Harvey Leeds - PollstarPro

Executive Interview s
Harvey Leeds
Epic Records Group
W
elcome to A.D.D., the first course for Artist
Development for Dummies. Of course, that
stands for attention deficit disorder, too.
Those who know the senior VP of
artist development at Epic Records
Group would expect nothing more
or nothing less.
Normally, a directory profile
focuses on one individual’s background and perspective, a single
voice examining the record biz’s
past, present or future. But Harvey,
who saw MTV launch and make
stars of Epic clients Cyndi Lauper,
Culture Club and Michael Jackson
among so many others, and who
has stories about everyone from
The Clash to Howard Stern to Rage
Against The Machine, has had
enough with talking.
The simple message Harvey
wants to communicate is: You are
only as good as the music you work
with and the people who surround
you. His challenge for this profile
was figuring out how to extend
that one message into the following
pages.
He fretted about this profile.
Should it be about issues facing the
record company? Ticket buys and
surcharges? Touring promotion and
radio coverage? It all seemed so...
so ordinary. Then, in late February
near deadline, he sat down with
representatives for the Dummies
book series. They asked him to
write a version of the series for the
record business.
So he decided he wanted
to do something similar for his
profile, naming it A.D.D. with
Harvey Leeds. Let’s shake it up a
bit, he thought. In fact, there’s a
Page 12 2002 Edition
section where Harvey interviews
Mudvayne’s Ryan Martinie.
“Much like how he wants to cast
the spotlight away from himself in
this article, that’s also his leadership style,” the department’s Romeo
Thomas told POLLSTAR. “He’s
kind of a guru.”
One time, Thomas, who is
Indian-American, and Harvey’s
assistant, Parag Bhandari, also
Indian-American, bought Harvey
a turban to wear around the office.
Near the end of the day, Epic General Manager Steve Barnett walked
into the artist development office to
find Harvey with turban, Thomas
and Bhandari sitting cross-legged,
banging on Indian tablas and
filling up the 21st and 22nd floors
of Epic with curried Indian food.
“He’s pretty unique; he’s a crazy
dude,” Thomas said. “Anybody
who has had the fortune to meet
such an individual knows he’s kind
of the artists’ record executive.
He cares about the music and he’s
passionate about the artists. He’s
one of the last standing executives
who really gets it and, at the end
of the day, is a nice individual.”
The other thing everyone knows
about Harvey is he’s a foodie.
Epic artists know that if Harvey’s
nearby, they will be visiting the
best road food indigenous to that
city whether it’s a greasy spoon or a
four-star restaurant. He is involved
with several charity dinners,
including the Nordoff-Robbins
charity dinner that just saluted
Frank Barsalona. West Coast artist
development chief Adriana Sierra
said his office
is filled with cookbooks and he
has a file cabinet filled with
recipes.
“His relationships with people
in the industry are immense,”
Bhandari said “We tried to get this
band on Ozzfest. He sent out a
package to three people in the same
company. And, he’ll always manage
to put something personal in there
because he knows them, but it’s
never a boring, scary, straightforward business approach. He
always throws in something to let
people know that he cares about
them, and they’ll know there’s
someone at that huge, big-ass major
label who cares about the music.”
Harvey began his career in the
’60s as “general manager” of the
first radio station in the U.S. to play
and track Monkees albums in their
entirety. The station was called
Radio Harvey and it broadcasted
as far as his neighbor’s house from
a transmitter he bought at a local
electronics store.
That inspired him to take
classes at the communications
school at Syracuse University in
1972 while working on his major in
advertising psychology. He worked
for CBS Records as a college rep,
making $15 a week promoting
shows for Loudon Wainwright,
Herbie Hancock, Big Star, David
Bromberg, Mahavishnu Orchestra,
and Firesign Theater.
Meanwhile, he spun discs at
WOUR in Utica, N.Y., and hosted
an overnight jazz radio show called
“While the City Sleeps” on 100,000watt WONO in upstate New York,
getting phone calls from as far away
as Toronto.
After graduating, he soured on
his pursuit of advertising. Instead,
Harvey got “the greatest job in the
whole world” by continuing to work
for CBS Records as the East Coast
college promotions rep, in charge
of Boston and Washington, D.C.
A year later, he was in charge
of East Coast album promotion for
Epic; his title was FM Specialist.
Basically, his job was to convince
DJs to spin Epic artists. Meat Loaf ’s
Bat Out Of Hell broke in his territory — New York, Boston, Philly
and Cleveland, as well as the
Boston album.
“Boston played a WMMR
advertisers party in Philadelphia
at the time to literally 200 people,”
Harvey said. “While the rest of the
band and the advertisers shmoozed,
I took (guitarist) Tom Scholz across
the street and put him on the air at
WYSP. I, of course, got in trouble for
that. This was the beginning of my
education in radio wars.”
