Prosthetic Records – Bob Deutsh
Posted on July 18, 2007 at 8:00 am by admin
The first thing you might be wondering is who the hell this Bob Deutsch guy is, and why you should care, right? Well I’ll tell you why you should care! You should care a lot, because he’s one of the guys that helps promote the bands on Prosthetic Records to help make sure you can get all the info you want on the bands you like. Bands like All That Remains, Gojira, Through The Eyes Of The Dead, Lights This City, Byzantine The Acacia Strain, Beneath The Massacre (to name a few) are all on Prosthetic Records.
Not only that, but I was a fan of Prosthetic Records before I ever contacted them. Back when I was just a music fan, I just happened to look at their website to look at a band I liked, and it only took me a few more clicks to get hooked on some other good stuff. This was long before I became one of those music geeks that actually cared about record labels and could name-drop them like the elitist jerk I like to act like now.
One of ideas I’m trying to promote at this website is what goes on behind the scenes. That’s why you’ll see so many interviews asking about things like t-shirts, how bands hook up tours, or what finances can be like on the road. I’ve dealt with so many misconceptions from friends and family, and even people playing in heavy bands, worshiping some of the same bands on Prosthetic Records in my hometown, that I really want to get the message out there to people.
If you’re a person who likes heavy music, or indie music, I want people to know that you don’t have to be in a band to have some involvement to have this music in your life beyond being a fan. Bob is a great example of just one of many professions in the world of underground music.
The final reason why I wanted Bob on here is because he was the very first person I contacted for interviews. This was before my website even existed, and was just in the negotiating stages to have it outsourced, which could’ve been a huge gamble for a significantly big record label in the world of heavy music. While other record labels, bands and PR reps ignored me because I asked for stupid things when I was learning how to get this website stuff done, he stuck with me until I figured out how to say stuff properly in e-mails. To this day, Prosthetic Records is the most supportive “other” party to this website.
Way Too Loud: Can I ask about how old you are (late 20’s, mid 30’s early 40’s) and how long you’ve been working in the field of music?
Bob Deutsch: I’m 24, still a young buck, and I’ve been working at Prosthetic for just about two years now.
WTL: How did you get started? Were you in a band?
Bob: I knew the old radio dude here from my time in college metal radio, kept in contact with him over the summer after I graduated and then got a note from him saying he was moving on to other things. From there, I inquired a bit as to what was up and if I could send over a resume to the boss at the time. I did, one thing led to another, got on the phone with him and then sent him some things to qualify me, assured him I’d drive from the Midwest to California and the rest leads me to now.
WTL: What are the specific tasks that you do when you’re working in promotion?
Bob: For me, I actually deal with press publicity, radio exposure, internet awareness and all that good stuff. I also try my hand at graphic design work from time to time. But pretty much, it’s being the liaison between the press and radio and the bands: getting press what they need, lining up interviews, live coverage, radio airplay and interviews and the like.
WTL: Is this your day job, or do you need a different job to supplement this one?
Bob: It is my day job, but the definition of ‘day’ varies greatly. Some nights, I can pack it up by 6pm, sometimes it’s 8pm, sometimes you’ve got shows to go to, bands to hang out with, stuff to do on Saturdays via your cell phone and webmail. My boss, when we were first talking about me joining the team, summed it up well: This isn’t a 9 to 5 job; it’s more of a lifestyle job. You make stuff happen when it needs to happen, regardless of the hour or the day. Sometimes stuff is eagerly awaited for our London office, and they’re eight hours ahead of us.
WTL: What tasks do you do beyond what most regular PR jobs?
Bob: Well, like I said: I try to dabble in graphic design stuff when I have time, which is usually after I get home from work. Whether it’s dinky things like web banners or wallpapers, or bigger things like tour posters, splash pages, whatever…It’s just something I like to do and it keeps me on my toes and makes me feel like I’m using that studio art minor I got from college.
WTL: What do you tell people you do? Do a lot of people have a hard time understanding what you do?
Bob: Pretty much to the laypeople, i.e. my friends and family not into metal, I say I’m the publicist and am in charge of making sure people know we have records out and locking in coverage. It gets the point across and is true, just in not so many words.
WTL: What are a lot of misconceptions about what you do?
Bob: Some people who don’t ‘get’ the underground metal scene kind of assume I’m pimping bands to Rolling Stone and getting them on KROQ (a big rock station out here) and living the rock star lifestyle, while anyone familiar with heavy metal – or especially anyone who’s in a touring band – can tell you otherwise. There’s no money in heavy metal, it’s all about really enjoying what you’re doing and supporting what you’re peddling.
WTL: What specifically don’t you do, that many people think you do working in promotion for Prosthetic Records?
Bob: I don’t know about this one, since we’re still a pretty close-knit group here at Prosthetic, we still all dabble in A&R, promotions and just hanging out with the bands and being their friends in addition to being the ones who point fingers at them and tell them to tour, record sweet music and just keep on trucking to get to that next level, whatever that might be for each band.
WTL: Prosthetic Records seems to have a closer relationship with their bands than other labels. Does Prosthetic do a lot more than simply sign bands, and distribute their music? The reason I ask is because many bands work with a PR agency, have different management, are set up with different tour managers, but Prosthetic seems a bit more involved (but to what extent, I don’t know).
Bob: I don’t know if we have a closer relationship, but I personally think it’s cool that I can call these dudes friends. They’ll roll into town, we’ll hang out at a show, they’ll crash at my place, we’ll grab some lunch or breakfast or whatever and we try to hang out outside of the work environment if ever possible. Speak of the devil, I just went to an Angels baseball game last weekend with two of the dudes from The Funeral Pyre, since they’re in LA.
WTL: What’s something that you think kids should know if they’re interested in PR?
Bob: It’s long hours, so make sure whatever you’re pushing, you agree with 100%. That makes the late nights, the weekends and the stress much more worth it. Seeing a story in Revolver or Decibel about a band you believe in and are pushing is really rewarding. That same thing goes down to seeing regional press that helps out a show on the road, to seeing a webzine spending time with your band and raving about the music just like you do.
WTL: What are some important things that you think kids need to know when playing heavy music, and trying to “make it” in terms of getting signed, touring, recording, having albums distributed, etc.
Bob: It’s all about making a name for yourself and showing labels you have what it takes to make your band happen. After that, then a label can step in and say ‘hey, with our resources and your resources and willingness to work hard, we can definitely make something cool happen.
WTL: Do things work behind the scenes very similarly for heavy music and other types of music? Perhaps popular music?
Bob: I can’t really say, having never really done the pop music circuit. I’d imagine there’s more money to play with, but the way Prosthetic – and independent metal in general – is pretty appealing to me.
WTL: How do you say your last name? Do you pronounce the “t”, or does it sound like… well, you know…
Bob: Ha ha ha, at least you asked. It’s full-on German and you pretty much pronounce it “doy-itch,” except a little less emphasis on the y. If you’ve taken any German classes in high school or college, you’ll know how it goes.
WTL: Thanks for doing this for me Bob! I think it’s very important for people to know what happens behind the scenes in the world of music, and to clear up lots of misconceptions.
Bob: No sweat, glad to help man!
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