I’m a lucky, lucky guy. I’ve been managing acts since 2015, and lots of incredible opportunities have come my way as a result. An artist manager’s job is extremely difficult to define without a several hour-long PowerPoint presentation, so I won’t go into the rigmarole of my day-to-day, but I was extremely fortunate to be introduced to Tom Cheney and Eddie Barella at idobi Radio by my buddy Brian Goldberg in the spring of 2016. After the linkup, I submitted a few of my acts to be played on the station, which happens to be the most popular alternative radio station on the internet, and after some short banter, I unintentionally pitched my own radio show from the premise of an artist turned manager. To my surprise, Tom and Eddie were into it, and Waldman’s Words was born.
The description for Waldman’s Words on the idobi website says, “A former touring musician turned manager wants to advise up and coming artists/managers/general industry people in this rapidly changing environment. Scott Waldman will spitball for 60 minutes with whoever is willing to do so. He doesn’t claim to know it all, but he will talk a lot.” I think that this is a very accurate way to sum up the show.
At first, I interviewed performers and industry titans that I knew quite well from my years as an artist and eventual manager, but as the show progressed, I focused more and more on behind the scenes people, and I think that that is where the show truly got its footing. Sure, I still feature some performers every now and again like Hunter Burgan of AFI (who is also a producer) and McKinley Kitts of flor, but there aren’t too many radio shows or podcasts that go in depth with label A&Rs such as Chris Foitel at Epitaph Records and Johnny Minardi at Fueled By Ramen/Roadrunner, artist managers such as Dan Tsurif of Mercenary Management and Leah Urbano of Crimson Management, booking agents such as Jonathan Wilson of TKO and JJ Cassiere of 33 & West, music publicists such as Mike Cubillos of Earshot Media and Jamie Roberts of For The Win Media, music producers such as Matt Wallace (Maroon 5, Faith No More) and Curtis Douglas (The Maine, Katastro) and many many other people that vastly contribute to the bands and records that you love, often with little to no fanfare. This show is for them — and you.
I truly look at Waldman’s Words as, to indirectly quote one of my guests (artist manager Sam Tall, featured in our second two-part interview), a series of teachable moments. If a teenage girl in Montana listens to Kacie Quigley of Living The Dream Foundation’s two-part interview and it kick-starts her journey into TRUE and altruistic community service, I feel that I’ve done my job. If a college sophomore in Missouri listens to either Kevin Lyman or Steph Mirsky of the Kevin Lyman Group’s separate interviews, and decides to put on a festival, I feel that I’ve done my job. Lastly, if a 30-year-old fireman in Hawaii listens to Nick Moore of InVogue Records or Rob Castellon of Wiretap Records’ story, and decides to start his own record label, I feel that I’ve done my job. There’s an infinite amount of possibilities in which each and every guest can inspire each listener, and I firmly believe that everyone I have on my show is noteworthy in some way and should/could be emulated by some of our listeners.
Our first episode debuted in the fall of 2016, and we’ve had over 130 interviews since. Insane. I truly want to thank Tom, Eddie, Fish, Maddison Myers, Emillie Marvel, Dan Brink, and everyone else at idobi Radio for making my life so much better and enriching; I learn a lot from each guest too! Also, Emily Berke, my assistant, 18th & Addison’s co-manager, Waldman’s Words’ co-host when she’s in town, and the editor of each and every episode, is THE best. Waldman’s Words couldn’t exist without her. Lastly, I want to high five and hug each and every listener. Thank you so very much. The fact that many people actually care about what I have to say and whom I have to interview is not lost on me in the slightest.
You can tune into the show every Tuesday at 5PM PT/8PM ET, and it re-runs on Sundays at 5AM PT/8AM ET. In addition, you can stream the episodes on idobi.com, the Podcast app of iTunes, and/or on Spotify. There’s several days worth of interviews, so have at it and binge safely! Welcome to Waldman’s Words.