Steven Seabury
One of the hardest working people in the music industry is Steven Seabury. He has worked his way through Spitfire, Artimus, Concrete and now onto his own ventures with the Metalliance Tour and the Mosh Potatoes cookbook as well as Giddy Up Records. He was giving enough to take time from his busy schedule to fill us in on what fuels his life and how that incredible cookbook came to be.
An interview with Steven Seabury
By Jeffrey Easton
Metal Exiles: For Starters, is there anything in the music business that you haven’t done?
Steven Seabury: I haven’t made any money yet but I am a jack of all trades. I just try to do my best and come up with different ideas. I always try to see my ideas through because I do not want to be that guy on the porch when I am old saying I wish I had done that. I am a workaholic, I clearly work 15 hours a day, I always have to be doing something.
Metal Exiles: Considering you have been with record labels and marketing companies, was doing the package tours the next logical step?
Steven: It is funny that when I was a kid I would draw band logos on my notebooks in study hall and try and come up with my ultimate tour package. It has always been in the back of my head and I was discussing with a buddy of mine and I discovered we had the same ideas so we just decided to go for it. We reached out to our friends and some bands and here it is five months later and the tour is ready to go.
Metal Exiles: How were you able to pull in this kind of talent for the first Metalliance Tour?
Steven: We thought let’s do this tour during the spring because there are not a lot of tours going on at the time and reach out to our favorite bands. I have always wanted to see St Vitus, never saw them before. We reached out to their management and they were down with it. I worked with Crowbar when I was at Spitfire and I knew they had a record coming out and would want a tour so we tapped them as well. After that the bands fell in place one after the other. We wanted to have the cheap festival tour, $20 ticket, $20 t shirt, $5 beer. People go in with $100 in their pocket and they are seeing this ultimate show and they walk out drunk having the time of their life.
Metal Exiles: What is your personal attraction to some of the bands on the tour?
Steven: My personal preference in music is doom, all things doom. I remember when I heard Candlemass when I was a kid, then I got into Trouble, St Vitus etc. I had never seen St Vitus so when we decided to do this I said we have to swing the doom stick. I am honored that they decided that this tour is worthy for them to be on it.
Metal Exiles: Now with Metalliance be an ongoing thing or is this a one shot deal?
Steven: It would have been a one shot deal but the fans of metal are digging the vibe of the tour so we are currently working on Metalliance II. We are pretty excited and the joke is to have a Metalliance tour 365 days a year, it would be awesome to have this tour happening somewhere every day.
Metal Exiles: You said a kid will go there with 100 in his pocket and have a good time. Considering the economy is where it is at, why do you think people are still flocking to shows? Is there that “I have to escape for a while” mentality?
Steven: When times are tough people still like to go out and have a form of cheap form of entertainment; clear the brain of all the bills and rent. My main goal of this tour was to make it as cheap as possible for the guys that are sitting at home, baby crying, landlord banging at the door for their rent: “Screw this man, I am going down to the metal alliance tour, throwing down my 20.00 ticket, buy some beer and some t shirts.” It is a good night for rock n roll, it’s a win win for everybody.
Metal Exiles: It’s good that you say that about shirts as it seems that the prices of shirts are getting steeper. Why are some bands gouging the fans and making the prices of shirts going up?
Steven: Some people might view it that way, I look at it this way. Labels spend a lot of money to sign and market bands so when people continue to steal music off of the internet labels cannot afford to give bands tour support or spend money or on marketing. Bands count on labels to give them tour support so when it doesn’t happen ticket prices go up as well t shirt prices. If they cannot make money from the bands buying the merchandise then there are no more musicians or bands. Nobody can afford to tour if that happens so then you are just stuck working at McDonalds and your guitar is put away in the closet. Something has to give pretty soon or there is no scene.
Metal Exiles: I miss the old days of going to buy the new Slayer record (Seasons In The Abyss for this reference), go see The Clash Of The Titans, buy the tour shirt and it was not a lot of money to lay down.
Steven: I remember those days to and it is a shame. Prices are going up on everything and people cannot continue to like this. I cannot understand though these fans stealing the music and then saying it is ok because these bands make a lot of money. They do not make as much money as the oil companies so why don’t you go to the gas station, fill up your tank and drive off? McDonalds are wealthy bastards, why don’t you just go in and steal a Big Mac? It is so cowardly, if you want to really steal music go into a Best Buy and steal a cd, quit cowering behind your computer stealing MP3s.
Metal Exiles: On the theme of nobody buy records, you launched Giddy Up records. Is launching a record company now a viable opportunity?
Steven: Well, I made a profit this year so I am excited about that. Some of my friends told me I am crazy and I am a one man operation but it is what I like to do. It is my passion and I have wanted to do it for awhile. I spent 15 years in management at other record companies and this was the next step for me. You are right though as it is a scary world to be in but my wife is supportive of me so we will see how it goes.
Metal Exiles: You recently published a book recently called Mosh Potatoes. Tell me about this cook book.
