Vol. XXVII, No. 11  May 26 - June 8, 2003

mailto:A-RProfile@musicconnection.com?subject=MC A-R Profile Column

BACKGROUND: Justin Petersen has worked in many aspects of the music business since he first became a percussionist at age nine. By age 18 he was touring in a professional Top 40 band. After attending college for electronics and computer science he went to work for a sound company overseeing the design and installation of major recording studios and large-scale sound reinforcement systems. His credits include The Armed Forces Radio Network and the National Public Radio studios, in Washington D.C. Petersen eventually moved on to become front-of-house engineer for Autograph and relocated to Los Angeles. His live sound engineering credits include Rough Cutt, GNR, LA Guns, Faster Pussycat, and numerous other Hollywood bands. Petersen eventually found his way to an A&R position at Matrix Musicworks.

Matrix Musicworks: We are a production company specializing in the development of youthful pop rock, country, and R&B talent, originally launched in 1999 by Harlan Lansky, formerly of Soul Power. We maintain our own studios and in-house producers, engineers, and other staff. Our studios reside in the CNN building in Hollywood. We also have offices at the Pacific Design Center. Matrix has successfully developed artists for major labels such as EMI, BMG, Universal, and Elektra, just to name a few.

Hot Ticket: On one of our projects we hired the Matrix (the team that produced Avril Lavigne) to produce three songs on the Troys’ upcoming CD. The Troys are a 16-and 18-year-old-sister rock act. Kind of like Veruca Salt meets Missing Persons. Elektra picked them up and they are currently getting airplay.

Finding Acts: I’ve been out and about in Hollywood for 23 years. Many know I’m an A&R guy. So mostly, I like it when someone I know comes up and tells me about an act. Aside from that you’ll find me combing the open mic acoustic sets around town. On top of this I have my other A&R guys, Joel Ellis and Trace Townsend, poking around in other parts of the country. I have also been to Europe for the past two summers scouting.

Unsolicited Material: Unsolicited material only bogs us down. We get it, and occasionally listen to it, but it’s not the right route to go. This may sound a little cold, but I’ve been known to toss a CD after just looking at the picture of the artist. I don’t mean to sound like Simon Cowell here, but that’s just the nature of the business.

The Producers Group: This is a new firm formed by Alan Kovac (owner of 10th Street Management), Frank Cimler, and Harlan Lansky. It’s a producer’s management company partly formed to assist in Matrix’s development of acts and to assist in finding work for these great talents.

First Success: I was introduced through a friend to a sultry 24-year-old county singer by the name of Emily Young. Emily has probably one of the most stunning voices I’ve heard since Patsy Cline. We’ve produced her demos in a very crossover manner. Currently, we are shopping her and it’s not a matter of yes or no, but how good of a deal we can get her.

The Buzz: Of course, if someone in the biz gives me a heads up I’ll give it a solid look and listen. But I rarely go and see an act live until I’ve heard some kind of demo and seen a picture. If there is a buzz surrounding an artist, that may get my attention as well.

Styles: Matrix is very open to many genres of music. However, anything falling into a techno category, or a niche, we would probably pass on right off. I can’t speak for the producers our partner company represents, however, If one decides to take on a project outside of our parameters they are free to do so. We’re talking about two different companies here.

Hands-On: We treat each artist differently; some need more molding than others. Don’t misunderstand our process. We do not manufacture artists. Everyone that comes on board with us is a true talent. We generally like our artists to sing, play an instrument, and have solid composing skills. From there we fill in what’s missing or polish it up.

Matrix typically stays hands on from start to finish. On some occasions we’ll get an act signed and the label takes it from there, so the answer is; It depends on the egos involved. Aside from access to all the producers our partner company manages, we have in house studios, access to publicists, session players, songwriters, and Frank Cimler, our attorney. So, if the situation warrants, we have the resources to take it all the way to the radio, and even MTV. On one occasion we negotiated an imprint label for one of our artists and the ball was totally in our court.

Latest Signing: Most of the artists I find are by word-of-mouth. One of my guys told me of this 11-year-old girl who sang, played guitar, and fronted a band. Kristy Rose opened for Vince Neil at his Chicago show. At first I was like, “You want me to sign an 11-year-old?” Well, I tracked down her parents and checked her out. She was a little green, but she blew us away. I flew the family and Kristy out here from Chicago to check out the chemistry. Prior to coming out here I picked one of her songs from her rough demo, rearranged it, and had a session guy lay down some basic tracks. We put her in the studio on the second day she was here.

What’s New: Our senior producer/engineer, EMI writer Craig Bartock, has been working with Ann and Nancy Wilson (Heart) in our studios writing material for an upcoming release. Matrix has started working on another new young act and Chris Squire (Yes) was also in the studio working with Craig on another project. In addition, another producer has brought his rig in and he has projects he is working on. The atmosphere is quite electric.

Job Description: My responsibilities at Matrix are varied. Aside from A&R work, I do everything from fix the computer network at the office to refurbishing vintage gear to referring an established artist that needs management to our partner company 10th Street Management. On my last project I discovered the artists, got a green light from my boss, found a producer/engineer with a studio to do the demo on spec, (our studios were booked) and basically helped arrange the music and coached the singer on phrasing and lyrics. On occasion I’ll play on a demo. I also have ProTools LE at home as well. If an artist needs some grass roots work, we can do it there. So I guess I’m a bit more than just an A&R guy.

Setting Up: I can listen to a one-track cassette recording of some kid sitting in a garage with a guitar and a mic and hear if there is talent there. I’ll look at the picture, listen to the passion, song structure, vocal phrasing, and I can tell if I need to follow up. Just give me a real performance on tape, doesn’t have to be perfect. But generally I like to hear three songs. I listen to about 45 seconds of a song before I move to the next. All it takes is one good song to break an artist.

If an artist comes to me with a finished record, that’s fine as well. But understand that Matrix is in the business of putting an artist in the biz. If they already have management, an attorney, and a finished package, they may be better off shopping it themselves. However, if they feel something is missing we could polish it up, attach one of our heavy hitter producers and shop it for them. This of course is assuming we think the artist has a good chance of getting picked up.

––Tom Kidd

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©2003 Music Connection Inc.