail napkin too. I think this is a good time. You're getting off my,

Speaker 2 (16:20):

Sorry, sorry, sorry.

Greg McVeigh (16:21):

No, that's okay. Hit me water. Are you done? Are you done with your career path,

Speaker 2 (16:25):

Gardner?

Greg McVeigh (16:26):

Ultimate Ears, what do you do? You work with Earthworks now. I know, but you do a lot of other things too. You speak at.

Speaker 2 (16:35):

I

Mike Dias (16:36):

Do. I've

Speaker 2 (16:36):

Had

Mike Dias (16:36):

This

Greg McVeigh (16:37):

Really dumb idea.

Mike Dias (16:38):

Let's get idea that I can teach people everything that I've had a chance to see and learn because I've had this almost famous accidental tourist career arc.

Greg McVeigh (16:49):

I caught Forres

Mike Dias (16:50):

Gump in

Speaker 2 (16:51):

My

Greg McVeigh (16:51):

Case,

Mike Dias (16:52):

Right?

Speaker 2 (16:53):

There's a lot

Greg McVeigh (16:54):

Gum my way through it.

Speaker 2 (16:58):

But

Mike Dias (16:59):

I actually think that to truly understand what I do and what I've been able to achieve, I try to break it down to the small bits and components. And when I break those little pieces down, I realize I have a lot to offer every company and any individual who's at any level of their career, whether they're just starting out or they're quite progressed. And so I have this silly dream that I'm slowly sneaking up on that I'm able to take the excellence that I've learned and seen firsthand from the road and apply that to career executives. And so I have this whole pitch called performance psychology. What entertainers can teach executives or what executives can learn from entertainment professionals, right? We can talk about this for days, but this basic idea is that the show must go on. There is no room for failure. The doors are open and curtains up and everything is going to break leading up to it. And yet, what do you do and how do you perform and how do you keep that illusion of a show, that magic, that teamwork, that grit and that excellence moving forward through everything that you do. And at first, I thought that was just understanding networking and how to be with people and how to play the favor game again, placements.

(18:33)
But I realized it was really much larger than that. It really was taking everything that I've had a chance to see from the road. What I love about our jobs, if you call someone or they call you, they're able to sum you up in less than three seconds flat. Are you Greg going to help them or are you going to be in their way and they need to work around you?

Greg McVeigh (18:54):

Are you going to come through?

Mike Dias (18:56):

Are you going to come through When you say, I got it, does it mean I got it? Because they don't really have a choice. They're either going to work with you or work through you. And I love that. I am a really binary person, and I love this cut and dry. And when I start thinking about how it applies to life in general, to me, I think the sky's the limit. And I'm chipping away at that dream and I'm getting closer and closer and closer to watching it succeed all the time.

Greg McVeigh (19:22):

That's great. That's great. You want to talk about the Roadie Clinic? Let's, you and I are both involved a little more, but the Roadie Clinic is in Niles, Michigan. Paul and Courtney Clemson, who you introduced me to run it. And why don't you go from there

Mike Dias (19:42):

Before I tee that up every else? No, I tee it

Speaker 2 (19:45):

Up before I take the ball and run with it. I teed it up

Mike Dias (19:50):

Like everybody else that I introduce you to. I always get the call offline like, oh my God, where did you find Greg? How have I ever lived life without his help and why is he such a badass? And my response is always the same. I was like, he started smoking Mexican cigarettes at nine.

Greg McVeigh (20:09):

Someone had to do it, that

Speaker 2 (20:13):

That says it all. And nobody ever asked another question. They're like, oh, yeah, yeah, okay, I got to remember that. I'm glad I told you that. I'm

Mike Dias (20:22):

Your PR dude.

Greg McVeigh (20:23):

It stayed with you, huh?

