Rick Bonde

4
Executive Interview Page 12 1999-2000 Edition POLLSTAR When the company relocated to Los Angeles, Bonde found a new way to unwind – surfing. Right now, he’s probably looking for his waders, and his rod and reel be- cause he’s moving the shop back to its place of origin. “We’ll be up and running again in Tahoe November 1st,” he said. “I’ve always said that we’re just visiting in L.A.” Some industry types may balk at the business ramifications of mov- ing from a bucolic mountain town to the music epicenter and back, but Bonde has always played by his own rules. “I’ve never worked for another agency. I don’t really know how this industry is supposed to work; I just know the way I do it.” Like many of his peers, Bonde played in bands while he was in college. He loved the San Francisco club scene and the music, but not rehearsing. “That’s why I got in the business. I was the guy hustling up the gigs.” When his last band broke up, he decided to handle business for some other acts, since that’s what he en- joyed the most, anyway. He started managing bands in San Francisco and Berkeley, and eventually hooked up with one he really loved. “I put all my eggs in one basket for this band that I really believed in and when they split up, I had no say in the matter and no job. I re- alized that it would be better to work with more clients and on a limited basis. That’s how I became an agent. Bands can come and go, things change, but the business is more stable.” Bonde said he’s been reinventing the wheel ever since. “Sometimes, I wonder if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that I’ve never worked for anyone else. I struggle to figure things out when the answer should be obvious. On the other hand, I didn’t come into this jaded or with a narrow-minded way of thinking.” An open mind combined with a true understanding of the niche market made the Tahoe Agency the booker of choice for tour stalwarts The Skatalites, Less Than Jake, and The Aquabats. A number of third-wave ska and punk bands were nurtured by Bonde and he saw all-too-fleeting success when Sublime broke that scene wide open. Then the death of Sublime frontman Brad Nowell in May 1996 caused Bonde to reevaluate just about everything. “I’ve realized that I have to place equal impor- tance on quality of life and career. When you do that, you end up do- ing better in both,” he said. Now, he’s about to see his most popular act, Blink-182, headline its first arena tour. Once again, Bonde has played an instrumental role in turning a good band with a cult following into a big-time concert draw. Throughout his career, Bonde’s ideals and business principles re- main firmly connected to his per- sonal beliefs. “I came into it wondering if someone could be successful if they weren’t a ruthless, raving lunatic. I thought I could do the job, retain my humanity and try to make deals that work for everybody. So far, that approach has been good for us.” The Tahoe Agency has gone through some interesting changes in the past few years. Yes, it has. We grew to a point where the company got very large. We had almost 30 clients and there were seven of us working in the office. It was kind of exciting but at the same time, I found my- self running a business instead of being an agent and that was kind of a drag because I like being an agent. I like being on the phone, talking to people and getting things done. I needed to go back to that. That’s the main reason why we trimmed the roster and the staff down considerably. My former staff in Tahoe – Tony Mar- tin, Corie Christopher and Sara Vale – are all great and I continue to value their contributions. We’re going to keep it small. I like the Jerry McGuire approach – fewer clients, better service. It’s more enjoyable, more relaxing and I actually get to keep a little bit of the money we make. Before, we had such high overhead. It just works better this way. It’s not about my status in the industry or my social status, or how big the company can be. It’s about following through and doing the best job we can. We’ve made a commitment to our clients. It seems like you’ve had the freedom to learn as you go and that you’re not afraid to do things differently. The bands are partly responsible for the way we do things. Skankin’ Pickle drove it into my head: ‘We do not play shows that are not all- ages.’ Every tour, I’d get stuck somewhere and bring them an of- fer that wasn’t all-ages, and they’d always say, ‘No, it’s not going to happen.’ They really, really helped me understand that there is a world out there where the show is for the kids. It’s not about selling beer. There are all kinds of opportuni- ties at that level of touring. I enjoy talking to independent promoters and kids who want to promote shows. I can always tell when it’s a real young kid wanting to do a show because they always say, ‘Hi. Um, uh.... ’ they don’t know how to start the conversation. I love talking to kids and ex- plaining how to make a deal. Then they say, ‘But I don’t want to make any money. It’s not about making money for me.’ I tell them that we want them to make money. If they make money, then they’ll be in business and we can work with them in the future. Quite often, we’re on the phone teaching concert business 101. Now we know where the next generation of indie promoters will come from. The Tahoe Agency school of promotion. We teach them our way so we can take advantage of them later. ‘What do you mean, promoter profit? All deals are 90- 10 at the club level.’ No, we really want them to see that they are entitled to make a buck. Of course, I am responsible for the artists I represent, but Rick Bonde The Tahoe Agency A fter a hard day of deal-making, routing tours and negotiating, Rick Bonde likes to get back to nature. When the Tahoe Agency was located in Lake Tahoe, he would sometimes go fly-fishing.

