From Rock Show to Rock School
Mark O’Shea teaches his off-stage tactics for on-stage success
By Wayne Brekke

Since 1988, Mark O’Shea has been supporting some of the biggest names in music from behind the scenes. As a tour manager, O’Shea has taken care of business for many artists, cutting his teeth on a little band called Nine Inch Nails. He’s worked with managers, musicians, road crews and rockstars since he stepped into the scene fresh out of college.

“I tried the 9-5 world and I couldn’t do it,” O’Shea says. “I was doing sales and I had the personality to do it but it just wasn’t my scene. I decided to go back to an audio engineering school in Ohio. At the time, Cleveland was not a metropolis for recording, so I started mixing sound for bands.”

He spent time running sound for musicians—at first for free—until he developed a skill and reputation that got him paid. During those years, O’Shea says that he was influenced and inspired by a handful of incredible people in the industry.

“At that time I met Weasel Strychnine. He is now a bus/truck driver, but at the time he was doing production crews for all the non-union venues in Cleveland—he had it locked up. He trained them, put the crews together and was really good at it. I started working for him and in less than six months I was his right-hand-man.”

The lessons he learned from Weasel eventually got him connected with other prominent people in the industry.

“I started running his crew and then worked for the biggest promoter in town, which was Michael Belkin as well as a lady called Stacy Harper. If you wanted to learn how to be completely organized, that’s the person to learn from. If you wanted to learn how to fight for money, and pat someone on the back and smile at them and say ‘Hey it was a great show,’ you got that from Michael. Working with all those great people was absolutely priceless.”

O’Shea did everything from runner to road manager. He was determined to not just to be a mover and shaker, but also to develop the respect and reputation that landed him gigs.

“They eventually named me the ‘Pit Bull’ of runners because I could track down anything,” O’Shea says. His Cleveland mindset and industry street smarts eventually paid off when he went to work for Nine Inch Nails. He had to learn fast and figure out how to deal with responsibilities that included band management, tour production, promotion and logistics.

“I learned how to be a very resourceful person. When I went on tour with Nine Inch Nails, we looked like we had our shit together—and we did. In less than 12 months time, we went from touring in a suburban to two tour busses and a semi.”

With many successes behind him, O’Shea has decided to “Pay it forward.” His Cleveland pride and appreciation for those that taught him so well inspired him to help others.

“I love my hometown, it has a lot to offer artistically, “ O’Shea admits. “I think why scenes suffer is because all these towns have musicians but don’t have enough role models. They need someone to sit them down and say ‘Here’s how you do it.’ Here’s what a promoter does, here’s what an A&R rep does, and here’s how to put a budget together.”

His class is called “Concert Tour Management,” and it is part of the Recording and Arts Technology (the R.A.T. program) at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland. O’Shea teaches young industry professionals and musicians how to succeed both on and off stage.

“It’s amazing to see all the types of people that come into my class,” he says. “Parents who want to manage their kids, guys who want to learn to do indie tours, people who want to learn more about the business. They know I’ll teach organizational skills, budgeting, planning, getting paid and being responsible.”

O’Shea’s class is a 16-week program and helps develop skills that will assist students understand the ins and outs of all aspects of the music industry. Though a class may include a diverse group, O’Shea ensures each student is taught how his class relates to their own personal goals.

“I got a DJ, I got a guy who owns a studio, I got a solo artist,” O’Shea says. “I tell them how it relates to what they want to do. It’s so rewarding to see their faces and watch them benefit.”

For more information on the Recording and Arts Technology program at Cuyahoga Community College, visit www.tri-c.edu.