Mike Dias (20:25):

I'm your hype guy. That's all you need to say on your website. I started,

Greg McVeigh (20:30):

I'm trying to get clients trying to, at nine, he smoked a Mexican cigarette on the roof of some building that might not be, I didn't tell you the part where I threw up the whole rest of the afternoon,

Mike Dias (20:45):

But that is how you keep your clients. It might not be how you get 'em, but it's definitely how you keep,

Greg McVeigh (20:50):

So the Roadie Clinic,

Mike Dias (20:52):

The Roadie Clinic is out there doing God's work for everybody in the touring industry, and they exist to support professionals on the road and their partners at home when their significant others are gone. In what way

Greg McVeigh (21:14):

Can you be a little more specific

Mike Dias (21:16):

In every way possible, but first and foremost, just to be an ear. Most people who are in the business, if you're good in the business, you're gone for 9, 10, 11 months of the year. If you're home more than that, and maybe there's a sign that you're not that good,

Greg McVeigh (21:40):

You've got to stay in it or you get ignored, no matter how good you are,

Mike Dias (21:45):

You'll move to the bottom. It's hard to make a life. It's not hard to make a life. It's hard to balance a life. It's hard to balance your partner, your kids, your family, like all the things, like you're bringing in an amazing income and you're doing a fabulous job as a head of your household. And yet it comes with some real challenges and tour life, the excitement, the adrenaline of putting a show on is different than dealing with the day-to-day at home. And so the Roadie Clinic exists to help professionals on the road when they are feeling overwhelmed or lonely or confused, and they exist to help home life, find that balance and that understanding. And through that mission, they have a lot of other ways that they achieve this. They have been able to set up programs where you on the road have access to medicine, pharmacies, therapists, no matter what state line you're in, and at a price that everybody can afford again, still while taking care of yours at home.

(22:58)
They have a program where they're able to, if there is a pr, not pr, I'm sorry, if there's an HR emergency or a real crisis emergency, that they are there boots on the ground, making sure that you have the professionals that you need and the help that you need. And we've all sadly seen this firsthand. And that's when I say that the work they're doing is probably some of the most important work that our industry has seen. I cannot imagine some of the things that our fellow coworkers deal with and see on a fairly regular, too frequent basis. And Paul and Courtney are there to support. And

Greg McVeigh (23:46):

It should be said that touring people, for the most part have no insurance, no health insurance. I mean, I should say they're living on the edge when it comes to that.

Mike Dias (23:55):

And the Rotary Clinic

Greg McVeigh (23:56):

Solved that. We

Mike Dias (23:57):

Had nothing. Yeah, it was scary. They have solved that. They've put together a program that changes that dynamic.

Greg McVeigh (24:03):

Yeah, that's huge. I remember going out, the limited touring I did with Sound Image and Buffet was that you're a freelance person. And so everything that comes with that, maybe the money's bumped up a little, which is great, but you have no benefits. And then that's why those folks live from tour to tour to tour because they need, they're great at what they do, don't get me wrong, but they need that work to offset if they have to shell out for insurance and all those expenses that sometimes so-called Real Jobs provide. So I mean, I love what they're doing at the clinic,

Mike Dias (24:44):

But the part that I love the most and where I actually got elevated and where this ties in with placements and relations out of the goodness of their heart, out of love, out of how do we give to the people that are doing this, to the unsung heroes that make the shows happen? Courtney has been putting together these care packages.

Greg McVeigh (25:04):

Yeah, I've seen something online, but I'm not clear. So explain it.

Mike Dias (25:07):

Oh, this is the greatest, and this is where this gets so exciting and where this ties in for you and me. She has been going around on her own dime buying treats, but usable treats, like laundry bags, things you actually want when you are traveling. Shoes, not,

Speaker 2 (25:30):

I don't where I get shoes, socks. She's not going to do shoes. Shoes. No, but she's shoes for roadies. She'd get in the Necessities Care pack,

Mike Dias (25:44):

The basics. The basics that you actually want with laundry and then with treats, sweetss like these homemade chocolates or all of these little tiny pieces and that. She puts these in these bags and she brings down, she either mails 'em out or hand delivers 30 to 50 of these at a time. And it's a great foot in the door for the roadie clinic because when they're dropping all this off,

Greg McVeigh (26:09):

Where do they drop it off? Sorry to interrupt, but at a show or

Mike Dias (26:12):

Visit a

Greg McVeigh (26:13):

Venue or, yeah. Okay, got

Mike Dias (26:14):

It. If a venue or a show, or really it's if somebody needs help, one of these HR or crisis has come up, they're there to take care of it, and then they're starting to talk with everybody else on the bus and they're there like Santa Claus with these great treats, and everybody sits and listens and is like, oh my God, I can't believe you're doing all this work for us on our behalf, and I really needed this. And even just a little tiny piece of chocolate feels like home.