Transcript of Rick Bonde

Page 1: Rick Bonde

Executive Interview s

Page 12 1999-2000 Edition POLLSTAR

When the company relocated toLos Angeles, Bonde found a newway to unwind – surfing. Right

now, he’s probably looking for hiswaders, and his rod and reel be-cause he’s moving the shop back to

its place of origin. “We’ll be up andrunning again in Tahoe November1st,” he said. “I’ve always said that

we’re just visiting in L.A.”Some industry types may balk at

the business ramifications of mov-ing from a bucolic mountain town

to the music epicenter and back,but Bonde has always played by hisown rules.

“I’ve never worked for anotheragency. I don’t really know howthis industry is supposed to work; I

just know the way I do it.”Like many of his peers, Bonde

played in bands while he was in

college. He loved the San Franciscoclub scene and the music, but notrehearsing. “That’s why I got in the

business. I was the guy hustling upthe gigs.”

When his last band broke up, he

decided to handle business for someother acts, since that’s what he en-joyed the most, anyway. He started

managing bands in San Franciscoand Berkeley, and eventuallyhooked up with one he really loved.

“I put all my eggs in one basket forthis band that I really believed inand when they split up, I had no

say in the matter and no job. I re-alized that it would be better towork with more clients and on a

limited basis. That’s how I became

an agent. Bands can come and go,things change, but the business ismore stable.”

Bonde said he’s been reinventingthe wheel ever since. “Sometimes, Iwonder if it’s a good thing or a bad

thing that I’ve never worked foranyone else. I struggle to figurethings out when the answer should

be obvious. On the other hand, Ididn’t come into this jaded or witha narrow-minded way of thinking.”

An open mind combined with a

true understanding of the nichemarket made the Tahoe Agency thebooker of choice for tour stalwarts

The Skatalites, Less Than Jake,and The Aquabats. A number ofthird-wave ska and punk bands

were nurtured by Bonde and hesaw all-too-fleeting success whenSublime broke that scene wide

open. Then the death of Sublimefrontman Brad Nowell in May1996 caused Bonde to reevaluate

just about everything. “I’ve realizedthat I have to place equal impor-tance on quality of life and career.

When you do that, you end up do-ing better in both,” he said.

Now, he’s about to see his most

popular act, Blink-182, headlineits first arena tour. Once again,Bonde has played an instrumental

role in turning a good band witha cult following into a big-timeconcert draw.

Throughout his career, Bonde’sideals and business principles re-main firmly connected to his per-

sonal beliefs. “I came into it

wondering if someone could besuccessful if they weren’t a ruthless,raving lunatic. I thought I could do

the job, retain my humanity andtry to make deals that work foreverybody. So far, that approach

has been good for us.”

The Tahoe Agency has gone

through some interesting

changes in the past few years.

Yes, it has. We grew to a point

where the company got very large.

We had almost 30 clients and

there were seven of us working in

the office. It was kind of exciting

but at the same time, I found my-

self running a business instead of

being an agent and that was kind

of a drag because I like being an

agent. I like being on the phone,

talking to people and getting

things done. I needed to go back

to that. That’s the main reason

why we trimmed the roster and

the staff down considerably. My

former staff in Tahoe – Tony Mar-

tin, Corie Christopher and Sara

Vale – are all great and I continue

to value their contributions.

We’re going to keep it small. I

like the Jerry McGuire approach –

fewer clients, better service. It’s

more enjoyable, more relaxing and

I actually get to keep a little bit of

the money we make. Before, we

had such high overhead. It just

works better this way.

It’s not about my status in the

industry or my social status, or

how big the company can be.

It’s about following through and

doing the best job we can.

We’ve made a commitment to

our clients.

It seems like you’ve had the

freedom to learn as you go

and that you’re not afraid to

do things differently.

The bands are partly responsible

for the way we do things. Skankin’

Pickle drove it into my head: ‘We

do not play shows that are not all-

ages.’ Every tour, I’d get stuck

somewhere and bring them an of-

fer that wasn’t all-ages, and they’d

always say, ‘No, it’s not going to

happen.’ They really, really helped

me understand that there is a

world out there where the show is

for the kids. It’s not about selling

beer.