Harvey was the first “vidiot” –
a video promotion rep – for a new
format called MTV. Using his
background in radio promotion,
POLLSTAR REVEALS the side of Harvey
his wife doesn’t know about. Actually,
Julia Roberts was the chairperson for
one of Harvey’s famous charity dinners
in New York in the fall of 2000.
POLLSTAR
s Executive Interview
mas said. “All I can
say is that having
Harvey at Epic and
the relationships he
has only helps our
video promotion
department. The
people who run
MTV are some
of the people he
worked with when
it started out.”
Or, as Bhandari
said, Harvey will
followup like
nobody’s business.
“He goes after it.
Look at the partnerTHE RELATIONSHIP between Howard Stern and Harvey
ship he and Brian
Leeds dates back to when Harvey first met the radio
personality at a Hartford radio station more than 20 years
Greenberg at CAA
ago. L-R: Guitarist Twiggy Ramirez, Marilyn Manson,
have created to
Howard, Harvey, Ozzy Osbourne and Stern sidekick
break a band like
Robin Quivers grab a moment together when Harvey and
Good Charlotte – if
Ozzy visit the set in 1999.
he wants something,
he’s going to get it
he helped launch the future juggeror he’s going to die trying.”
naut that in turn helped launch so
many Epic artists.
When Harvey won the
And now for a little . . .
POLLSTAR Concert Industry
A.D.D. with Harvey Leeds
Award this year for artist development executive, it marked his third
year working on the artists’ side
Best concert venue.
of the business. Sierra thought the
win could have been because the
Red Rocks or The Gorge
department has developed better
relationships with agents and
Worst concert venue.
promoters.
Or it could be because at Epic,
Randall’s Island, but that will
the department is more than just
change when Q-Prime builds its
“the keeper of the tickets,” as
shed there.
Harvey says.
“It’s radio station visits, the
Best live album.
phoners, the budgets,” tour specialist Gayle Miller told POLLSTAR.
It’s a tie: Live at Leeds by The
“Whether it’s going to be an in-store Who and James Brown Live at
appearance, a CD signing or a
the Apollo.
radio show, we work with all the
parties involved to make it come
Worst live album.
together that day.”
But everyone on Epic’s artist
The Best of Marcel Marceau.
development staff agrees it may
(Phone rings) Tell whoever it is
have to do with Harvey’s unique
I’m busy. Shit, it’s Larry Magid.
background.
I gotta take this. Also, tell John
“I don’t know how many people
Dittmar I’ll call him back and I’d
in his suit at other labels were the
prefer a bottle of Maneschewitz
former heads of promotion at their
than that bottle he sent me for my
labels in the ’80s and ’90s,” Thobirthday.
POLLSTAR
Jack Black.
He and Kyle (Gass) are the D –
the greatest band in the world.
Jack will be a multimedia star
continuing where Belushi left off.
What do you think would
make the concert business
better and more creative?
Bring back Bill Graham or at
least have a weekly seance and ask
him his opinion.
Clear Channel Communications.
Today’s trading range: 47.44 48.48.
Worst headaches.
Radio station shows.
Following up.
Nothing pisses me off more
than poor follow-through. It’s
the most important thing we can
do in this business. I’m on Parag’s
ass every day, making sure we
are following through on every
detail.
Booking agents.
The legendary Frank Barsalona,
who invented it all.
XM Radio.
The greatest gift I’ve received in
the last decade. Who would have
thought that a channel of 24-hour
uncensored comedy could so
change the driving experience?
Name a band you worked with
that didn’t break and you feel
got away?
Skunk Anansie. Skin, the singer,
should have been one of the
biggest stars on the planet.
What concert promoter
does it the right way?
Larry Magid and his amazing
staff at Electric Factory.
What is one of the most
important mantras in your
business style?
I have a sign in my office from
Island Records. It says, “If you
don’t promote, a terrible thing
happens.” And, in small print,
in the middle of the poster it says,
“nothing.”
What band have you seen that
you thought had no chance
but wound up being huge?
Besides sex,
what else matters in life?
Besides my family, music and
food. Speaking of food, my wife
and I went to a Beethoven piano
recital about two months ago
and this woman was playing an
antique pianoforte from 300 years
ago. After the show, they had
desert and coffee. But the deserts
were from the early 1800s and
David Bouley, who’s a famous chef
here in New York, did research
and served pastries from that era.
It was all these deserts and pastries
exactly how they were made 300
years ago.
MTV’S 20th Anniversary Special at
New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom
August 1, 2001, gives Harvey a chance
to catch up with one of Epic’s first MTV
superstars, Boy George. We think the
former Culture Club frontman is the one
on the right.
