Ep. 038: Sai Hanif - CEO, Drum Tech, Tour Manager

Explicit content warning

04/21/21 • 32 min

Sai Hanif has been working in the music industry for over sixteen years. In addition to live event production, he founded and continues to run a successful musical instrument brand. Sai has taken his business acumen and applied it to the artists he works with throughout his career. He specializes in scaling artists by implementing processes to create efficient workflows with respect to the creative process. Specialties: Tour Direction, Production Management, Design, Budgeting, Travel, Logistics, Business Strategy, and Artist Development.
Founder and CEO
Masters of Maple Drums
Established in 2002 Masters of maple is one of the leading boutique drum manufacturers in the world. The brand produces high quality instruments with a limited distribution model, and is one of the few manufacturers to make their ply drum shells in house.
Tour Director, Production Manager
Gabriel " Fluffy" Iglesias
May 2019 – Present
Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias is an acclaimed stand up comedian with multiple Netflix specials, and storied career in entertainment.
Production Manager, Technical Director
X ambassadors Contract
Oct 2019 – Present
Production management for the “Orion” world tour album campaign. X ambassadors are a Grammy award winning alternative band from Ithaca, New York. I oversaw design and fabrication of the new stage production, which incorporated video elements utilizing the new disguise D3 media server.
Production Consultant, Drum Technician [Joshua Homme]
Eagles of Death Metal
Dates Employed Apr 2015 – Present
Eagles of Death Metal are a rock band from Palm Desert, California. I served as drum technician for Mr. Homme when he would play drums live with the band.
Tour Manager, Production Manager, Creative Director
Jakob Dylan
Jul 2014 – Present
Jakob Dylan is a Grammy award winning and lead singer of The Wallflowers. I have been responsible for all special projects in many capacities. Mr. Dylan is involved in many charities at the forefront of health and world issues.
Founder and CEO
Ghost Tech Touring Full-time
Mar 2012 – Present
Ghost Tech Touring is a full service production company. We specialize in all aspects of touring operations such as but not limited to: bus rental, insurance, crew management, budget control, audio visual services, backline, logistics, expendable management. Typically clients save between 4-19% on gross revenue touring expenses.
Production Manager
Walk The Moon
May 2016 – Present
Production management for the “What if Nothing” album campaign. Walk the Moon are a rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio.
Tour Manager, Production Manager, Management
The Wallflowers
Jan 2011 – Present
Tour Manager | Production Manager [2013- Present]Stage Manager | Backline Crew Chief | Drum Technician | Keyboard Technician [2011-2013] The Wallflowers are a two-time Grammy award winning rock band from Los Angeles, California.
Tour Director, Technical Director, Band Liaison, Production Accountant
Echo in the Canyon
Dates Employed 2018 – 2019
Echo In The Canyon is a 2018 film paying homage to the music of the sixties and the cultural revolution surrounding Laurel Canyon. It was released in theaters May 24, 2019.
https://Mdrums.com/
https://myghosttech.com/
https://www.instagram.com/ladrumguy/
https://www.instagram.com/mastersofmaple
Al Schmitt video referenced in interview

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Ep. 037: Cherise P - Chief Marketing Officer, Special Brand + FanGage Nation

Innovator, digital marketer, brand positioning expert, data geek, and even musician, are just some of the ways that Cherise P has been described. These words have been applied whether from the halls of Coca-Cola where she served as Senior Marketing Manager of Shopper Marketing Innovation and Senior Customer Marketing Manager (partnership marketing) to the Washington D.C. offices of the U.S. President appointed Election Assistance Commission where she negotiated over $100K in funding for her client over MTV’s Rock The Vote.
Her career has been expansive and blessed with achievement. At Coca- Cola, Cherise was also Sales Executive leading national account teams, Community Leadership Chair, women’s LINC Board Member for Coca- Cola’s International Business Resource Group, Essence Festival Team member, Brand Positioning Subject Matter Expert for the entire East
Division of Coca-Cola Foodservice, and was awarded as one of Coca-Cola North America’s only four annual Corporate Women of Achievement and more –all through working for marketing excellence through innovation. Cherise consistently exceeds deadlines and business plan targets on paper. She has led marketing, digital marketing, mobile marketing, consumer research, brand activation, experiential marketing, multicultural marketing work and campaigns for partnerships with brands like Live Nation, American Music Awards, Popeyes, NASCAR, Burger King, McDonald’s, Roc-A-Wear, Bigg Snoop Dogg Jeans, Ruff Ryders Dirty Denim, BET, Six Flags, and so many more leading her to work to be awarded American Marketing Association’s American Marketer of the Year for Consumer Engagement and American Marketer of the Year in Interactive Marketing in Georgia – she’s been told it’s like winning the Grammy’s for Marketing! Now as CEO of Eckspansion Marketing, managing partner of FanGage Nation and The Culture Pushers with artist manager Eli Davis and proud mom of the kidpreneurs behind celebrity interviewing, STEM ed. Leadership pushing duo, ‘Kidz Mic’ with husband Eric. Cherise uses her experience to expand revenue streams and drive business results for artists and entertainment pros by leveraging experience as a Fortune 100 insider, fan data, real digital marketing, endorsements + innovation.
Overall, Cherise has rocked her Hampton University Marketing Degree from Fortune 500 Board Rooms to leading within Grammy Award Winning Artist Management. Teams, like the creative trained drummer she is. You read right, she’s a drummer and a poet too but with a dad playing drums in The Isley Brothers band + aunt original P-Funk, she was born for in to that part!
Eckspansion Marketing
CEO
Special Brand Artist Mgmt. & Entertainment
Chief Marketing Officer
May 2018 - present
FanGage Nation
Managing Partner
Multiple Companies
Sales & Marketing Executive
June 1990 - December 2019
The Coca-Cola Company
Various Marketing Management positions
Guest Links:
https://www.instagram.com/cherisep1908/
http://www.brandsarespecial.com
http://www.fangagenation.com
http://www.Musicleaderz.com
https://www.instagram.com/anthonyhamiltonofficial/
https://www.instagram.com/9thwonder/

