Manager

If Brooklyn-based Manager’s 2017 self-titled debut EP is chunky peanut butter, then this year’s follow-up Landline is creamy smooth. The band layers beautifully in songs like “Steven Tipton” (streaming) whose guitars create a surfy, relaxed vibe that slightly warps in the choruses. “Hybrid” has an upbeat drum pattern you cannot help but move to and distorted guitars that highlight the rock aspect of this group’s indie-rock vibe. The entire EP is decked with rich harmonies and jaunty melodies that, along with the music’s breezy ambiance, produce a suaver version of the sound that bands like Wavves offer. Manager has played at Pianos NYC on more than one occasion, and with the release of this EP, they are gearing up for a busy summer. - The Deli Magazine

Prior to relocating to Brooklyn, the three guys/one gal of Manager came together as habitués of a Columbus, Ohio, recording studio, where guitarist Jon Chinn was co-owner. The personalities clicked, and two years later their self-titled full-length fully underscores this via a confident, agile musical meshing. Manager (which was mastered by Bob Weston, an obvious Trade Mark Of Quality) is stuffed to the gills with swaggering power chords, four-to-the-floor beats, Chinn’s yearning upper register, and buoyant harmony vocals that consistently add up to “anthemic,” and you’d be hard-pressed to draw up a live setlist for the band that omitted even one of the nine tracks here.

Opener “Off to the Races” is a natural, possessing all the above elements and practically daring the listener not to sing along. The actual song “Manager” provides a midtempo changeup that’s still richly melodic, boasting lithe background guitar spirals and an uncommon rhythmic urgency. And “You Haven’t the Guts” provides still more fretboard complexity, one guitar serving up tremolo’d riffs while the other spits out delightfully arpeggiated leads. I could go on, but you get the point—call it power pop with a ‘90s alt-rock vibe, simultaneously soulful and cathartic. One of the year’s best surprises thus far.

Consumer Note: As you might surmise from the photo here, Manager and Texacobra Records have gone the extra mile with the beautiful translucent orange colored wax, and there’s a thick cardboard tip-on sleeve as well. Dare I say… another TMOQ? The vinyl comes with a download card, so why are you dilly-dallying? You can hear a few tunes at their website or their Bandcamp page if you need any additional nudging… - Blurt Magazine

No matter where someone ends up on their journey through life, there always seems to be something about them from where their roots are that stays with them. This holds true with bands, as well.

Manager are the living embodiment of this sentiment. The Brooklyn-based band is comprised of Jon Chinn (guitar, vocals), Ron Hester (guitar, vocals), Lori Cantu (bass) and John Dorcas (drums). They released their eponymous album on April 21, 2017.

Ed. – Read our review of their eponymous debut HERE

Ahead of their shows in Dayton (May 4) and Columbus (May 5), we had a wide-ranging conversation about the band, their sound and the new album. Dorcas had a previous commitment and was unable to join us.

“Two of us are from Ohio,” said Chinn. “Ron grew up in Ohio, as did I. Lori and John came to Ohio for work. Serendipitously, we all ended up in New York. We all spent lots of time in Ohio and two of us are natives.”

Cantu continues, “I can honestly say that I’d never given a thought to the state of Ohio until I got a job offer there. I was there for eight years, but always wanted to come back to New York City.”

At this point, Hester chimed in with, “An interesting point about us is that we have three graphic designers in the band. So, we seem to have to debate every aspect of design, whether its t-shirts, the record, and even songwriting. We all have our points of view.”



Manager’s self-titled debut is a “must-have”

This elicited laughter from Cantu and Chinn, with Hester joining in the frivolity.

Having formed in 2015, their Ohio roots are still in play, although they call the borough of Brooklyn their home.

“We’re all bringing our experiences from previous bands together,” said Hester, “and I think it’s changed our playing for all of us. You know, new directions for all of us.”

Chinn was the front-man for the Columbus-based Pretty Mighty Mighty, and co-owner of Workbook Studio. Cantu and Dorcas (of the band Lori), and singer-songwriter Hester, each met Chinn in the recording studio. They have produced a number of albums together.

