Project Description
Interview with
Merchandise Manager: STEVE DAY
(LANY)
Interviewer: Jemma Bird
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Source: Instagram @steveday__ , @thisisLANY, @pauljasonklein, Twitter @gxbriellemxry
Edits by Jemma Bird
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In the past, AMNplify has spoken to an array of incredible artists that bring us our favourite music, play our favourite shows and headline our favourite festivals. All of this wouldn’t be possible without the copious amounts of work that goes on behind the scenes.
Amnplify Interviewer Jemma Bird had the chance to speak to some of the hardest working individuals we know and gain a BIRD’S EYE VIEW of what their role in the industry is really like.
Merchandise Manager and all around legend Steve Day has been a part of American dream-pop trio ‘LANY‘s’ team right from day dot. Check out our chat below with Steve as he talks life on the road, working with LANY and the process of supplying you with your favourite threads.
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What made you want to pursue a career within the music industry?
I’ve always loved music and grew up at shows with my older brother and his friends, but I definitely never planned on having a career in the industry.
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How did you come to work with LANY?
They were just homies of mine. Paul and I had met somewhere around the time LANY were starting, and I met Jake and Les through him. I was actually at their first show with my sister — just supporting them because I thought Walk Away slapped and they were cool, nice guys. Fast-forward a couple years/ banger EPs and Paul asked if I wanted to come out on the road to take care of merch.
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As a merchandise manager, what does your role entail?
My primary role as merch manager is making sure we have all the merch we need at every show and festival across the world. Facilitating design from Paul and logistics from our warehouse keeps me pretty busy.
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How much input/involvement do you have in the design process of the merchandise?
Paul’s the creative mind behind our merch, I just try to make sure everything he thinks and sees and draws and creates sees the light of day.
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Steve, Johnny, Joey and Brae selling those sweet threads in Sydney, Australia. Source: Twitter @gxbriellemxry
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LANY’s merchandise is not dissimilar to the style of clothing that yourself and the band wear. Do you think it’s important to design merchandise that follows current fashion trends?
Well, I’m pretty sure 85% of my wardrobe is LANY merch, but I don’t think you have to follow current fashion trends necessarily. Just the way we dress and live, it makes sense that the merch would reflect that. We just want to make merch that we want to wear and if fans like it too, then that’s rad! I feel like it would be exhausting to constantly try and create by simply following culture and other people’s ideas.
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What does a typical work day on tour look like for you?
When we’re on the road in the US or Europe, we’re probably on a bus, as opposed to Australia, Asia, and other International markets where we might be playing the airports/ hotels game, so I’ll go for a typical US Tour Day if that’s cool.
I’ll 100% be finding a rad coffee shop the night before I’m wherever we’re about to be, so I know exactly where I’m going when I wake up – very important. My “work day” usually starts in the early afternoon though, loading in merch to venue — I’ll load in everything that was loaded out from the previous night’s show (as it’s already counted) and then based on the size of the room and past sales in the city be adding more to that. I’ll count in everything we have with a venue rep, set up the tables, catch our local sellers up to speed on our operating system and inventory, and then we’ll crush the desk from doors til close.
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What does a typical work day off tour look like for you? Or do you do most of your work on the road?
Off Tour, I’m in LA working with the band and Rupert (LANY’s manager, whose company Hills Artist Management, operates from LA), on future tour prep/ any other LANY-related stuff.
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What’s your favourite item of LANY merchandise?
Ummmmmmm maybe the Coral For The World Long-sleeve from North American Tour last year. Or maybe the amazing Make Out Tour Tee from 2016, which I haven’t honestly seen since the boys slayed the Troubadour (*cough* I didn’t buy merch that night, I stink…)
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Steve in his favourite item of LANY merch – FOR THE WORLD Coral Long-sleeve. Source: Instagram @steveday__
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Does your role differ much when the band are playing a festival or support slot in comparison to a headline show?
There’s definitely a big difference between headline shows and festivals for me. We ship merch to festivals in advance and have everything pre-arranged with the festival, who are in charge of sales.
