Recent grad Nicky Berger juggled managing his band, Grouplove, with schoolwork while a senior at Penn. Represented by Atlantic Records, Grouplove is currently on tour, stopping in Philly tonight. Berger talked to Street about his journey from student to managing a major–label band.
[media-credit name="Berger second from right, with GROUPLOVE" align="alignright" width="300"][/media-credit]
Street: Where are you right now?
Nicky Berger: We just got to Manhattan. Band’s playing a show here tonight. We started the tour in Los Angeles. Seattle, Portland, San Francisco — then we flew across the country to Tampa Bay, played D.C. last night and New York tonight. Then we’re going to Boston, Philly, back to Brooklyn [...] So we’ll be touring the whole summer.
Street: What is your role on tour? NB: Most of the time, managers are not actually on tour. We’ll be able to hire a special tour manager once we have a little more money from the shows and I’ll be able to do my job at home, so coordinating everything, but sort of meanwhile I’m kind of taking on the role of just doing everything. Helping to drive a little bit. Checking into hotels, helping with the gear. That’s my road job. Pretty much at home, my job was for a while getting signed to a record label, it was figuring out, strategizing with the band about how we’re going to release the album. So I kind of have my hands in every part of [Grouplove's] career.
Street: How did you get started with Grouplove? NB: I always wanted to be in the music industry. I always wanted to be a manager. So I spent summer interning with different management companies in NY, different record labels and all that stuff. And while I was abroad in Spain last year, I started listening to [Grouplove] and I didn’t really think much of it. And after a week or so, it just became the only thing I listened to. And I’ve been obsessed with it. After a month, I decided if I didn’t do something about it, I was going to regret it for the rest of my life. So it was later that March of my junior year that I was in Mexico for Spring Break, and I decided that I couldn’t wait any longer and I got on a plane and left Mexico and flew to LA and met with them all. And my pitch was: "I’m so unbelievably excited about you guys and I think you’re better than any band that’s come along in years," and I think they appreciated my excitement and enthusiasm about their music. They didn’t have [a manager] themselves, they didn’t know what was going on. They’d never played any shows even— so they were sort of on board with me, you know, this kid. But that was kind of how it all started. I started booking shows out in LA, getting in touch with record labels, people I knew from internships in the past. You know, sooner rather than later, everything had just sort of taken off.
Street: How do you feel that your time at Penn contributed to where you are now? NB: Actually, I was kind of discouraged to find how few people at school were musically–oriented or music enthusiasts. There was a crew of two or three people who I went to concerts with, but for the most part I found people were pretty uninterested in entertainment and music in general. I guess in one way it has kind of fueled a little individuality, but definitely the school in itself I would say did not encourage it. People kind of laughed at it at first.
Street: Do you feel like there’s a stronger music scene in LA than in Philly? NB: LA has an incredible music scene. The music scene in Philly is actually really good. We’ve been through Philly with the band I’d say two or three times now, and it has always been a really good show. We’re going back there on Wednesday for another show, or Thursday, but yeah, there’s a whole community run by these guys called R5 Productions, which is indie promoters. They’re music–oriented people, so it’s been cool getting to know them.
Street: How has Grouplove evolved since you started working for them? NB: It evolved faster than I imagined it would. I got involved just about a year ago and you know, we're traveling all around the world playing music festivals. We’re going to Australia later this summer, doing things that we couldn’t dream of. I think we’re all a little bit jaded. When we first started, to get a show booked was an incredible opportunity. And now we’re playing some massive shows, 50,000 people, and we’re all pretty blase about it. But we all knew we were going to get there and I knew the band was going to get there, so it’s exciting for me to see it happen.
Street: In your own words, describe the band’s sound and as people. NB: If I was going to compare it to people, I would say it’s the Pixies meets The Mamas and the Papas meets Modest Mouse. They don’t’ like the Modest Mouse comparison though. If was going to describe it using adjectives, I would say it’s like best friends sky–diving. And if I was going to describe them as people, I would say they’re genuine, honest, [laughs] it’s like spicy honey mustard. And they’re all incredibly inventive, artistic and every single day when I see them perform, I’m just blown away by how passionate they are about their music. I can watch them every day play a show and every single time it still amazes me at their ability and their passion, every single night. So, I have nothing but good words to say about them.
Street: What’s in store for Grouplove this year? NB: They’re going to release their debut album in September. Right now all they have is an EP of six songs. Once they release an album in September, they are going to be touring around the United States more, and some of Europe, raising their awareness, getting their name out, and hopefully this time next year, it will be an entirely different discussion about the band. It will be massive, you know, headlining festivals around the world. [Band member in the background yells "Woo!"] Yeah, Grouplove agrees.
Street: Do you have any advice for students who’re interested in the music industry? NB: This kind of crosses over into other areas of work, but maintain your connections. I would never be able to do what I’m doing if the people that I worked for over the summer interning I hadn’t stayed in touch with. The music industry is an incredibly small, incestuous industry and I’ve just kind of been dipping my feet into it the last year. It’s unbelievable how many people have worked for every single company and everybody knows everybody. So diving in, immersing yourself in the industry is much easier than say, the film industry, because it’s much smaller and much more cooperative. So I would say, just immerse yourself because it’s incredibly easy to find a way in it. It’s the only industry where a 22–year–old can actually have an impact. You know, in the film industry, you can’t just go and make a movie, but the playing field is kind of equal for music industry. As long as you’re making good music, it doesn’t matter who’s making it or where it’s coming from.
Street: Anything else you’d like to add? NB: I’d encourage Penn kids to explore the Philadelphia music scene more, because they have every single touring band going. They have some incredible venues of all sizes. You know, I’d see the same three or four people at every concert and we had our own little crew, but I’d definitely encourage people to go out. There are some venues that’re five blocks from campus, walk there. People don’t do it for whatever reason. Go out, go see some amazing bands because they’re all out there.
