Hoilett puts hotel experience into band management

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

Hugh Hoilett was one of the many Jamaicans whom employment opportunities have tugged away from home. However, he is one of the much smaller number who have returned home because of the same reason, applying the skills he acquired in the hotel sector to managing C-Sharp Band.

He started working with the band part-time while working as night manager, then assisting with front desk and accounts, at a hotel in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Hoilett returned to Jamaica in 2008 to manage C-Sharp full-time, also handling public relations.

"I am able to take all that (hotel experience) into the music industry. Managing a hotel is not an easy job," Hoilett said.

He added music-specific reading to the hospitality sector experience, covering publishing and management, among other areas. Hoilett told The Gleaner that on the day of the interview he had been reading a book about nurturing and developing young talent. Hoilett had been taking to the books long before, as although he developed his musical skills in church, playing keyboards, bass and guitar and directing the choir, "I preferred reading a book and finding out more about the business side of it".

research and management

He does a lot of web-based research, but management also requires long hours on the ground. So when C-Sharp started their performance at Redbones Blues Café, New Kingston, last Friday night, Hoilett had been at the venue from 2 p.m. And It was not his first trip there, dealing with matters related to that event.

"I actually visited the venue about a month before, then went back a couple times between then and the concert, just keeping on top of things," Hoilett said. And after C-Sharp satisfied the crowd's demand for an encore with 'Soul Rebel' well past midnight, Hoilett still had another hour to go at Redbones.

He makes overseas runs with the band sometimes, "especially if it is a C-Sharp project", opting out of trips where the band is not doing a performance of its own.

spreading the word

Before going to Redbones for that concert, Hoilett was utilising technology to send out final messages, reminding people about the event. His job requires patience and perseverance, which Hoilett says are among the qualities which serve him well. "I will sit down and fight it through. I love the industry, as much as the Jamaican industry is not what it is supposed to be. When some people think it is a waste of time fighting, I will fight to prove that it can be done," he said.

One of the major struggles he faces is payola, which Hoilett describes as "one of the hardest things. We (C-Sharp) get better play overseas than in Jamaica". He points out that it affects not only C-Sharp, but also many other performers who are trying to fully establish themselves. Still, Hoilett says "even if it does not change we hope that one day the fans in Jamaica will rate us and know that there are real musicians out there".

He says that key to the change is people realising that there is better music available than what is being played on radio and demand better, with the stations responding to a fall-off in listenership and hence advertising revenue. "Even the people involved in payola right now may realise one day they have to do something different," Hoilett said.

come on board

Hoilett also wants corporate Jamaica to, in a big way, "come on board with reggae music right now".

C-Sharp's second album is due out before the end of August and Hoilett says there is some promotional strategy in place, with others to be worked out. Again, he has turned to the Internet, researching how top international acts push their material. "We may not have the money they do, but we can pick up on things," Hoilett said.

He hopes that C-Sharp can push the physical boundaries of their performances, going into places like Australia and New Zealand.

And Hoilett intends to keep at the business of management. "I plan to stick with it as long as I have life. It has become like a heartbeat now. I cannot get up and not go on the Internet and see what is happening," Hoilett said.