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Ep. 039: Rayna Zemel - Playback Engineer, Producer, Composer

Passionate and extroverted, Rayna’s varied background gives her a unique perspective as well as an ability to engage people from all walks of life. Before graduating with a degree in Political Science from the University of Vermont, Rayna grew up at the intersection of multiple cultures.
As a child, Rayna was raised between three worlds - She could be found at a Baptist church in Camden, New Jersey with her grandmother, at synagogue in Philadelphia with her mother’s family of Jewish academics, or at St. Columba’s episcopal church in Washington D.C. Rayna decided to pursue a career in the music industry and moved to Los Angeles, where she eventually ended up working in the touring industry as a playback engineer with artists such as Logic, Pentatonix, Due Lipa, Iggy Azalea, Hailee Steinfeld, The Lonely Island, Lana Del Rey, DJ Khaled, and more.
Additionally, she is a music composer who's work has been featured in over 75 television shows, movies, and commercials. The events of 2020 led her to pursue her passion for documentary photography. Rayna has documented over 50 protests in the Los Angeles area, her work and efforts are featured in the short film “We Can’t Breathe”.
Producer / Music Director
Winters Rock Entertainment
Sep 2018 – Present
Business development, talent scouting, on-site photographer, and post-production audio mixing. Producer: “We Can’t Breathe” (2020)Composer: “We Can’t Breath” (2020) Producer: “Storm” (2020) Composer: “Beyond the Edge”(2020) Composer: “Letters to Liam” (2019) Music Supervisor: “Letters to Liam” (2019)
Playback Engineer
Pentatonix Inc
Jan 2020 – Present
Playback Engineer
DUA LIPA LIVE LLP
Nov 2019 – Jan 2020
Playback Engineer / Programmer
Hailee Steinfeld
Aug 2019 – Nov 2019
Playback Engineer & MIDI Tech
Lana Del Rey
Mar 2019 – Nov 2019
Pro Tools Playback Engineer
The Lonely Island
May 2019 – Jun 2019
Ableton Programmer / Playback Engineer
Dua Lipa
Apr 2019
Ableton Programmer / Playback Engineer
Gunnar Gehl
Oct 2018 – Dec 2018
Ableton Programmer / Playback Engineer
PRETTYMUCH
Jul 2018 – Sep 2018
Ableton Programmer / Playback
Jun 2017 – Aug 2018
Ableton Playback / Programming
Troye Sivan
Mar 2018 – Apr 2018
Ableton Playback Operator
Lil’ Wayne
Sep 2017
Playback Designer & Programmer
Saint Motel
Dec 2016
Director of Vibes | Producer | Mixer
Math Club Music
Jun 2016 – Oct 2016
Electronic Creatives
Feb 2016 – Mar 2016
Ableton playback for Iggy Azalea.
Electronic Creatives
Title Tour Manager / Production Manager
Niykee Heaton "The Bedroom Tour" 2015
Oct 2015 – Dec 2015
Tour Manager Production Manager
Ableton Playback Operator: Kiesza
Jan 2015 – Oct 2015
Product Ambassador / Tester
Livid Instruments
Nov 2014 – Jan 2015
Guitar Wing MIDI Controller Product Ambassador for the Greater Los Angeles Area.
Recording Arts Instructor
The Los Angeles Film School
Jul 2011 – Sep 2014
Instructor - Beginning and Advanced Music production in Pro Tools, Ableton, and Logic.
Producer/Engineer
Kops & Robbers
Jan 2010 – Jan 2012
Guest Links:
https://raynazemel.com/
https://www.instagram.com/rayzemel/
https://www.twitter.com/rayzemel/
https://www.wintersrockentertainment.com/