Alex and myself in a New York State of Mind!

Hey,

I hope you’re well, as much as I am right now while I’m sitting in the Air Canada lounge at LaGuardia Airport in Brooklyn, New York, as Saturday afternoon is slowly turning into Saturday evening…! My boarding is in 75 minutes, and I decided I would share what has been such an incredible time here in NY for Alex and me since we got here last Wednesday afternoon. I’m in such a great mood following what has been one of the best three days in a row in a very long time!

If you haven’t watched Alex’s latest personal video, I’m inviting you to do so since he is introducing his management company’s office, and to me, speaking of New York and legends, In De Goot are pretty high on the Olympus mountain of people behind the music! 

Alex and me at our latest visit at In De Goot's offices, April 2025

I will always remember that moment at the end of 2022 when Alex, for the first time, asked me to find him a manager! To my astonishment, as we’ve been completely independent for 15 years, and more importantly, because I knew how, for Alex, having some kind of “intruder” in his creative universe might end up sour; Alex, as I’m sure you know it by now, is some kind of a very, very, very free spirit! He kept saying that, since he’d be recovering from his heart surgery pretty much all over the year in 2023, I should travel the world in order to find the Holy Grail of management.  

I couldn’t do otherwise but spend the rest of the meeting telling him what having management for him would mean. 

1. They would want to speak with him (something he never liked to do) 
2. They would want to suggest things (something he never liked to hear) 
3. They might disagree with some of his ideas (something that was inconceivable to him) 
4. They will go out there and speak in his name and gather the missing links for his career, not me anymore (something he would really have a hard time letting go of)
5. They would want to put up plans based on what they thought was best (as probable as living on the sun for Alex!) 

But you know… As a friend and someone who had the chance to meet so many managers over the years, it was with that in mind and animated with that spirit of what Alex wanted that I attended 9 music conferences over the year 2023, hoping to find the right partner for Alex! 

It was March of 2023. I was heading to New York as I was coming back from London! Every time that I have the chance to step foot into this wonderful and grandiose city, I’m always thinking about all the artists I like that are from New York, and every time I do that, I realize how important that city has been from a cultural standpoint, and this, on an international level. It’s always very humbling to me, and I love this feeling, since as far as we can feel about belonging to something that is way above your own head, everything starts with a spirit, with meaning, with purpose, and how much courage one might have to inject into something that transcends what’s known and understandable. No one controls the results or the end game, but when it’s real and right, who cares…!

New York has no Hollywood Boulevard with pink stars and names written in gold on its sidewalk, as this city is all about street numbers and avenues. The entire Beat Generation of the 40’s, the Greenwich Village vibe and culture that took place in the 60’s, the CBGB’s incredible punk bands of the 70’s, the No Wave/Noise artists of the 80’s followed by the world-changing rap/hip-hop culture that took over the world in the 90’s, and the beautiful music scene of the early 2000’s around The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol, and The Strokes… I mean, the amount of musical contribution over the decades is simply countless and unimaginable, but if you’re not aware of it, it’s hard to figure it out since the city isn’t about celebrating much of its past artists: this city never sleeps, never stops, never looks back, but keeps welcoming and feeding the dreamers and those who are not afraid to put in the passion and the dedication…!

New York City is renowned for its vibrant and diverse tapestry of stories, more often than not reflecting themes of resilience, ambition, dreams, and the human spirit in the face of adversity, which is, I guess, the true reason behind why I was deeply hoping I would find someone from this place, as I thought this would suit us so well in every aspect of its history, vibe, and spirit.

Alex and me at our first visit together at In De Goot's offices, April 2023

I got into that office on my own on a Wednesday afternoon and someone quite nice welcomed me, saying “Bill will be with you in a minute.” I couldn't hear a thing, I was so stunned by what I was witnessing, I kinda zoned out, everything became a blur, as I never saw anything close to that in my 15 years of visiting music industry offices. It was as if 15 to 20 people were working at the rock n’ roll Hall of Fame in some sense! If those walls could sing, that place would turn out into a year-long festival of legends! Everything about this place is insanely incredible, I almost got my computer out of my bag and joined everyone working! It was that inspiring and inviting...! My dream office exists, and I’m right on the doorstep, about to have a meeting with destiny without knowing it, but deeply hoping this would be the place. 