About their new record, Chinn says, “I had some demos recorded, and I think it took a little while to get our own collective vibe and sound. It wasn’t immediate, but once we got into making the record, it came together pretty quickly.”

“I’ve known Jon as a songwriter for almost 17 years,” Hester said. “So, it’s about serving the song.”

Just like most bands, their sound has evolved from when they first started playing together as a new band. Cantu explains, “We started off playing ‘Jon Chinn’ songs and trying to make a band sound out of that. Now, as a four-piece, we have a point of view that is different than when we started. And, every day that evolves.”

Their debut album is full of an aural elixir that makes life just a little bit better each time you listen to it.



“I think the record is a very honest record,” said Hester. “It represents each one of us. There aren’t points on it where we’re going ‘let’s try this, because it’s flashy or cool.’ We’re all about what’s going to make the song better. It just feels like an expression of each of us, and I’m very proud of that.

“When I hear it, I don’t think ‘Oh, those posers…’ It’s honest and what we really play like.”

“Aesthetically,” Cantu added, “we all have a very similar point of view.”

They all admit they’ve grown, both as people and musically.

“If I look back on some of the records I’ve made in the past,” Hester opined, “I’m embarrassed about some of the things. But with this record, I feel it’s a very honest expression of what we’re doing right now.”

Playing the part of court jester, Chinn jumped in with, “See me in 10 years and we’ll talk about it…” The self-deprecating laughter was palpable, despite the physical distance between us.

Recorded in Brooklyn, the album came together rather quickly. They recorded in a “live” setting, with minimal overdubs. This created an immediacy that comes through very well on each of the tracks.

“Through a recommendation,” Chinn said, “we found a nice place to do basic tracks. We also have our own little studio room here, where we did all of the overdubs and vocals.”

“It took about six months, start to finish,” said Hester. “I think the record has an Ohio and Brooklyn ‘feel.’ There’s definitely a Brooklyn presence, I think, lyrically. But then, there’s that good Ohio ‘rock’ background to it, as well.”

Produced by Jon Chinn and Manager, it has a sound that is reminiscent of the band’s influences, such as Bob Mould, Matthew Sweet, Flaming Lips, Beck and Deathcab For Cutie.



Manager (l-r) Dorcas, Hester, Cantu, Chinn

“Today,” Hester said, “we were talking about Television, Echo and The Bunnymen during practice.”

“They don’t come through Columbus much,” Chinn added, “but here in New York, there’s so many great shows all the time. I mean, we’ve probably seen Bob Mould four times in the last two years. It’s not hard to be over forty and still want to rock.”

Although the influence of these artists can be heard in their music, the band has developed their own sound, keeping it fresh and new.

The Dayton and Columbus shows are only the second time that Manager have played in Ohio. Their show on Friday at Spacebar is sure to bring a plethora of family and friends to see the band perform.

“We’ll be playing on Cinco de Mayo,” said Chinn, “so we’ll be serving up Manager margaritas at Spacebar.”

With an infectious sound that will surely have your toes tapping, the question had to asked about what they think of the Columbus “scene” and its place within the musical landscape of America.

“I don’t think there’s ever been a time that there weren’t a ton of awesome bands,” Chinn said. “I had a recording studio for over 10 years in Columbus, and I never had a shortage of crazy, awesome talent that came in every day…”

Cantu jumped right in with, “You’re talking about my band, right?” Once again, laughter ensued.

“There’s more recognition outside of Columbus of there being a ‘scene’ there,” Hester said. “When I talk to strangers, they’ve heard of Columbus now. It’s nice that it’s a slow boil.”

“Columbus is, for a band, a great place to be,” Chinn concluded, “because you can afford a decent apartment working a not-so-great job that affords you the time to get out and do some shows. Within five or six hours in any direction, there are numerous cities to play.

“It’s a good place to be from as a band.” - Music In Motion

If there was a Columbus Music Hall of Fame, Jon Chinn would be a first-ballot lock, honored for both his songwriting contributions (Pretty Mighty Mighty, The Killionaires, Jon Chinn & The 1803) and the production and recording work he did as one of the founders of Workbook Studio. It’s little wonder that everything Chinn has touched, whether it be fronting a band or sitting behind a recording console, shines with high production value and quality, readymade for shrink wrap and shelf space wherever fine albums and CDs are sold.

