A musician and producer in his own right, Jeffery David (father of Echosmith’s four members) recognized that, together, his children had something special. Having witnessed them play a benefit concert on behalf of a friend who’d died of cancer, he thought, “I want to manage this thing, go on this ride and do whatever I can to open every door on the planet.” So he did, mindful that there’s a world of difference between manager and dad. “When I’m talking as a manager, I’ll say ‘I’m putting on my manager hat,’” confesses David. “And vice versa, I’ll say, ‘Hey, I’m putting on my dad hat.’ I try to never mix those and I think that has really worked.”
“A big cornerstone for building the band was the live show.”
Easing the burden of carrying both roles is management consultant Kimberly Knoller. A two-decade industry veteran, she met David through a mutual friend. When Knoller heard what the group had recorded, she was so eager to get involved she put together a plan of action. To Knoller, the biggest challenge has been placing emphasis on the group’s talent, rather than their youth. “When you listen to the band musically, you don’t think about their ages,” she explains. “The moment you see them live, it changes everything. So a big cornerstone for building the band was the live show.”
Both David and Knoller acknowledge what an excellent partner Warner Brothers has been throughout the development process. Knoller expresses how important the team element has been in moving the needle on the band’s visibility, while David highlights that the band’s members remain in charge of their own career, despite him being a blood relation. “It always starts with their vision,” says the first-time manager. “My job is to take their vision of what they’re hoping to accomplish and affect the world to be a better place with their music.”
By Andy Kaufmann
