Hello. My name is Scott Waldman and in addition to being a happy/extremely lucky husband, dad joke connoisseur, and hardcore Beatles fan, I am a former major label artist for the band The City Drive. I also currently have my own industry radio show for Idobi Radio called Waldman’s Words where I highlight individuals who work behind the scenes for your favorite bands, and manage several artists, producers, and songwriters. Life is good right now, but it has had its bumps, bruises, and scrapes throughout the years.
I grew up on Long Island and I’d like to think that me leaving to go to school in Ann Arbor, Michigan is what got the LI “scene” to blow up: You’re welcome, Emo Nation. Bands like Brand New, glassjaw, The Movielife, Taking Back Sunday, and many more started getting national and international attention in the early-00s while I was playing Midwestern cover bars with my college band. While doing such, I was simultaneously getting my B.A. in English and contemplating something “stable” like law school or finance.
In a last ditch effort to enjoy my life before I joined the rest of the miserable 9-5 workforce, the summer before my junior year at Michigan, I decided to work at a summer camp teaching guitar and bass. This job is what catalyzed my decision to pursue music full time against the better judgment of many naysayers in my family and friend circle. I had my own form of an early quarter-life-crisis, and I realized that I didn’t want to submit to living for the weekend in my early-20s. No. Way. It sounded like a death sentence! I wanted no part of that kind of life. And I especially loved performing and writing music, so it seemed like the only “career move” that would make me happy. In an example of comedic timing and unintentional consequences, as soon as I graduated college, and decided to move to Los Angeles for music, Detroit bands like The White Stripes and The Von Bondies started blowing up; I just couldn’t win.
I moved to Los Angeles knowing just a few people, and brought my guitar and bass to potentially connect with other musicians. I hit the ground (with the help of Craig’s List) running, and shortly after I moved into a one-bedroom apartment that I shared with a friend, answered several ads, and auditioned for tens of acts on guitar, bass, or vocals. I got REALLY REALLY fortunate, joined a band called The City Drive as its bassist and backup vocalist, and just over a year later signed with Columbia Records. Columbia fucking Records. It didn’t make sense to any rational being, and this was just before social media became a form of modern currency, so many people in my life just didn’t believe me until they actually saw our debut LP in stores. They were soon believers.
The City Drive released one full length and one EP before I quit for personal and business reasons. I won’t go into all of the details, but being in a band is hard, and being in one while your father is near death and you are unhappy with your bandmates as people is 100% impossible. I was conflicted because we had some great things in the pipeline and as a major label band, we were in the one percent of the one percent. Still, because I was beyond miserable, I quit in May 2007, started a new project called Lido Beach, and sadly lost my father in July 2007.
After many years playing in other bands, working at a law firm as a legal assistant, and eating as much local Mexican food as humanly possible, I accidentally became the artist manager for a former guitar student. It didn’t work out with her, but it definitely did for me, and I quickly acquired various clients, and quit my law firm gig. I’d like to think that I was able to get started so quickly because of my various successes as an artist and the connections I forged along the way. It was 2015 and I started building my own professional Rolodex in the music community in 2003. It is currently 2019 and this is my full time job. You can check out my active roster on waldmgmt.com, and you should digitally send my assistant Emily words of praise on the daily.
Over the next series of Substream issues, I hope to discuss various topics that pique your interest and potentially educate/enlighten/invigorate. Thank you for reading. I’m excited to write for Substream. We’re all lucky to be alive and to have wi-fi.