Steven: I love heavy metal and I love grilling and drinking beer. All the bands I have ever worked with, all we ever talk about is sports, music and food. So when I was working at Artimus Records, I came home drunk with the munchies and I thought to myself, “what would Lemmy do in this situation?”. When I woke up in the morning I really did say What would Lemmy do. I was working with Zakk Wylde at the time with Artimus so I asked him to send me his grandmas recipe that he was telling me about so he did. I started emailing all of my friends in bands and I ended up with about 300 recipes so I narrowed them down to 150 and that is what ended up in the book. I also put together a Charity for it so the proceeds go to Meals on Wheels and the book is selling. It took me five years to put the book together and it helps metal and the Charity!
Metal Exiles: What would be the oddest recipe in the book?
Steven: That would be the Lemmy recipe. When I got it I knew it had to go in.
Metal Exiles: Is there another book in the works or is this it?
Steven: I have had such a great reaction to the first I am working on the next volume. I have had many bands come to me that were not in the first one and it will be bigger and better. I love cooking, it’s a passion of mine which is why I formed Giddy Up Hot Sauce. That company came about because when I was putting together Mosh Potatoes people were telling me that I should check out my mom’s hot sauce so I had bands sending me recipe’s for their hot sauce and I was sending mine and they thought mine was great so I talked to some distributors and decided to start up that company to put my sauces out.
Metal Exiles: You have worked with a lot of bands through your different experiences so what is the oddest thing to happen to one of your bands?
Steven: I won’t name the band because I do not want to embarrass them but the oddest thing was when we were doing an instore at Tower Records, the store manager called the cops on the band. I asked what was going on and the cops said we have to arrest this guy and when I asked why I find out that one of the band members was stealing CDs. He even stole his own CDs so they could sell them on tour. I then find out that the manager of the store said I would have given them to him for free, why is he stealing from the store. It has to be the strangest thing I have yet to see.
Metal Exiles: To touch on the Metalliance one more time, you have a lot of sponsors lined up for this tour. What is the biggest benefit for having a lot of sponsors for this tour?
Steven: The theory behind that is that there are so many bands on the bill the change over has to be quick so we told the bands just show up with your guitars and we will have the back lines up already. I do not have the backline myself so I called up Orange Amps, Ampeg and DDrums and said I have this tour, we need a backline, how would you like to sponsor the tour? We will use it then send it back after the tour is over with. I told them I would I would put them in all the advertisements and the website. It is one big family, it’s a brotherhood of metal, here to help everybody out. Ampeg and Orange are getting great exposure from this tour and it is for the good of metal.
Steven Seabury is the be all end all of working in the music business and everybody should want to grow up to be like him.
Buy Now!
An interview with Steven Seabury
By Jeffrey Easton
Metal Exiles: For Starters, is there anything in the music business that you haven’t done?
Steven Seabury: I haven’t made any money yet but I am a jack of all trades. I just try to do my best and come up with different ideas. I always try to see my ideas through because I do not want to be that guy on the porch when I am old saying I wish I had done that. I am a workaholic, I clearly work 15 hours a day, I always have to be doing something.
Metal Exiles: Considering you have been with record labels and marketing companies, was doing the package tours the next logical step?
Steven: It is funny that when I was a kid I would draw band logos on my notebooks in study hall and try and come up with my ultimate tour package. It has always been in the back of my head and I was discussing with a buddy of mine and I discovered we had the same ideas so we just decided to go for it. We reached out to our friends and some bands and here it is five months later and the tour is ready to go.
Metal Exiles: How were you able to pull in this kind of talent for the first Metalliance Tour?
Steven: We thought let’s do this tour during the spring because there are not a lot of tours going on at the time and reach out to our favorite bands. I have always wanted to see St Vitus, never saw them before. We reached out to their management and they were down with it. I worked with Crowbar when I was at Spitfire and I knew they had a record coming out and would want a tour so we tapped them as well. After that the bands fell in place one after the other. We wanted to have the cheap festival tour, $20 ticket, $20 t shirt, $5 beer. People go in with $100 in their pocket and they are seeing this ultimate show and they walk out drunk having the time of their life.
Metal Exiles: What is your personal attraction to some of the bands on the tour?
Steven: My personal preference in music is doom, all things doom. I remember when I heard Candlemass when I was a kid, then I got into Trouble, St Vitus etc. I had never seen St Vitus so when we decided to do this I said we have to swing the doom stick. I am honored that they decided that this tour is worthy for them to be on it.
Metal Exiles: Now with Metalliance be an ongoing thing or is this a one shot deal?
Steven: It would have been a one shot deal but the fans of metal are digging the vibe of the tour so we are currently working on Metalliance II. We are pretty excited and the joke is to have a Metalliance tour 365 days a year, it would be awesome to have this tour happening somewhere every day.
Metal Exiles: You said a kid will go there with 100 in his pocket and have a good time. Considering the economy is where it is at, why do you think people are still flocking to shows? Is there that “I have to escape for a while” mentality?