I met several so-called “legends” in our music industry, and they’re more often than not quite awful people. So my second thought was, the person or team behind all of what I’m seeing right now must be the zenith of these music industry legends incarnation! So I thought…! 

“What can I do for you, son?” said Bill as I was sitting down with him and Alison, the company’s president, in a private room as impressive as the rest of the office is! What that technically means is, “Shoot, man, I have something like 45 seconds in front of me for someone like you, so by all means, make it count...!” Well, at least, that’s what it resonated like in my mind at that point. And here I went…! I shared all about Alex, about us, about who we are, what we stand for, what we’ve accomplished, and how independent we are, able to operate without anyone’s help in some way!

“Congrats on all of that, man,” said Bill, "but what matters to me is music. Do you have something I could listen to right now?” Well... This was some kind of a first for me. Normally, people are all into what we do, and the music comes like way later – if it ever comes at all – since it’s a business, it’s an industry. But not for Bill…! On the main door, at the entrance of the room, the one I opened to enter the place, there’s a sticker that says, “It’s The Music Stupid!” which is the company’s motto. And to me, even after all these years doing the business for the band, I never saw something like that! Everyone will tell you that, of course, it’s the music, but I’m telling you, it’s not really about the music in the end.

So here I went thinking that Alex’s manager would have to enjoy quite long songs and be there for the right reasons, so I decided to play Summertime Departures Live from the Montreal International Jazz Festival, which is 12:55 long! Might make sense for you as you’re reading this, but in those kinds of meetings, this doesn’t make any sense at all, as you want to impress quickly and take as little time as possible, especially for someone like Bill.

I was standing up, right in front of everyone listening. The spectacle was epic for me! I remember thinking, “Well at least, I would have had some fun and would have made a stand right in this office throwing an almost 13 minute song at them, forcing them all to listen to it until the end!” Those 12 minutes 55 seconds seemed like forever!!! Then Bill and Alison both went, “Very Intriguing!” and I was like “What does that mean?” Bill then grabbed me by the shoulder and of course, my mind went “He’s nicely escorting me out in a gentlemanly way!” But here we went, walking toward everyone’s office, where Bill decided to introduce me to each and everyone who was there on that day, telling me all of their stories, how long they’ve been there, and how crucial they all were for the success of this incredible family-driven group of people! I, again, never saw anything like that in my life! 

The youngest has been working there for 8 years, which means Bill made sure to keep everyone during COVID, which, to me, means that this place breathes the same air as Alex and I do! Bill has the exact same spirit as we do, and here I am for the first time in my life, thinking I might have found what we’ve been looking for...! “But not too fast,” I thought. I’ve been turned down countless times by so many people over the past 15 years, and now Alex is recovering, and at least for a year, the next album is so far ahead, which means the amount of love needed right now is unmeasurable!

Here we are, 2 years later almost to the day, and Alex is doing a video sharing about this incredible place, spirit, and group of people with you! In De Goot have been a God-given gift to us all, as I’m not sure we would have continued this musical journey if it wasn’t for their deeply personal involvement and encouragement on a weekly, almost daily, basis!

Alex’s video is more than an introduction video but a celebration of life, a celebration of gratefulness, and a celebration of the dawn of a new era where everything not only feels possible but truly is possible, and this, on every level we might think of!

Let’s keep celebrating who we are all together! Here’s for you The Son Of Hannah Live from Die Kantine in Cologne, performed on the night of July 27, 2024, and part of the A Nightfall Ritual album!!!

Let’s be great to one another! 

Your Chief Operator and Friend, 
Jeff