Greg McVeigh (26:46):

That makes a

Mike Dias (26:46):

Difference. It makes a huge difference, and it bypasses everything else and goes right to the heart. It lets people feel seen, feel like they matter. The work that they're doing has a bigger purpose,

Greg McVeigh (27:02):

Right? Sure,

Mike Dias (27:03):

Sure. Here's where this gets crazy because Courtney understands what it's like to be at home when Paul's out touring, half the care packages go to the partners. They don't just send these over to everybody who's on the road. They take care of all the people who are left behind and make sure,

Greg McVeigh (27:24):

Like a spouse or

Mike Dias (27:26):

Like a spouse. Got it.

Greg McVeigh (27:28):

So

Mike Dias (27:28):

That

Greg McVeigh (27:28):

Some of love That is really sweet. I like that. It's

Mike Dias (27:31):

Genius. Not only is Courtney self financing this, I know, but this is the dream opportunity of any manufacturer in pro audio or outside of pro audio trying to get in front of all of the decision makers.

(27:46)
Not only could anybody help Courtney Finance putting all of these together, but just the ability of a company to be part of this love that is going to all the decision makers and all of the unsung heroes to me is the greatest opportunity that they have for fundraising, for awareness, for placement, for sponsorship. And I hopefully will take this and run with this and turn this into a global institution. Because whenever I'm working, I really do try to look for opportunities that put the decision makers, the true heroes at the center of everything and that let everybody else get a piece of it. And you could not write this story out better. I can say as a manufacturer, I spent my life working on manufacturer side, not on touring side.

Greg McVeigh (28:43):

Yeah, you and me both pretty much.

Mike Dias (28:45):

This is a manufacturer's dream come true to be able to have all the work done. And all I have to do is cut a check. Yeah, just sign me up. This is the greatest any manufacturer could ever get,

Greg McVeigh (28:58):

Even outside. Well, you know all about this. And we got to get, the whole idea was not the whole idea, but that part of the proceeds go to the roadie clinic. Now, sales have been a little lean. I think I've learned a lot about self-publishing. I tell people it's the Spotify of publishing good thought, not a lot of money, but that's the sort of thing that helps. And I remember we sent a check to Courtney and Paul and I said, I think Claudia, my wife, said, I wish it could be more, because it has been kind of a struggle. And she was so gracious. She said, you'd be surprised how much I can do with a couple hundred bucks. And so we keep at it. Every time I sell a book, I'm like, they're getting some change.

Mike Dias (29:49):

She's the greatest compounder for good. And our entire industry should be paying attention to what they are doing. I agree. Who they take care of, and our entire industry should be writing checks. There were some really early companies who supported them from the beginning. And I'd like to say thank you to all of those players who put their name and bet on what Courtney and Paul were doing, and I can't wait to see what the next 20 years. Yeah, no,

Greg McVeigh (30:20):

People have such respect for the roadie clinic, even though they're not always clear. I was glad. That's why I wanted to hear from you, Mr. Board of Directors. I'm working on a second book, you know that. And one

Mike Dias (30:35):

Of the, which by the way, you don't always listen to me either.

Greg McVeigh (30:39):

True. Oh, true. I don't listen to anybody the

Speaker 2 (30:42):

I don't think so. It's not a good idea. I know. I'll read it. I'll buy it. Mine's sitting right over. Yeah, you will

Greg McVeigh (30:48):

On my book. But anyway, so when I was working on the second one, I had Kerry Keys and Greg Nelson, who happened to both work with Pearl Jam, and I told Carrie about the roadie connection. She said, oh, Pearl, the Pearl Jam Foundation sent, I dunno if it was a donation or something, but yes, it's a huge one. Yes. So it's out there, but it's like you just got to keep getting that word out. And I'm not sure, sometimes with a foundation, maybe they're trying to be a little below radar, but boy, I would encourage you to move some of that above radar, those stories.