Steven: When times are tough people still like to go out and have a form of cheap form of entertainment; clear the brain of all the bills and rent. My main goal of this tour was to make it as cheap as possible for the guys that are sitting at home, baby crying, landlord banging at the door for their rent: “Screw this man, I am going down to the metal alliance tour, throwing down my 20.00 ticket, buy some beer and some t shirts.” It is a good night for rock n roll, it’s a win win for everybody.
Metal Exiles: It’s good that you say that about shirts as it seems that the prices of shirts are getting steeper. Why are some bands gouging the fans and making the prices of shirts going up?
Steven: Some people might view it that way, I look at it this way. Labels spend a lot of money to sign and market bands so when people continue to steal music off of the internet labels cannot afford to give bands tour support or spend money or on marketing. Bands count on labels to give them tour support so when it doesn’t happen ticket prices go up as well t shirt prices. If they cannot make money from the bands buying the merchandise then there are no more musicians or bands. Nobody can afford to tour if that happens so then you are just stuck working at McDonalds and your guitar is put away in the closet. Something has to give pretty soon or there is no scene.
Metal Exiles: I miss the old days of going to buy the new Slayer record (Seasons In The Abyss for this reference), go see The Clash Of The Titans, buy the tour shirt and it was not a lot of money to lay down.
Steven: I remember those days to and it is a shame. Prices are going up on everything and people cannot continue to like this. I cannot understand though these fans stealing the music and then saying it is ok because these bands make a lot of money. They do not make as much money as the oil companies so why don’t you go to the gas station, fill up your tank and drive off? McDonalds are wealthy bastards, why don’t you just go in and steal a Big Mac? It is so cowardly, if you want to really steal music go into a Best Buy and steal a cd, quit cowering behind your computer stealing MP3s.
Metal Exiles: On the theme of nobody buy records, you launched Giddy Up records. Is launching a record company now a viable opportunity?
Steven: Well, I made a profit this year so I am excited about that. Some of my friends told me I am crazy and I am a one man operation but it is what I like to do. It is my passion and I have wanted to do it for awhile. I spent 15 years in management at other record companies and this was the next step for me. You are right though as it is a scary world to be in but my wife is supportive of me so we will see how it goes.
Metal Exiles: You recently published a book recently called Mosh Potatoes. Tell me about this cook book.
Steven: I love heavy metal and I love grilling and drinking beer. All the bands I have ever worked with, all we ever talk about is sports, music and food. So when I was working at Artimus Records, I came home drunk with the munchies and I thought to myself, “what would Lemmy do in this situation?”. When I woke up in the morning I really did say What would Lemmy do. I was working with Zakk Wylde at the time with Artimus so I asked him to send me his grandmas recipe that he was telling me about so he did. I started emailing all of my friends in bands and I ended up with about 300 recipes so I narrowed them down to 150 and that is what ended up in the book. I also put together a Charity for it so the proceeds go to Meals on Wheels and the book is selling. It took me five years to put the book together and it helps metal and the Charity!
Metal Exiles: What would be the oddest recipe in the book?
Steven: That would be the Lemmy recipe. When I got it I knew it had to go in.
Metal Exiles: Is there another book in the works or is this it?
Steven: I have had such a great reaction to the first I am working on the next volume. I have had many bands come to me that were not in the first one and it will be bigger and better. I love cooking, it’s a passion of mine which is why I formed Giddy Up Hot Sauce. That company came about because when I was putting together Mosh Potatoes people were telling me that I should check out my mom’s hot sauce so I had bands sending me recipe’s for their hot sauce and I was sending mine and they thought mine was great so I talked to some distributors and decided to start up that company to put my sauces out.
Metal Exiles: You have worked with a lot of bands through your different experiences so what is the oddest thing to happen to one of your bands?
Steven: I won’t name the band because I do not want to embarrass them but the oddest thing was when we were doing an instore at Tower Records, the store manager called the cops on the band. I asked what was going on and the cops said we have to arrest this guy and when I asked why I find out that one of the band members was stealing CDs. He even stole his own CDs so they could sell them on tour. I then find out that the manager of the store said I would have given them to him for free, why is he stealing from the store. It has to be the strangest thing I have yet to see.
Metal Exiles: To touch on the Metalliance one more time, you have a lot of sponsors lined up for this tour. What is the biggest benefit for having a lot of sponsors for this tour?
Steven: The theory behind that is that there are so many bands on the bill the change over has to be quick so we told the bands just show up with your guitars and we will have the back lines up already. I do not have the backline myself so I called up Orange Amps, Ampeg and DDrums and said I have this tour, we need a backline, how would you like to sponsor the tour? We will use it then send it back after the tour is over with. I told them I would I would put them in all the advertisements and the website. It is one big family, it’s a brotherhood of metal, here to help everybody out. Ampeg and Orange are getting great exposure from this tour and it is for the good of metal.
Steven Seabury is the be all end all of working in the music business and everybody should want to grow up to be like him.
Buy Now!
