The absolute, number-one, most important thing to remember when playing live music in front of an audience is this:
You can't throw a rock in any metropolis on Earth without hitting someone claiming to be a manager. Where musicians go, managers follow. It's as accepted and expected in the entertainment industry as an out-of-control cocaine habit or a failure to pay taxes. When you tell people you're a musician, one of the first things they're going to ask you is: Do you have a manager? However, those in the throws of the music business know to ask an even more accurate question: Do you have a good manager?
"What's the difference?" you may ask. Isn't any manager better than no manager at all? While it would seem that the answer to that question is unequivocally, "Yes," in reality it's a bit like asking, "Isn't having a herpes-ridden prostitute for a girlfriend better than being single?" In truth, bad representation is far worse than a lack of representation. While, it's a fact, that there are things your band will probably never achieve without the aid of a manager, agent, entertainment attorney, etc., bad representation can stagnate a career..stop it dead in its hurling climb to the ranks of superstardom or even worse..undo some of the hard work the band has already done.
Sad but true, a bad manager can take a perfectly good band and turn them into a thing so foul that old gypsy women covering their faces with rags will spit and give your band the evil eye as you pass. Ok, that may be a bit dramatic, but seriously..all your band really has is its name and its reputation, so why would take a chance on either of those by putting the whole of your band into the hands of someone that you're not 100% sure has your best interests at stake?
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