There are all kinds of opportuni-

ties at that level of touring. I enjoy

talking to independent promoters

and kids who want to promote

shows. I can always tell when it’s a

real young kid wanting to do a

show because they always say, ‘Hi.

Um, uh....’ they don’t know how to

start the conversation.

I love talking to kids and ex-

plaining how to make a deal. Then

they say, ‘But I don’t want to make

any money. It’s not about making

money for me.’ I tell them that we

want them to make money. If they

make money, then they’ll be in

business and we can work with

them in the future.

Quite often, we’re on the phone

teaching concert business 101.

Now we know where the next

generation of indie promoters

will come from.

The Tahoe Agency school of

promotion. We teach them our

way so we can take advantage of

them later. ‘What do you mean,

promoter profit? All deals are 90-

10 at the club level.’

No, we really want them to see

that they are entitled to make a

buck. Of course, I am responsible

for the artists I represent, but

Rick BondeThe Tahoe Agency

After a hard day of deal-making, routing tours

and negotiating, Rick Bonde likes to get

back to nature. When the Tahoe Agency was located

in Lake Tahoe, he would sometimes go fly-fishing.

Page 2: Rick Bonde

s Executive Interview

POLLSTAR 1999-2000 Edition Page 13

some of these are really young

bands that aren’t being pursued by

every big promoter in the country.

I let the bands know that it’s OK

to give a reduction if someone

loses a lot of money on the show

because we want these people to

stay in business.

The relationships with the little

guys and the young kids are im-

portant. We want them to still be

in business the next time we come

around and we want them to be

excited about working with us.

Obviously, you don’t take

the rubber-stamp approach to

deal-making.

You have to look at the whole

pie and make the best deal you can

for your client without screwing

everyone else. I absolutely know

who I represent. My first responsi-

bility rests with my artist and I

make the best deal possible for

them. That means making the best

of what’s available.

I want to find out what the true

gross is, what the true expenses

are and make a deal based on that.

It doesn’t have to be the standard

deal that everyone has been mak-

ing over the years; it just has to be

the best deal we can make.

Now that Blink is blowing up,

promoters call me up and say,

‘What do you want?’ and I say, ‘I

want 110 percent of the gross.’ It’s

a joke, but it seems like that’s what

everybody is doing.

Do you have the added task

of keeping the ticket price low

since your bands have young

audiences?

Yes, and Blink is certainly an

example of that. They realize that

they could make more money, but

they want to keep the ticket prices

fair and they’re willing to take the

money that goes along with that

deal.

Blink-182 makes more or less

money based on the ticket price. If

they want to make more money,

the ticket price goes up. If they are

willing to make less money, the

ticket price comes down. We still

try to get all the money on a low

ticket price and that makes pro-

moters crazy. But they know that’s

coming. They know we’re going to

fight over the merchandise rate

and the ticket price, and I’m still

going to try to get as much

money as I can.

Blink wants to keep the T-shirt

prices reasonable and that is al-

ways the biggest fight. Promoters

say, ‘The band is going to have to

realize that they’re getting to the

next level and they’re going to

have to start living with these

merch rates.’

My answer to that is, ‘Why?

Who said we have to get used to

these merch rates? I didn’t make

that rule and I don’t have to live

by it.’

I won a $10 bet with a promoter

on the school deal where they said,

‘There’s no way this school is go-

ing to go with this merch rate.’ I

said, ‘I bet you 10 bucks that if we

ask very nicely and explain why

we want the lower rate, we’ll get it.’

We got it from 30 percent down

to 10 percent. It can happen; you

can change the rules.

Blink-182 and Less Than Jake

didn’t make these rules. When

someone wants to give me 40 per-

cent of the hot dog and soda sales,

they can have 40 percent of the

merch. It’s a good fight and we’ll

continue to fight it.

Do you go out of your way to

work with promoters who are

more flexible?

We absolutely want to work

with promoters who think that

way. That’s one of the many rea-

sons why we have such a strong

relationship with Goldenvoice. We

definitely pick and choose who we

work with based on how they treat

the audience.

I’ve seen promoters who treat

the audience strictly as a commod-

ity. Once they’ve sold the ticket,

that kid doesn’t matter anymore.

That’s not the way we do business.

The people I want to work with are

the people who understand that

they invited

these kids to

come to this

party. They are

responsible for

their safety, their

well-being and

their happiness at

their show. I

don’t think it’s

the band’s and

the agent’s re-

sponsibility to

drive that into

the promoters’

heads. The good

promoters are the

ones who already

understand that.