Though Pretty Mighty Mighty predated the emergence of emo rock, I often thought, as I watched the band perform at venues like Bernie’s, Little Brothers, and Skully’s, that the kids listening to The Promise Ring and Hey Mercedes could easily find a common ground in emotionally-charged music Pretty Mighty Mighty was performing. Not sure how a major label record deal never fell into the band’s lap, but their influence could be heard in bands that emerged on the High Street scene in the late ’90s/early ’00s.

2017 brings us the debut release by Chinn’s latest project, Manager, a band whose sound doesn’t stray too far from the musician’s previous efforts though, this many years later, the songs arrive with more urgency than ever before. With a new-ish supporting cast (Ron Hester – guitars, Lori Cantu – bass, John Dorcas – drums), Chinn’s guitar-rock recalls the glory days of the mid-90s when alternative rock ruled the world – between the music and the falsetto-style vocals, bands like Sugar, Guided By Voices and the Ass Ponys spring to mind. Though now based in New York City, the band members share common midwest roots and strong working class aesthetic – roll up the sleeves, plug in, rock out, sweat on stage and drink a few beers while doing it.

The albums kicks off with the appropriately-titled “Off to the Races”, setting the tone for the following 33-minutes of passionately-charged, straight up rock and roll. There’s some nifty guitar playing towards the end of the song – and throughout the album – that would have inspired a teenage me to stand in front of a mirror and play air guitar (um … a 45-year-old me may have done the same thing recently).

In an interesting twist “Electrical Camp” reminds me a lot of Miranda Sound, one of the bands that Chinn mentored and influenced while still a regular member of the Columbus music scene, and it’s probably my favorite song on the album with it’s anthemic qualities and reverent guitar playing.

For those of us now settled into careers, the lyrics of “Manager” resonate, whether you’re in a leadership position at work or not (“If the proper process was in fashion, we’d be out with our boys in the bar”, “The interns are wasted, the evidence is speaking”, “Though it’s not quite quitting time, everything that’s on my list is getting old”, “Who is the one that is to blame? I am, I am the manager”).

I don’t really think, come year end, I can include this on my list of favorite local releases even though a few members of the band called Columbus home for a number of years, though that’s okay – this is far more deserving of a spot on the non-location specific “Favorites of 2017” list. While it may play a ’90s nostalgia card, it’s also very timely and relevant and offers proof that guitar rock is not a dying genre.

Head over to Manager’s website to hear “Off to the Races”, “Party Service” and “Manager” and check out the Texacobra Records’s website to learn more about when you get pick this up on vinyl or as digital downloads. - ColumbusCalling.com

With its self-titled, this Brooklyn four-piece has created a balm for our souls, a buffer from the hubris of a world gone to shit. In just nine songs, you will find catharsis and relief. You will believe there is still something to believe in.

The healing begins appropriately with “Off to the Races,” an analysis of real-life and metaphorical pain set against a comforting pop hook. Indeed, when singer Jon Chinn sings of notes and chords on “You Haven’t the Guts,” it’s obvious he knows of their curative properties. The centerpiece to the record and the band’s calling card, “Manager” tells of failure and salvation over a criss-crossing of riffs and plaintive guitar lines with office speak allegory. Here, Chinn summarizes our universal want when he admits, “I just want to go home.”

Mastered by Bob Weston (Shellac, Volcano Suns), Manager might remind you of luminaries like Guided By Voices (most of the band shares an Ohio lineage), Bob Mould, and pre-Deschanel Death Cab for Cutie, but there’s no denying that the band has found its own collective voice during its two short years together. It’s an eloquent one at that, an articulation of a 21st century state of being. Someone else once sang about what the world needs now, but Manager has delivered it. - The Agit Reader

This Is How It Ends For Me (Spy Balloon) is the first music released by Jersey City’s Manager in nearly two years and continues with their superb mix of pop rock modernity, faux gaze inflections, and Guided By Voices fuzz drizzled crunch. Genuinely superb. - JanglepopHub