Interview w/ William Quintana of AAP
Similar to sports, music requires a complete team to get your product to gain and build upon momentum. AAP Booking & Management has been fighting in the trenches with local bands for years and is on the cusp of pushing into additional layers within the national scene through aggressive grassroots efforts mixed with the kind business acumen that comes only through experience. Prepare to see their ads in respected zines such as AP as the AAP team and their cadre of talent continue to tear down the boundaries of what it means to be a local enterprise. Thanks to CEO and AAP mastermind, William Quintana, for taking the time to share with hurdcore.com
There are some new faces on the AAP Management Team since we last talked, how did this current group come together?
William Quintana (CEO): Just through time in the business. I’ve known Johnny for a few years and he’s currently booking his own band on our roster. Same thing with Matt, he’s booking for his band Nothing Til Blood. Brandon is our main designer at this point and he’s doing an incredible job! I met him through a band I’ve worked with in the past and he’s been one of the best things AAP has had happen to us.
Tell us a little about your current roster of bands.
WQ: Our current roster of bands is amazing. We have a great amount of diversity and won’t focus on just one genre/scale of music. We have signed and unsigned artist, full time/part time touring artists and everything in between. Some bands that you should DEFINITELY watch out for in 2012 are Havenside, Altars, Projections and Capture The Flag. Although, our whole roster is incredible.
As you have contiuned to grow with the business of managing artists, what have you established as some of the key things you look for when interviewing a prospective band?
WQ: The first thing I look at is a solid sound. I want good recordings and well written songs. From there I like to talk to the band and feel them out. See what they’re going to bring to our roster and vice versa. We offer a ton of different ideas and programs to our bands and I try to tailor a game plan for each band specifically.
Now that you have several years of shows and tours under your belt, what do you look for in creating a successful event?
WQ: Good bands. hahaha. That’s ultimately the core of everything we do!
They say in business that when you start out you are grasping for any sort of revenue/traction, but as you build momentum you start to develop a stronger base of quality relationships. What have been the biggest hurdles and lessons that have come out of 2011?
WQ: Expect the unexpected and learn to keep your cool. People sometimes aren’t on the same page as you and you need to do everything you can to stay calm and get your point across in the best manner possible.
What are the tactical plans for AAP growth in 2012?
WQ: More tours and more advertising. We’re purchasing advertising in issues of Alternative Press Magazine every month as of late and plan on doing so for a while.
For music fans that may be cruising iTunes for jams, what are some of the tops songs from your artists that you would recommend they take a look at?
WQ: I’d definitely recommend checking out Havenside’s new record (coming out April 3rd)! Just check out all of our bands on Facebook and keep up with what they’re doing. All of our bands are releasing new music regularly!
Best advice you can give to bands that have put the time in on the “garage sessions” and are ready to start doing work?
WQ: Be prepared to lose a lot of money, make a lot of new friends and experience a ton of stress/hardships. Everyone isn’t made for touring. If you are, you’ll know after your first few tours. If it doesn’t feel right, get out before you’re too deep.
What do you see as the most significant change(s) in music since you started AAP in 2008?
WQ: The lack of brotherhood in a lot of scenes and venues are closing down more and more regularly. We need to stick together and make sure that this community is around 20 years from now and even further.
AAP (Artist Agency & Promotions) is a full service artist development company with services ranging from booking to artist management to graphic design and much, much more. Check out AAP Web or AAP FB.