Their job is just

beginning when

the kids line up

outside the door.

Safety is always a concern

where kids are involved.

How much responsibility falls

on the band and how much is

personal responsibility?

Ultimately, I think it’s a matter

of personal responsibility. I think

that, in this country, we’ve forgot-

ten about personal responsibility. I

remember when someone fell into

the Grand Canyon and they sued

the park service. It’s a big hole in

the ground; you get too close, you

might fall in.

I think parents need to know

where their kids are and what

they’re doing. They can call me if

they want to find out what hap-

pens at a concert. I’ve had a lot of

parents ask me if it’s safe for a 14-

year-old to go to a show. Parents

need to know what goes on at

concerts. Go with the kids, see

what goes on and decide for them-

selves.

I think kids need to be respon-

sible as well and realize what is

safe in a mosh pit and what isn’t.

A mosh pit can be safe, but it just

takes a couple of testosterone-

fueled knuckleheads out there

swinging their elbows and run-

ning into everybody. That drives

the true fans out, it drives the girls

away and it’s no fun.

Everyone needs to take respon-

sibility starting from the time

when we’re putting the deal to-

gether. I do not want to sell a show

until every dollar is squeezed out

of every kid in the market. I want

the place to be packed but I don’t

want it to be an unsafe situation. I

understand that the promoters

don’t make any money until the

last 20 people are in the door, so

oftentimes, they’re forced to cut

corners because of the way the

deals are structured.

The bands do need to take re-

sponsibility as well. Young people

in bands – at least the ones I work

with – understand the situation

well because we talk about it.

When you’re real young and all

of a sudden you have a micro-

phone and a PA in your control,

it’s a power thing and it can be

dangerous.

I think the bands need to

understand that power and use it

wisely. There’s a productive way

to use that power on a safety level

and on a social level.

THE AGENT and Universal Concerts Canada’s Elliott Lefkoat the 1998 CIC.

Page 3: Rick Bonde

Executive Interview s

Page 14 1999-2000 Edition POLLSTAR

How do you help a band grow

with the fans and not fall victim

to trends?

You try to get ahead of the

curve. Bands like Less Than Jake

certainly transcend the ska craze.

They have pure musical ability and

an absolutely fantastic show. It’s

undeniable. A band like that will

always shine through no matter

what’s popular at the moment.

Long-term survival is all about

touring. There is really no other

way to ensure that a band can out-

live a trend. Less Than Jake has

never really had tremendous suc-

cess as far as radio goes. They

didn’t get a hit on radio when ska

hit the mainstream, but they’re the

ones who are still going and their

success is all about touring.

They’ve made great records,

they’ve made a lot of friends, they

work with other bands and they

work with the label. All those

things have helped, but with Less

Than Jake, it’s all about touring.

They simply wouldn’t be as suc-

cessful as they are if they sucked

live. Every time they play, in any

market, they attract more fans.

And it’s not based on radio play.

Isn’t that basically how Blink-182

broke as well?

It’s exactly the same. Blink

worked their asses off for years. It

was so cool – [guitarist] Tom

[Delonge] came to me a while ago

and said, ‘I always wondered why

you guys stuck with us. We used

to make $50 a night. It was a joke.

We’d wonder why you’d stick with

a band that never made any

money.’

Well, this is why. I knew they

had it, their fans knew they had it.

[Warped Tour organizer] Kevin

Lyman knew. The Warped Tour

was very instrumental in their

success as was their manager, Rick

DeVoe. He’s positioned them so

well in the surf and skate scene.

They now have a huge fanbase.

All it takes is a couple of radio

hits and bang! All of a sudden,

you’re selling out a 10,000- to

11,000- seat show in L.A. in 10

minutes. It’s absolutely amazing.

Universal Amphitheatre and Irvine

sold out that quickly.

How do you feel about House

of Blues buying the tour?

We have an agreement with

House of Blues Entertainment

that we’re absolutely thrilled about.

It’s a fantastic deal. It’s for 50 dates

running through this tour and

into the next tour.

I’m very excited to be working

with such a great company and

I’m absolutely sincere about that.

Jason Miller from the Denver of-

fice was instrumental in putting

this deal together. He had the fore-

sight to jump on this and bring

this tour to the company. It was

his idea. He should be considered a

great asset to the company. Mel-

issa Miller is a true professional

and a pleasure to work with, and

Kevin Morrow is ... Kevin Morrow.

