There’s a good chance that Gordon Dale – going strong after three weeks – is the newest member of the Boston music managing scene.
But if you listen to the Northeastern middler, and you hear his musical perspective, there’s also a good chance you’ll see why the Boston-area eight-member funk band Greesome hired him so quickly.
“I’m always looking for new music and for things out of the ordinary,” Dale said. “It’s very easy for me to see the music industry saturated with the same things over and over again. You can only hear the same pop song over and over again until it’s old. New, different music is very exciting.”
Dale wasn’t really expecting to be working with a funk band this summer, considering his lack of experience and the fact that he’s completed just two years of college. But a Craig’s List advertisement, of all places, was the initial link.
“It said they were pretty successful in the Boston area and they were looking for somebody to be organized,” Dale said. “I figured, ‘what the hell?’ I e-mailed them on a whim. They got back to me, interested. I never imagined I’d manage a band.”
Dale, a music industry major, had already found a start in the business while on co-op. He has worked for High and Dry Records, a label in Cambridge, along with Last Call Agency in Somerville, a booking agency that schedules tours around the country.
Still, when band member Jeff Bradley e-mailed Dale back with noticeable interest, the New York native was surprised.
“At first, it was a little nerve-wracking,” Dale said. “Coming into this, I wasn’t sure what they wanted and I wasn’t sure if I could live up to their expectations. I was up front with them and told them I hadn’t done it before. But they were cool and they told me what it is they wanted me to do, and I was able to apply my knowledge and put it all together.”
Greesome’s lead singer, Kourtni Danner, an accomplished musician who fronted the local group Sugarcoat for four years until it broke up, said a slew of less-than-active managers made the band eager for someone more prepared and orderly.
“It’s funny,” Danner began when asked about Dale. “We had a couple of people that showed some interest in the band. They came into rehearsal a few times and said they would do this and do that. When push came to shove, they never came again. Gordon responded and we were all very skeptical. But I can speak for myself when I say that he just seemed eager to learn and that he was on top of things.”
There’s a certain time for a band where someone from the outside is necessary, Danner indicated. A band can only tell itself for so long that it’s worthy of playing at a certain venue or that its newest song is ready for radio play. Dale, so far, is providing Greesome with an aggressive connection to the public and media.
“He’s come up with flyers for us, he’s contacted radio stations, he’s gone out, he’s found us a photographer, he’s contacting newspapers, and he’s constantly in communication with us on a daily basis,” Danner said. “I don’t have time to book shows or contact colleges or people I don’t know. Neither do the other members. We needed somebody like Gordon. We needed someone to push the band and help us out. He’s on top of things. I have a good feeling about him.”
Not only was Dale comfortable with the idea of managing the band, but he was comfortable with the sound he would be devoting himself to. The Ramones would have been proud. Outkast too. Dale was ready for something new in the music world.
“To me, music is music. I either like it, or I don’t, and I like this,” he said. “That’s all that matters. As far as it being a funk band, I haven’t played in one but it wasn’t an issue to me. Musicians have a respect for each other and if you’ve played in a band before, you know what it’s like to play music.”
Greesome, once an instrumental group for five years before Danner came on board just over a year ago, uses a wide variety of instruments to create a passionate, interesting sound that has made its away across the city, including stops at the Paradise Rock Club, Harper’s Ferry, Bill’s Bar and the Middle East.
Drums and bass provide the rhythm, while guitar, keyboards, alto sax, baritone sax and trumpet make for a chorus of interesting sounds.
“The band is very well put together, there is a lot of soul to it,” Dale said. “[Danner] is a great singer and has great stage presence. She’s a great front person for the band.”
Danner said it took time to make herself comfortable with the group – as she was initially unsure of what direction for herself and new band members to take.
“I went to one of their auditions and immediately felt what they were doing,” she said. “I wasn’t sure what they wanted from me at first. I didn’t know if I was going to be a monstrous diva, but it’s falling into place individually and musically.”
Among Dale’s first orders of business upon becoming manager was promoting Greesome’s newest, important stop on an ongoing Boston tour – Bill’s Bar, tonight at 9 p.m.
“Greesome has the chops to make it,” Dale said. “They’ve been hoping to get some things done in the Northeast and New York. They told me, that for them, at this point, it’s been getting cumbersome. They wanted me to take over and hope to create a presence outside of Boston.”
It can only begin – and take off even further – in Boston, Danner knows. That’s why nights like a past Wednesday show at the Middle East upstairs are what the band can work off of.
“We were skeptical to take the headlining act, and we were just starting out on the scene,” Danner said. “We didn’t want to ruin our reputation. But it was strange, it was a Wednesday night and it was a full house. People were flipping out. It was a great victory for us.”