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To my understanding the merchandise is ordered to certain venues across the tour. Does this go to plan most of the time and if not how do you go about dealing with this?
This is pretty spot on, yeh. We have certain key spots across the country where we have large quantities shipped, and then depending on sales trends across the course of a tour we’ll constantly be shipping a box or two from our warehouse to other locations to make sure we’re always stocked for shows. Our team are unbelievable, so we do a pretty good job of staying on top of every possible curve ball, but we’ll occasionally sell out of a specific item or size on any given night. We’ll always have it back in stock ASAP though.
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Top 5 essential items for any merchandise manager?
1. iPads, Card Readers, & WiFi — it’s 2018, you gotta be able to take cards.
2. Rubber bands — I dunno, they’re just really useful.
3. Sharpies — I feel like Fish, Jesse, and Lewis are always stealing mine (or maybe I’m stealing theirs) but damn, they’re a necessity.
4. Backpack — I just always have more stuff than I’m expecting and juggling armfuls of merch and items isn’t a vibe.
5. Pocket knife — merch boxes SUCK to try and open with your hands..
Steve working alongside Rupert Lincoln (LANY’s Manager and founder of Hills Artist Management). Source: Instagram @steveday__
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I’ve noticed that the band are quite active on social media, and being such an active member of the LANY team yourself, you have gained quite a few followers. Do you think it’s important to build relationships with fans – both online and at shows?
Hmm, LANY really is a big family — everyone is invested in the lives of the band and crew, which is amazing, and one of the reasons LANY are who they are and where they are. Considering that, I think it’s definitely important to build relationships with fans to some degree — like, if I see the same person five times in two weeks anywhere else in the world, I’m gonna be like “Yo! I know you… what’s good!”, so I don’t see why it would be too different in this circumstance. I’m so tight with a bunch of my local baristas, as a customer, so it’s kinda similar.
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Working on the road is not your typical 9 – 5 job. How do you go about balancing your career and personal life?
Umm I dunno, I guess we’re just used to it now. I have all my friends in LA where I live and family in Adelaide where I’m from, so I try to spend good amounts of time in both spots if I can. I just try and live a normal life when I’m back — we all do to an extent.
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What’s been your biggest career highlight or most memorable moment so far?
Oh man, my favourite merch seller was selling at this one show and I got to meet her — it was CRAZY! Jk I dunno, “career highlight” is kind of a funny concept because I didn’t come into this business aspiring to reach specific personal goals, I just want LANY to be the biggest band in the world, ya know. They’re my best friends, and they straight up slap. So, my biggest highlights are probably all in line with the band’s — arena shows in Manila, back-to-back nights in LA, Coachella, every London show. Oh, you know what will be the highlight — when LANY plays Adelaide!!!
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Steve on tour in San Antonio, Texas. Source: Instagram @steveday__
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What has been your biggest career blunder and how did you deal with/ overcome that?
I’ve definitely had to learn some things on the fly — especially in international markets where we’ve never been before and there isn’t much of a roadmap from other artists for us to reference. I’ve ordered a few too many smalls when I needed bigs, and bigs when I needed smalls, but those moments are just so valuable for personal and professional growth. I’m really, really lucky that Rupe, the band, and all the team are extremely understanding about any learning curves like that. We aspire to literally be the absolute best at everything we do, all the time, but when mistakes are made, nobody overreacts — we take them in stride and keep perspective, which is amazing. I’m lucky!
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What’s something that people would be surprised to know about your job?
I think most people probably assume I was working in entertainment or touring prior to working with LANY.
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What advice would you give to someone who wanted your gig?
I’d probably just encourage people to be good people and to build genuine relationships and networks, because I don’t think I’ve ever had an opportunity that wasn’t initiated by a friend or co-worker, or someone I had been nice to at some point. So, just literally be nice to people and actually mean it.
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Lastly, what’s your favourite part about your job?
I get to do laps of the world with my best friends, that’s definitely a perk.
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Steve loading in – Little Rock, Arkansas. Source: Instagram @steveday__
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