Mike Dias (31:25):

I'm trying. And I'm lucky enough in life where I've been putting all my attention on helping companies grow and be culturally relevant, because again, at the heart of relations and placement is trust. That's all this is, is we're just trading commodities of trust. I'm now able to do this for something to a greater good, with a greater cause or a greater impact.

Greg McVeigh (31:48):

Yeah. No, it's good stuff.

Mike Dias (31:52):

Well,

Greg McVeigh (31:53):

Let's do this. We're going to kind of wrap this up, but let's get down to some of the nitty gritty with artist relations of just the weird

Speaker 2 (32:00):

Shit.

Greg McVeigh (32:01):

Yeah,

Speaker 2 (32:01):

Let's do it.

Greg McVeigh (32:02):

I always think that's fun. I'll give you one last, this will go into horror stories and then you tell me one, and then we'll wrap this up. But it kind of plays into what we're talking about. A few years back, oh geez. Well before COVID il got a call from someone saying he was Daniel Adair Nickelbacks drummer, wanting, he was building a home studio in Florida. Everything sounded semi right and wanted to hi and was using a little bit of hi on the road with Nickelback and all that. So in defensive sound, they got excited about this and they sent him a box of mics and microphones. At the end of the day, it's not the end of the world.

(32:52)
But anyway, it was a thousand dollars worth of mics sent to this address and St. Lucie, Florida and Port St. Lucie. And then it gets handed to me and I immediately smell a rat. Like why would the drummer, it gets back to this is sort of the opposite of that. If you're talking to the artist, if you're talking to the artist at that level, something's probably fishy. But I thought, I'll see this through because you never know. And I'm emailing Daniel. Well, it was Daniel a as the drummer, because I later got in touch with the real guy. And so I'm emailing and he's saying, yeah, I got the mics. I'm going to start using 'em and I'll be glad to endorse 'em and all this stuff. And I said, there must be some layers of management. I'd be glad to talk to your manager. I really need to be careful with all this. And I know you're touring, I think with Claire, and is that okay? And all that. And I said, oh, it's fine. In fact, Greg, I want you to come down to my home and we'll go tarpon fishing with Tiger Woods. Then I'm like, there's no way.

Speaker 2 (34:03):

Oh, this gets better

Greg McVeigh (34:04):

And better. Yeah. Oh, it was incredible. So I thought, I'm going to get ahold of Joe Kaiser who mixes Nickelback. This gets back to how important it is to know these people. So I called Joe, and Joe loves Hile. He loved Bob Hile and all that. And he said, I use some bits here and there, but I don't. He said, I think that's really cool that Daniel did that. We're on a break, but we'll go back into rehearsal in a couple of weeks. I said, well, I just wanted you to know and make sure you're okay with how this is oddly shaping up. So then about three weeks later, I get a call from Joe saying, you better sit down. That is not Daniel R. Daniel Adair. He knows nothing about this.

Mike Dias (34:53):

This is the greatest prank, by the way, Greg, I wish it was me. I wish that I had pulled your chain on this, and I could have the reveal this exact moment, but I never even would've. It would never even enter my mind to pose as the Nickelback drummer.

Greg McVeigh (35:09):

Well, it's pretty odd.

Mike Dias (35:11):

It's

Greg McVeigh (35:11):

Pretty

Mike Dias (35:11):

Odd. Somebody is smarter than you and me.

Greg McVeigh (35:13):

Well, he's in jail now. I happen to know he's in jail. I was then with the detective from the Port thing, and he screwed the city out of money for concerts, and he was just a conman type. And I later, I wrote a blog about, this is years ago, but about my two Daniels and the real Daniel Dare sent me a picture with Joe and was really cool about it. But that's why I guess my message is be careful when you're talking to the artist and also know those production people. I was able to get ahold of Joe and say, is this cool? And even at the beginning he was kind of like, okay,

Mike Dias (35:58):

Yeah, it's fine.

Greg McVeigh (35:59):

But then he was good enough to say, I hope you're sitting down. Anyway, that's my story. Give me one.

