Dana Erickson's Dad Told Her "There's "A Lotta Cocaine" In The Music Industry

"My favourite band is Wolf Parade and they played five nights in New York at The Bowery Ballroom," Dana Erickson shares, "and I went every single night. And none of my friends were allowed to talk to me, and I stood apart from them because I did not want one person messin' with my vibe... When it's a band I love, I wanna be very present."    

Acknowledging she's "so lucky" to work with Grandstand Media & Management's roster, Erickson points out, "I work with Dan [Boeckner] from Wolf Parade - obviously my favourite band - and, like, every time he calls me I can't believe he even knows my name!"

"As my parents would like to say, I lied and went to school in Seattle to be close to Pearl Jam, which is kind of true."

Music has always been everything to Erickson and, when asked how she scored her first music industry job working alongside Pearl Jam's publicist, she chuckles, "So, as my parents would like to say, I lied and went to school in Seattle to be close to Pearl Jam, which is kind of true. I had - have you ever seen the movie Singles? It's one of the most influential films of my entire life. I watched it and I was like, 'Well, I have to live in Seattle'."

Erickson's initial dream was to become a marine biologist. But then she attended a Deftones gig "at this venue called RKCNDY" with "the only cool kids in the oceanography class". "I was obsessed with [Deftones] and it was the hottest, sweatiest venue; Chino [Moreno] was screaming in my face," Erickson recalls. The following morning, Erickson called her parents. "I was like, 'Dad! I'm quittin' this [course]. I'm going to work in the music business.' And my dad said, 'You'd be really good at PR,' and I said, 'Fine, sounds great'... My dad is very straight-edge - he was a basketball player. He was like, 'There's a lotta cocaine in that industry,' so, alright!" she laughs. "So I quit my major. There was a posting in the communications department asking for, you know, a PR intern; I had no idea what it was for, there were no other details, and it ended up being with this woman Nicole Vandenberg who is Pearl Jam's publicist... and she's been my mentor since then. This was when I was 20 and I'm 37 now."

Erickson observes she's "only worked for women". Grandstand Media & Management is her current employer and Erickson extols, "There's a few men, but the power-players in the company are all women". "PR's pretty female-centric", Erickson continues. But booking agencies, in Erickson's estimation, "are very male-heavy". "I think it's 'cause it's a little chauvinistic," she ponders. "Like, promoters are mostly male and they are bulldogs."

Speaking of dogs, who's looking after Erickson's beloved canine while she's at BIGSOUND? "Oh, Bernie!" she rues. "I'm looking at him right now. Chvrches' manager is actually taking him in about an hour... It's heartbreaking."

Lately Erickson has been working very closely with Dew Process, preparing to launch Tkay Maidza's new Killer Mike-featuring single Carry On. "That girl is a breath of fresh air. I love her," Erickson enthuses.