2002 Edition
Page 13
Executive Interview s
More agencies creating a
marketing position like the one
Allison McGregor has at CAA.
(At this point in the interview,
Harvey’s office receives a visit
from bassist Ryan Martinie from
Mudvayne, aka Ryknow. True to
Harvey’s style, he insists on including Martinie in the interview,
with Harvey taking over the role
of interviewer)
LEEDS and radio programming legend
Dan Logan (second from left) grab a
snapshot with Jimmie Vaughan and
Stevie Ray Vaughan. Stevie Ray died
within a week of the photo.
When you’re going to make a
mistake, it better be a big one.
I remember going to see Daddy
Longlegs. They then changed their
name to KISS.
What was the first concert
where you saw a moshpit but
didn’t know what to call it?
Living Colour – one of the
greatest and most unappreciated
bands in the history of rock ‘n’ roll.
The best live act you ever saw.
Louis Armstrong. I believe
it was at Disneyland and he was
amazing. He was an ambassador
for the United States and music
around the world. In fact, I was so
influenced by him that my first
daughter’s middle name is
Satchmo.
You’re being executed at dawn.
You have a last meal.
Where, or what is it?
It’s a tie between two restaurants. Uglesich’s in New Orleans
and La Stalla in Portofino, Italy.
What would you like to
see more of from a booking
perspective?
Page 14 2002 Edition
HL: O.K. So, we were rudely
interrupted when Ryan from
Mudvayne burst through the door.
We need to ask him a question.
Who’s your agent?
RM: Dave Kirby.
POLLSTAR: Ryan, let’s ask you
a question. What do you think of
buy-ons?
RM: I don’t know. Ask Dave
Kirby.
POLLSTAR: How many shows
have you done?
RM: A general number that’s
thrown out is 600 shows in two
and a half years, thanks to Dave
Kirby.
HL: See, Dave? We do have a
Dave Kirby love-fest in my office.
Back to Ryan. What was the best
show that Mudvayne did in the
last year? Or, what did a concert
promoter do that was the biggest
load of shit?
RM: This happens all over
the place and every band knows
my pain. At the end of the night,
you find your beer got cut from
the rider. That’s the worst show.
All you want is a goddamned
cold beer.
Our best show is on live DVD,
actually. It was recorded in our
home town. If you look at the
place it was filmed at, it’s a shitty,
piss-poor venue called the
Madison Theatre. It’s the best
venue and the worst because it’s
crap for sound and there’s piss all
over the floors, but you know
what? The kids come there and
they keep coming and that place
keeps selling out. And we had the
best-playing shows of last year
there.
HL: And it’s one of the best live
DVDs.
RM: So, say what you want
about Mudvayne, but that disc
sounds great!
POLLSTAR: Why was that show
so great?
RM: One of the reasons why it
was one of our greatest shows is
because Harvey Leeds wasn’t at
the gig.
What do you think about
Sharon Osbourne?
The greatest woman in rock ‘n’
roll. She is truly P.T. Barnum and
now the best TV mom since June
Cleaver and Donna Reed. By the
way, she and I share a birthday,
and the same one as John Lennon,
so you know we’re surrounded by
greatness.
of the most exciting live shows
I’ve ever seen. Rage Against The
Machine: Live in Mexico City.
Also exciting was being
involved in all of the Korn rollouts, watching them develop from
playing clubs to arenas and doing
the Korn campaign and the Korn
cover contests with MTV and
of course, a multitude of guerilla
radio shows with Pearl Jam.
In the end, Harvey follows simple
credos, many of which are framed
on his office wall: “Music is the
fountain of youth – Rob Light,”
“You’re only young once, but you
can be immature forever” and,
“Think like a fan & make everybody a star.”
To Harvey, they’re more than
sound bytes, they’re cosmic laws,
as is a commitment to live music
that extends as far as his charitable
work with the Nordoff-Robbins
music therapy foundation.
“Hi-fis, vinyl, 8-tracks,
Walkmans, CDs, DVDs, computer
chips, i-pods, mp3s, satellite radio,
streaming, downloading, burning –
we’ve seen it all but nothing
replaces the live music experience,”
he said. “It was around first and
will be around till the end of time.
Hell, everyone remembers what
Nero did while Rome burned –
he gave a free concert.” *
Thirty years in the
biz – what memorable
moments top the
charts?
Well, there are so
many of them, but I will
never forget the time
Rage Against The
Machine wanted to play
Mexico City and it took
more than three years
for that to become a
reality but, finally, with
the help of O.C.E.S.A.,
we did an unbelievable
date in Mexico City that
turned into an MTV
special, a radio concert
and a fabulous DVD. It
was one
HARVEY JOINS IN the hamfest when Tenacious D and
Travis mug for the camera. VH1’s Bill Flannigan
(second from right) also joins in the fun.
POLLSTAR