thehectorfund.com

Interview With Seth Herman, Manager Of John Brown’s Body

On July 15th The Hector Fund will launch their Artistfunding campaign for “Future Roots” artists, John Brown’s Body. The truly-independent band is seeking $50,000 in Artistfunding to support their upcoming International tour. A tour that will take them to Europe and Australia. If you’re a fan of this band you’re stoked because in exchange for your support you get - among other things - the opportunity to kick their ass in soccer, guest listed for life, or the chance to have this devastating dub ensemble back you on YOUR next album. I know the Music Industry in 2009 is silly right? Maybe - but awesome nonetheless. Hector caught up with JBB’s manager, Seth Herman for a little one-on-one Hall And Oates style and got the giddy-up on the band and why they need the loot from their fans to get them over the pond and down under. The full campaign launches July 15th so be sure to check back for details.

In a sentence describe John Brown’s Body.

JBB is a heavyweight in the reggae world, known best for expanding the genre and creating what the band calls “future roots music”.

Now, pretend you are a fan and not their manager and describe JBB.

I received this letter from a fan last week:

I’m not writing as a critic anymore, so what you see there is the opinion of a fan - a real reggae fan who has listened to everything there is out there. Reggae is my everyday music, it’s what I love, it’s the one thing that brings me real joy on a day-to-day basis. But you know, after two decades, it’s like anything else - how many times can you listen to the same ole same ole? When you know every tune by heart its hard to get excited.

In the last few years I have been getting really thirsty for something that is still recognizable reggae but which pushes the envelope a good bit. I can count on one hand the bands that have really done that in my opinion - Fat Freddy’s Drop, Easy Star All-Stars, and John Brown’s Body.

Tell me about JBB’s Artistfunding campaign.

The backbone of the campaign is about connecting with the fans on a personal level. When we set out to release “Amplify” in 2008 that was our focus. To really give the fan an inside perspective on where we have been, and where we are going. The artistfunding campaign takes the same idea, but pushes it one step further. It brings the fan to the inside of JBB and gives them the opportunity to be the spark for forward movement.

Why are they going down this road as opposed to taking the conventional route of having their label pay for it?

From our initial plan to release “Amplify” with Easy Star Records it was clear that developing JBB in foreign markets was the necessary next step in the band’s long career. Easy Star was dedicated to seeing this through and provided us with an international touring advance at signing.

Things were looking good and then we hit some bad weather. Literally- we ran into blizzards in the Midwest as we raced to Seattle where we caught a flight to Hawaii. When we arrived, a full-on hurricane was hitting Oahu. We played 3 shows in the pouring rain, and upon landing back in Seattle we were stranded in a foot of snow on an unplowed highway. Even with snow chains we could not make it to our headlining show in Victoria, BC. The next day the same thing happened in Portland where we actually played to 30 people who walked to the Aladdin Theatre - while a state of emergency was declared and the National Guard came in. Half the band missed their flights home and were stuck in Portland, or in the Chicago airport. Luckily everyone made it back by Christmas Eve. When all was said and done we lost so much money in 2 weeks of winter storms that our international funds were gone.

Explain some of the things that JBB will be offering their fans in exchange for donations?

The band had some hilarious emails about what would be the most unexpected offering. In the end we balanced limited edition merch, with some truly unique experiences. Fans can spend the morning doing Yoga on the beach with Nate and Matt, have Elliot be their personal waiter at his new restaurant, and even get JBB to step into the studio and be their backing band for a record. We also set up a package that allows you to spend a weekend on the road with JBB, traveling directly with the band and everything that goes with that.

Tell me about their touring plans for the next 12 months.

2009-2010 will be a major milestone in JBB’s long career. This September we are bringing over special guests from New Zealand to tour the US with JBB. In October we are finally making our way to the UK for a 16-date tour with our label mates, Easy Star All - Stars. On October 29th we fly to New Zealand for 14 shows, including the biggest cities and smallest towns across the country. From there we head over to OZ (Australia) for 5 shows on the east coast that our good friends Blue King Brown are setting up for us.

2010 starts out on JamCruise where JBB plays on a cruise ship in Florida, the Cayman Islands, and Jamaica. I am routing the rest of the year now. Other highlights include a return to Hawaii, and our first tour of France next spring.

Right on. Thanks, Man. Hector can’t wait to get this thing started.

No problem. We can’t either. Good looking out.