a decade of work that finally paid off...

It was the winter of 2015, and I was pacing the cold floor of my 500 sq. ft apartment in New Hampshire.

School was finished, and I had no idea what to do with myself.

I’d just told my Dad I was planning on moving to Los Angeles to pursue a “career in music” — pretty much in whatever capacity would most likely lead to the purchase of a mansion.

The only advice he could offer, was “look up a guy named Tom Windish…we have a mutual friend.”

I sighed and said “who the hell is that?”

My Dad was a high school english teacher, and Windish grew up a town over from us in Upstate NY.

At the time, he was finding his own success at the helm of The Windish Agency — an independent booking agency devoted to the artistic development and vision of its incredibly talented roster of musicians, bands, and DJs

This agency, which he had started 11 years prior in Chicago with just one other person, was being purchased by Paradigm (a larger conglomerate), adding 750+ artists to Paradigms roster, such as Lorde, Alt J, Diplo, and many more.

Windish had made some serious noise since leaving New York, which is exactly the kind of story that might motivate a 23 yr old to move across the country.

Rags to riches baby.

After learning of his conquests, I decided the degree I had just received in Journalism was no good.

Invalid.

WORTHLESS!

So that cold winter night, I emailed every single agent on the Windish Agency’s staff directory.

I still had no idea what a music agent did…I just knew they worked with bands (and assumed they were rich), which satisfied my only two life goals at the time.

An agent, Ben, responded…

“Well, if you want to start booking bands, start booking bands.”

This was an infuriating response.

Get a load of this guy.

Mr. Big Time Agent.

Just thinks anyone can “book bands.”

How the fuck do I do that, I don’t even know any “bands”man, I’m in NEW HAMPSHIRE!

Who’s this guy think I am, David Geffen!?

“I NEED SOMEONE TO PAY ME SO I CAN LEARN.”

“I NEED TO BE A PART OF A COMPANY TO DO THIS.”

“I CAN’T JUST “BOOK” BANDS MAN!”

Looking back, this simple one line email has defined a decade of my life, and will hopefully be one of the great lessons I teach my children.

If you want to do something, start doing something.

Wait for no one.

Only you can save yourself.

My attempt to quit…

For those working independently in the music business, it’s more difficult now than ever to make a buck outside of a corporate company.

Since coming to LA in 2015 with no experience whatsoever, I’ve worked with big artists, small artists, in beautiful venues and studios, all while building lasting relationships with some awesome people.

I’ve been through my fair share of heartache, but have accomplished more on my own than I ever thought I would.

I’ve since learned that some accomplishments don’t come in the form of monetary reward.

A newsflash to my younger self.

In 2021, Wasserman acquired Paradigm Talent Agency's North American live music representation business, launching Wasserman Music.

This deal brought Paradigm's touring business, including clients like Billie Eilish, Coldplay, and Ed Sheeran, under the Wasserman umbrella.

Tom Windish is now Head of A&R and Business Development at Wasserman Music, making him one of the most successful agents in music today.

After booking a few younger Wasserman artists at my shows around town, Tom and I ended up on emails together.

A full circle moment for me.

I sent him a note outside our usual business — I was excited to tell him what I was working on, building towards, and so on…he said “let’s hop on a call.”

We spoke for an hour or so — that call was 2 years ago.

Last month, I received an email from the CEO of a well known live music & events company, called Sofar Sounds…

“Lucas, hey, it's Warren from Sofar Sounds. Tom Windish suggested I reach out to you. We're building our LA team and looking to hire a talent booker…”

After six weeks of calls, interviews, a loss of sleep and a spike in cortisol, yesterday I signed a job offer.

I’ll now be handling the company’s booking needs across Los Angeles, which is nothing short of a dream for me — an opportunity to continue booking artists in LA, offering new and exciting experiences…all while maybe paying back some of this gyatdamn credit card debt.

What I haven’t told you, is that in April of this year, I said to myself “I can’t fucking do this anymore.”

I was ready to change course.

I was exhausted.

I’m 33 with a fiancé.

I want a kid soon.

I was tired of just getting by, never ahead.

I wasn’t sure what the dream was any more.

So I woke up the next day & called an old boss of mine from a medical staffing company, the one I worked at in New Hampshire for a year after college.

I was in search of a remote 9-5 outside of music that might offer some sort of stability and security.

I was tapping out — which went against anything I’ve ever written in this newsletter.

I had interviewed, and was waiting to hear back.

I felt like a fraud, like I couldn’t even look in the fucking mirror.

Then one night shortly after that interview, I received a random note, about a job I didn’t know existed, from a CEO sent my way by a guy my Dad told me about 10 years ago.

I’ve learned that “keep going” is a lot easier to say, than do.

So maybe you don’t always have to know what it looks like on the other side…

You just have to hold on until you get there.

Long live rock n roll,

Lucas