Stu Sobol

Today I drove out to Simi Valley. I don't know if I've ever been to Simi Valley before. It's about 45 minutes away and it is deep in LA's San Fernando Valley. If you watch the TV show, "Weeds" then you can imagine what Simi Valley is like (Weeds' location of "Agrestic" is actually based on Simi Valley's neighbor, Stevenson Ranch).

It takes a lot to get me out to a place like Simi Valley on a 95 degree July Sunday at the same time as my son's swim lesson.

It takes Stu.

Today was the day Stu Sobol was laid to rest.

Here's the thing. I barely knew Stu. That's not true, I knew Stu, but not intimately. We've been doing business together for nearly a decade, but it's not like I hung out at his house with his wife Julie or his two kids. But I could have. In fact, I think Stu would have liked it if Denise and I had come up to the house. Because that's the kind of guy Stu was. He wanted to know you better. Work and life were completely intertwined.

I haven't seen a turn out like this at a funeral in years. There must have been 300 people there. There were rock stars, managers, agents, family members, Jewish congregation members, neighbors, former business partners, and some who were a combination. But all friends.

There were about a dozen speeches. The people giving them may have come from different facets of Stu's life, but they said the same thing. Stu was the life of the party. He made you feel welcome.

And that is exactly what Stu was for me. He was a friend. He was a business associate. He's someone who made me feel great every time I talked to him.

Stu was one of my business partner Terry's best friends. Stu and Terry were close for years. And when we went into business together, Stu treated me like I'd been friends with him as long as he'd been close to Terry.

When Stu called, I jumped to the phone. If I missed his call, I'd call him back within minutes and then be bummed that he couldn't take the call. Because a call with Stu was going to be fun. Stu was going to tell you how amazing the artist he was hocking was and how lucky I was to be potentially involved. Sure, we'd mix in a few minutes about one of the reality TV shows we both watched - Rockstar, American Idol, Survivor. You'd get two calls in one. You'd get a gossip session with a friend and insight into the "Next Big Thing." And when Stu got you involved with one of the artists he managed, you really got involved. He'd have Alex and Aaron from The Calling come over to the office to upload photos. He'd have John from Eve 6 meet us at a coffee shop. He'd have Maynard and Billy from A Perfect Circle tell you what they would and would not be willing to do. He'd even have Ryan Star call you up to tell you about what really happened on Rockstar - Supernova. He'd show you that they would be the artists that would break the mold and actually do the work that others wouldn't.

Stu made everyone feel like a rock star. Ask any radio promotion or marketing person at a record label about what it was like working with Stu. I know Lorraine at Jive loved working with him. He let her know that the band 3 Days Grace was happening because of her. Trust me, I know from first hand experience, nothing makes you feel better than having a band's manager tell you that you are the reason a song topped the charts.

And today there is a gaping hole in the world. The music business has enough problems and losing one of the best members of its team doesn't make it any better.

There is no doubt that funerals are sad. And today was no exception. But I didn't leave depressed. I left inspired. If I could leave a legacy like Stu, then I would have truly accomplished something.

The rabbi said something that stuck with me.

Rest in Shalom.

Rest in Peace.

All day long those words have been rolling through my brain. The words, "Rest in Shalom" along with a song that Ryan Star and Eve 6's Max Collins and Tony Fagenson performed at the funeral called, "Breathe." It is a beautiful song with some great and appropriate lyrics:

Breathe
Just Breathe
Take the world off your shoulders, put it on me

That's what Stu did for the artists he managed. He took on their stress so that they could make the best music possible. And every song those artists wrote was, according to Stu, the best thing you'd ever heard.

I'll miss you Stu. You were one of kind. I'm lucky to have known you.

Rest in Shalom.


Here is a version of "Breathe" that I found on YouTube.