SPOTLIGHT PRESENTATION - Road Recovery - Helping At-Risk Youth via Music Industry Charity Road Recovery
Featured Speakers:
Gene Bowen, Founder / President, Road Recovery
Gene Bowen is one of the lucky ones who have embraced recovery since 1992. Before entering treatment, he had been a tour manager for a variety of artists for ten years. After getting clean and sober, he returned to touring understanding how lucky he was to survive, so he set out to build the non-profit Road Recovery to educate young people about addiction and other adversities in the hopes of helping them find their way towards a healthy and happy future. He looked to publicize the many strengths and resources available from the music/entertainment industry and the mental health field.
With the support of Sony Music Entertainment, Dreamworks Records, Warner Music Group, and Jeff Buckley Music, as well as health specialists and entertainment industry professionals, Gene founded Road Recovery in 1998. Currently, Bowen oversees the charity’s after school Trax Programs throughout statewide Youth Clubhouses, sanctioned by the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) and funded by the US Dept of Justice, to provide youth with engaging mentoring and creative activities for their recovery from personal adversities.
Wendy Laister’s career has taken her from London University, where she graduated with first class honors in Psychology, to the music industry, where she currently manages a number of internationally known artists. En route, she spent time in the Public Affairs Department of British Petroleum, in the Human Resources Division of the PA Consultancy Group, and as Manager of Corporate Press and Public Relations for Richard Branson’s Virgin Group.
In 1986, she formed Laister Dickson, an international press and public relations firm, with offices in London and Los Angeles, specializing in the entertainment industry. During her 10 years as CEO and President, her client base grew to include The Rolling Stones, Guns ‘N Roses, Paul McCartney, Aerosmith, Janet Jackson, INXS and Tina Turner, among many others. In addition, she coordinated global press and publicity campaigns for many of the world’s largest televised music events, including Woodstock, Rock in Rio II, Roger Waters’ The Wall, in Berlin, the two Nelson Mandela freedom concerts at Wembley Stadium, the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, The Three Tenors concert series and the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Concert from Madison Square Garden.
In 1994 Laister moved into a different part of the business, taking over the exclusive worldwide management of Aerosmith and forming a new company – Magus Entertainment. During the years that followed, Aerosmith’s enormous popularly continued to grow as she spearheaded successful campaigns around three multi-platinum albums, their first #1 US single, two record-breaking world tours, the launch of an Aerosmith Disney ride and the release of a New York Times best-selling autobiography.
In early 1999, with the birth of her son, Wendy took a brief sabbatical from the business, returning later that year to re-establish Magus Entertainment with a client management roster that now includes: Duran Duran, Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry, Patrick Droney, Valencia Grace, Daisy the Great, Rozzi, Adam Peters, Bret McKenzie and Julian Lerner.
Moderator:
Steve Martin, CEO and co-founder, Paladin Artists
Martin began his music career in 1979, as a concert promoter producing shows for artists such as Muddy Waters, Tom Waits, Dire Straits, Weather Report and Miles Davis, to name a few.
In 1984, he started The Music Business Agency. Most American booking agencies balked at booking at what they considered niche acts in the ‘80’s. Martin established a different business model with MBA signing Billy Bragg, Jimmy Cliff, Fela, Yellowman, Toots, and the Maytals, author Robert Hunter, Jorma Kaukonen, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, and Hot Tuna.
He operated MBA for 7 years before selling to the William Morris Agency (WMA) in 1989 and becoming one of WMA’s principal bookings, signing major acts such as The Band, Crash Test Dummies, and Barenaked Ladies, among others.
In 1994, Martin left to spearhead the New York office of U.K. based The Agency Group, where he was instrumental in growing the company to become a worldwide powerbroker with over 40 agents in the U.S. and a roster of hundreds of clients, including such diverse performers as Dolly Parton, David Gilmour, The Scorpions, New York Dolls, Kiefer Sutherland, Ray Davies, Squeeze, King Crimson, Dream Theater and many others.
By 2008, The Agency Group was the largest independent music/literary agency in the world. In 2013, Martin became VP, Worldwide Concerts at APA Talent, and Literary Agency, working alongside Bruce Solar and Andy Somers, after being named partner in 2014.
In 2021 Martin and Somers created Paladin Artists, Inc. A boutique agency stemming from the pandemic. They brought over all their clients from the previous Agency, as well as some of the Agents. Their continued efforts in growing and nurturing established clients and younger clienteles allows them to have a diversity of many different genres.
Martin has been nominated as “Agent of the Year” 5 times by Pollstar Magazine and awarded it in 2008.