This happened when HoB and

Universal were still two separate

companies and Kevin had the guts

to step out and make the offer. He

just did it and I thought that was

amazing. I think it’s shaping up to

be a tremendous company.

The cool thing about the deal

with HoB is we succeeded, for the

most part, in not leaving out any

of the band’s usual promoters.

There are exceptions. Unfortu-

nately, my favorite promoter in

the world is not entirely thrilled

with us because they are not thepromoter in their market. That was

tough but it’s a matter of geogra-

phy. The Universal Amphitheatre

is now part of the HoB empire and

Goldenvoice doesn’t get to be the

sole promoter there. I certainly un-

derstand what that feels like.

But overall, I think this deal is

good for the promoters. I think it’s

healthy and good to remain inde-

pendent, but it’s also important to

have relationships with people in

the larger conglomerates. If a tour

is going to be bought by SFX or

HoB and you’re an independent

promoter in a market where nei-

ther of those companies has the

right building, you are going to get

those shows.

L.A.’s an easy call, but how

did you know this was the right

time to move into larger venues

in other markets?

It was an interesting process.

No one on the band or manage-

ment side really wanted to step

out too far and rightfully so. It was

a smart move to not go too big.

Obviously, the best thing is make

sure you sell out.

Jay Boberg, the president of

MCA Records, and I really be-

lieved all along that the band

would be able to do these types of

numbers. In certain markets, we

played it real safe and only went

to 3,000 seats, and in other mar-

kets, we went into arenas but we

did the deal based on half the

house. We went to the band and

said, ‘You’ve got a 5,000 seater and

let’s put it on sale and see what

happens. There’s no in-between.

You’re too big to play a 3,000

seater and 7,000 is iffy, but that’s

what we’ve got. So let’s go in at a

scaled-down 5,000. Then all of a

sudden, we’re on the phone to all

those promoters, increasing the

capacity in those rooms.

In a couple of markets, we’re in

too small of a venue and there

isn’t a bigger room. In New York

City, what do we do? Go to Madi-

son Square Garden? So we stayed

at Roseland and it’s sold out. We

didn’t have time on the tour to do

multiple nights in those venues.

It’s OK to save some of the juice

for the next tour.

Do you think there’s a way

for the national tours to work

for everyone?

I do. A few years ago, everyone

was scared for their job because

they thought the national promot-

ers were going to go straight to

the managers. Frankly, these deals

are rather complicated and the

managers don’t have the time to

wrestle with all the details. They

have so many responsibilities al-

ready. To negotiate a deal this large

and this all-encompassing ... I just

don’t think they have the time.

I think the expertise and experi-

ence of an agent is still valuable. I

think the system as we know it

will stay intact for a while. I also

think that as the consolidation

continues, you’re going to need

the agent to fight for what’s right

for the band. As you have fewer

and fewer options, you need to

make sure your deals are tighter

and better.

Would you ever tell a band

to take the lower offer in the

name of loyalty?

Absolutely. It goes beyond loy-

alty. It’s about doing the right

thing. I was talking to Mitch

Okmin about how it comes down

to playing the right room. It’s not

about getting the most money or

who the promoter is, it’s about the

right situation for the band.

On this Blink tour, we took less

money in a lot of situations where

we could have made more but it

wasn’t right. We’re looking for cer-

tain positioning right now and

that’s the priority.

How do you feel about the whole

promoter consolidation process?

Well, I can tell you I was be-

yond thrilled when HoB bought

Universal Concerts. It was a scary

time. Like everyone else, I was

thinking, what is going on here?

What’s the end result of all the

consolidation going to be?

It happens in every industry. In

some instances, it’s good, but in

some cases, it’s very questionable

because – at least from the artist’s

standpoint – you need as many

options as possible. That’s what

makes capitalism work. Every

time a promoter gets rid of the

competition – however big or

small the market is – the artist

loses options and negotiating

power.

You have firsthand knowledge

of what a lack of competition

can do?

Page 4: Rick Bonde

s Executive Interview

POLLSTAR 1999-2000 Edition Page 15

Sure. I think every agent has

seen it. When a promoter puts in a

low offer, it just makes your heart

sink. I passed on an offer for the

Aquabats because it was so low it

made me mad. The promoter’s re-

sponse was, ‘Oh, wow, I didn’t

know I was up against anyone. I

didn’t know I had any competition

on this show.’ Well, you did. And

even if you didn’t, it doesn’t make

it OK to make a bad offer.