Mike Dias (36:09):

By the way, I think that that has more traction. Sometimes a placement, the win of a placement is not what you really think it is going to be. You expect, and I think this one has better longevity,

Greg McVeigh (36:21):

And what if I had run with it? What if I had done press on it, for lack a better word, I would've been in so much trouble with Joe Kaiser, with Claire, potentially with Daniel Adair from Nickelback was Nickelback hot band, no matter what you think, I would've blown everything,

Mike Dias (36:39):

Everything, everything. And by the way, it's easy to fall for this one. It would've been really easy. You just happened to be so good at what you do that you knew who to call. Yeah. Had you just been starting in, that was the main

Greg McVeigh (36:53):

Thing because it didn't seem right to me at the get go, but there was a side of me that thought, well, this is odd, but so be it. These Canadians maybe, who knows, they go to Florida and they lose their mind.

Mike Dias (37:06):

I had a boss and she was great at many things, but this aspect of the business she did not understand at all. And she wanted me to work with Spoon and have the lead singer stop in the middle of his concert and shook our headphones and throw them out into the audience. Okay, picture that you are in

Greg McVeigh (37:35):

Ears or was this a headphone? Headphone?

Mike Dias (37:37):

It was a derivative of the in ears, like a consumer version that they were trying to get popular. And she's like, you could ask for this. And I was like,

Greg McVeigh (37:47):

Must

Mike Dias (37:48):

I could if I wanted to lose all form of credibility and respect, because you've just lost all credibility and respect with me by even putting me in that position. I

Greg McVeigh (38:01):

Know the answer.

Mike Dias (38:03):

The answer. First of all, I don't know. Spoon. I was dealing with their publicist,

Greg McVeigh (38:09):

Indie, indie thing. Yeah, sure, sure. It's not,

Mike Dias (38:12):

I don't know the lead singer and I didn't know their management.

Greg McVeigh (38:17):

You got to ask 'em to do whatever. Hi, you don't know

Mike Dias (38:21):

Me.

Speaker 2 (38:23):

And even if I did, it's just

Mike Dias (38:29):

There are impossible asks and there are dumb asks.

Greg McVeigh (38:33):

I was going to say, it's dumb.

Mike Dias (38:35):

This is a dumb ask.

Greg McVeigh (38:36):

Who does this?

Mike Dias (38:36):

An impossible ask is, it could be a good idea. You just don't have the right people in position to,

Greg McVeigh (38:43):

Yeah, it's too big or too cumbersome. Sure,

Mike Dias (38:46):

Sure.

Greg McVeigh (38:47):

Any

Mike Dias (38:47):

Of that, or it just comes down to access and who you know and what you're willing to, yeah,

Greg McVeigh (38:55):

This is probably not going to happen, but with the best

Mike Dias (38:58):

Of intentions, this is so far out of character and what a bummer for fans at a show who are there to hear the hits and to see the show itself and all of a sudden like stop in the middle of it and Hey everybody, I've got this concert's brought to you by so-and-so, Henry is a good headphone.

Greg McVeigh (39:17):

Not going to happen, not going to happen.

Mike Dias (39:19):

Dumbest thing. And

Greg McVeigh (39:23):

Look, I get shaky hearing it.

Mike Dias (39:26):

If I had to pick between which fail, I would err on the side of doing nothing rather than err on the side of nuking my career and reputation.

Greg McVeigh (39:37):

Yeah, that'll stay with you. That move.

Mike Dias (39:41):

So there's a medium between those two that I'd like to think is a little healthy. And my advice for anybody who's listening is that go into this with a healthy dose of reality. Don't ever ask for too much. And even if it turns out to be nothing and you're chasing it and chasing it and chasing it, and it still never manifests, the goodwill and the word of mouth trumps anything else. It really does. And that's the ROI. They're using the product and not the competitors. And sometimes that's good enough

Greg McVeigh (40:22):

Reputation on investment. ROI. That's better. I think we're done here. I think we nailed this puppy. I can't thank you enough man. And we could do another down the road, another episode. I think we're just getting started with this. This is sort of the beautiful dark art thing that we're in. Hey, let's get the roadie clinic rocking, you and me.

Mike Dias (40:44):

Let's do it.

Greg McVeigh (40:44):

Alright brother

Mike Dias (40:45):

Paul, Courtney, this is for you guys.

Greg McVeigh (40:47):

Alright, talk to you later. Thank you my friend. Bye. Bye.

‍