Something You Can't Leave Home Without - Day 15

You mean aside from the obvious - wallet with drivers license and hopefully a form of payment (credit cards, cash, whatever you prefer to use)?  Easy...my iPhone!!

I know, I know.  My sister is probably cringing in front of her computer screen reading this right now.  Not because I can’t leave my house without a phone, because I can’t leave without my iPhone!  

What can I say?  It’s more than just a phone to me, it’s my job.  I bought a MacBook Air because I wanted the portability of having my computer on me a lot and where I could respond to emails to promoters, bookers, whoever on a normal keyboard.  But let’s remember having a computer on you all the time would just be crazy and isn’t ideal, even with a computer that’s only 11” and a couple pounds.  I’m not going to carry my Air with me to a show or to a bar with friends or while I’m out shopping, unless I happened to be somewhere else that I needed it and those were stops after (and you can bet I’m not leaving it in the car to “wait” for my return).  But sometimes there are quick emails you can respond to while waiting to meet a friend for coffee or while waiting in the stupidly long check-out line at the grocery store or while you wait for your friend to finish trying on the 10 pairs of jeans she brought with her into the dressing room.  It’s convenient and has helped my career SO much.

Maybe it’s time for a story....

A couple years ago when I was still living in New Jersey, a couple of friends came to visit me and we decided to spend the day being tourists in NYC and seeing the Statue of Liberty.  Later that evening one of the bands I was working with, Copesetic, had a show at a new venue we’d never worked with before.  It was a recommendation from a coworker at Starbucks who knew the booker, but unfortunately that doesn’t mean anything and things went anything but smooth.  It was up in the air whether we were going to make the show that night (we meaning me, Tracey and Laura).  As we were about to hop onto the ferry from NYC to NJ, I got a call from the band.  It was difficult to hear on the boat and I kept going in and out of signal and losing the call, but as soon as we hit land I called them back.  The venue had NO idea why they were there....their name was on the schedule but crossed out.  Another band’s name was written and crossed out.  As far as they knew, no one was playing tonight.  But since nothing appeared to be scheduled, the show would go on.

The drama didn’t end there.  Tracey, Laura and I were able to make it to the venue within minutes of the first band getting ready to play.  I had booked the whole night, pulling in another band from the area to open, set up  a fee for each band to be played and amount of time.  When I showed up, I was informed the venue was still unable to get in contact with their booker, they had no idea what the plan for the evening was.  Eventually the booker showed his face, pulled me aside while the first band was playing and we got into a brief battle of “I said, you said” (imagine “he said, she said” but between you and me).  Things left unresolved and with a “I need to discuss this nonsense with the band.”  I was fuming.  I gave the band a brief rundown as they were concerned by the smoke coming out of my ears, but they needed to play.  Meanwhile, I was trying to pull up the email on my phone, a Blackberry Pearl.  No luck.  Stupid %$%^&&*(^

The band finishes playing, they’re packing up, the crowd stayed and enjoyed the music and additional drinks, everyone the band brought ate food and drank beer, the bar clearly did much better than they would have on said night.  The booker hid from the bar the whole time the bands were playing.  But he had to show his face, he had to pay the band and by this point they were filled in on all the details.  AND...Jay, the drummer and Apple employee, pulled out his iPhone, helped me log into my email and we found the email that contained the “he said, she said” aka WHAT I SAID!  When we went to talk to him again, he tried to stiff the bands the money we agreed on, I took Jay’s iPhone and shoved it in his face and said “this is what we agreed to! You can’t deny that! And if this is not what you meant, too bad because I used CLEAR terms and you said ‘Agreed’!” 

...we got paid.

...and I was right. :)

And when my Blackberry let me down because it’s stupid deleting of messages, Jay’s iPhone saved the day.  It was that night that I knew I needed that phone.  It was that story that I told a few different times in my interviews for Apple.  It was that night that made me realize that phone was needed in my career.  I needed a device that wouldn’t let me down.  So I switched to AT&T, started paying my own phone bill and have never looked back.

And while I’m on the subject, no, I will not be switching back to Verizon now that they are releasing the iPhone to that carrier.  Who wants to be on a CDMA network and not have the ability to check their email and browse the web while also on a phone call?  Not me.  If I’m going to pay so much money for such a high tech phone that I have determined being such an integral part of my career, why wouldn’t I want to get the most of it?  But I want my phone to be able to do everything that it possibly can (not having the iPhone 4 already eats away at me some days).

Bethany, I’m sorry if you’re feeling sad for my need for this phone.  But don’t look at it so much as a need for technology (though that is a part), consider it something I need for my job, for the company that I’m starting up, and for the overall success of the bands that I manage.  Remember, that makes me cool? 

Tracey and I on the ferry to Ellis Island