You shouldn’t have to accept

whatever someone offers just be-

cause no one is bidding against

them. Even if you have a history

with someone, you still have to

find that fair market value. They

get the first shot at it, but they still

need to be fair.

Speaking of fairness, you’ve

worked really hard on bands

that have left you for another

agency just as they start to see

real success.

I have to say that, yes, we have

lost some bands. But everyone

loses clients. We’ve lost some cli-

ents right when they’re getting

really successful and I actually

take some pride in that because I

think it proves that we’ve picked

some darn good bands.

I started working with all of

these bands because I believed in

their music. I lost some belief in

their business tactics and I’m not

entirely thrilled with the way some

things have happened, but origi-

nally, I fell in love with the music.

I’m really proud of what we’ve

been able to do. Picking the right

bands is its own measure of suc-

cess and it’s brought me some

cool opportunities. I have an A&R

consulting arrangement with

MCA Records because I’ve been

able to pick some decent bands.

We’re a little tiny agency in

Lake Tahoe and we’ve had some

great success. If we did a mediocre

job, that wouldn’t have happened.

You’ve taken risks with certain

bands. When you picked up

Sublime, no one else would

touch them.

They had the worst reputation

for missing shows and you know

what? They missed one show in

the time that I worked with them.

They couldn’t get into Canada be-

cause of their previous records,

which I should have figured out

but was unaware of when I booked

the show.

Brad Nowell’s death must have

been devastating.

Losing a client for business rea-

sons means nothing to me; losing

Sublime meant everything to me.

I had gotten to a point where I had

really, really focused and dedicated

my life and my career to Sublime.

I felt the music was that important

– I really did.

I saw exactly what was going on

with the band; I saw how it was

working. In some ways, they were

on the same path as the Grateful

Dead. They had very loyal fans

and you never knew what was go-

ing to happen at a concert. It could

be the most spectacular thing

you’d ever seen in your life or it

could be a train wreck. They gener-

ated huge excitement.

I put everything into that band.

Of course, I was working with

other clients and I was running

my business, but when things

were starting to peak with Sub-

lime, that’s when I felt my career

had meaning to it.

I was crushed when Brad died. It

sent me into a tailspin. It took

moving to L.A. to break me out of

it. I was in a really heavy funk. All

of a sudden, it was like all the

meaning in my career was out the

window. I don’t want to take any-

thing away from my other clients

– I don’t want it to come across

that way – but it was a very per-

sonal loss for me.

I take responsibility for losing

some other clients because, in

hindsight, I wasn’t into it as much

as I should have been. A lot of pro-

moters noticed it at the time – all

of a sudden, I wasn’t handling the

bands, the other Tahoe agents

were. It was really tough but I’ve

kept the business going and

moved on.

I guess I’ve been in the busi-

ness for awhile because I’ve lost a

great client and musician to an

overdose, I’ve lost a good friend

and colleague to an overdose in

Gabe Bloom, and now I’ve lost a

client to old age in Roland

Alfonso of the Skatalites.

If you stick with this business

long enough, these things are go-

ing to happen and you adapt and

find ways to deal with it. It makes

you really evaluate what is impor-

tant. I don’t worry as much as I

used to. I don’t stay awake at night

worrying about business stuff or

things that I don’t have any real

control over. I don’t wonder all the

time if something is going to go

wrong. Things go wrong but I

have this confidence now, and I

know I can survive and cope.

Do you have a more “human”

perspective on the business

because of your personal

experiences?

Oh, definitely. That’s what’s

hard. I’ve always tried to run my

business on that level and this in-

dustry makes it really difficult. It’s

all about making the deals and

getting off the phone. Everybody

is in a huge hurry and I wind up

yelling at people who you really

like. When things like that happen,

you have to step back and remem-

ber there is no point in treating

people or yourself that way. You

can’t forget that, ever.

I always want to know, ‘What’s

the real cost of making money?

What is the social, environmental

or psychological cost? Is it worth

possible injury? Death? Are we

sacrificing long-term success for

the quick buck?

Making money is great; I love

making money. But I want to do it

the right way.

Has anyone ever told you

that you can’t be successful and

have a conscience?

Sure they have and I couldn’t

care less. I run my own life. And

besides, I’ve proved them wrong

and I plan on continuing to show

that there is more than one way to

do business. *

BLINK-182 guitarist Tom Delonge (L) Bonde and the band’s manager, Rick DeVoe(R) are ready to hang 10 during a 1996 tour of Japan.