This week's Character of the Week is Maelstrom's band manager,
Ricky. Ricky, tell us a little about yourself and how you came to be in this line of work.
Hi. I'm Ricky Landon, owner of Landon Talent Management, a music promotion agency. Okay, let's be clear. I
am the agency, since I'm still trying to get this business off the ground.

I was really into music as a kid and my dad always encouraged me to follow my dreams. He died of a heart attack when I was in high school and that's when I decided I'd have a career in music, no matter what. Unfortunately, I wasn't all that good. I thought I was, but once I got to college I met a lot of people with really amazing talent. I knew then that I'd never be a performer.
That was about the time some frat buddies of mine put together a garage band. I offered to be their promoter and actually got them some gigs. Since my mom was pestering me to get a degree in something practical, I changed my major from music performance to just regular music and added marketing as a second major. I graduated from Penn State, missing
cum laude by a tenth of a grade point.
When I graduated, I came into my trust fund. My dad had been well off, but not what I'd call rich. I used my trust money to start a talent management agency. I got some bands and session artists, but none of them were very good, which made it hard to promote them.

I'm embarrassed to say I was part of the problem. My focus wasn't on business in those days. I wasted my trust money on sound systems and cars, going to clubs (supposedly to see new acts, but really for the party) and taking girls out. My bands weren't doing well and it all caught up with me. Bands terminated their contracts, the bills piled up, and I knew it was time to get serious.
I was down to my last twenty dollars when I met Kalila. At first I thought her band was my worst nightmare, but now I'd have to say that they're the best thing that ever happened to me. I'm out of debt, my business is back on track, and I'm working hard to get Maelstrom to the next level. They're capable of being major stars and when that happens, I'll be a success with them because we all win in this game. It started with just one lucky break.
So how many of you have had a lucky break? If you haven't, please tell me you haven't lost faith. It can happen for anyone, usually when you least expect it.
(Character of the Week is an "everybody" post.)