Meeting Seymour Stein
Seymour Stein, the legendary music exec who signed Madonna, The Ramones, Talking Heads and (my favorites) The Replacements- passed away on Sunday. Years ago, we had a brief but memorable meeting. Memorable for me, that is.
It was early days for us as a band and we were performing at Canadian Music Week, a festival in Toronto somewhat similar to SXSW. We dreamed so hard back then- especially me. Inexperience afforded me unbridled optimism, youth gave me energy, and the music had given us enough momentum to get to all the way to Canada! I was convinced that an exec was going to hear us play, slip us a business card, and the following week we’d be signing a check at the Russian Tea Room.
In reality, we hit the stage on Queen Street after 1am and the best I can say about our set is that no one cared. But the next day when an announcement was made that Seymour Stein would be chatting with a few festival bands I rocketed to snag an early spot in line. It was less record deal champagne chic and more hotel conference room bleak but I didn’t care.
After a short wait, I shuffled over and handed him a business card. I muttered something about how great it was to meet him and tried to move his attention back to the business card. “You see, sir, we have all our social media links here.” What happened next is the part I remember best. We started having two completely different conversations. Technically talking to each other without connecting on a single thing. I mentioned our influences, how we formed as a band, and some recent press we’d garnered. Meanwhile, he started talking about another band he’d seen at the festival that really grabbed his attention. This continued for a minute or so until an assistant informed me my time was up. Yikes.
I imagine it’s lonely work being a kingmaker. People who wield that much power bring with them an atmospheric change. When they enter a room, the room notices. There is a pervasive notion that music doesn’t have value until it’s validated by someone like Seymour Stein- how could that not change every relationship and interaction? I certainly didn’t keep my head on straight.
Looking back, I wish I’d just listened to him ramble about this new favorite band. Better yet, I wish I’d asked him about signing Madonna, or The Ramones. I wish I’d asked him about working (and fighting!) with The Strokes. Even a joke about the Belle & Sebastian song bearing his name would have sufficed. Instead I just tried to get a word in edgewise.*
Seymour Stein was involved with so much music that changed my life and yet I was still focused on more. We were having two very different conversations that day and I’m sure we left with two very different memories**. I still carry mine with me. Rest easy, Seymour. Thanks for giving me a few minutes.
*Pitching your band is always a tight rope act but there are ways to maintain your balance. Interrupting a legend is not one of them. It took me a long time to find my own approach and I certainly didn’t have it down that day. If you can swing it, I recommend acting appropriately detached and letting the music speak for itself. But that takes time and reps. Unless you’re just born with the right kind of mysterious eyes, it’s almost impossible in the beginning.
**’Which is to say I have one and he did not