O’Keefe – I would figure out where we needed to play and call a record store. Some kid would pick up and I would ask for the manager. I wanted an older person on the phone. Then I would say “hey i’m in a punk rock band, we are on tour where should we play?” They would usually tell me. This was the original Google.
TNB – You were the first tour manager that Ryan Adams ever had. He is known for being rebellious and it was your job to boss him around. How did he respond to you in those early days?
O’Keefe – I benefited from the fact that Ryan listened to my original band ANTiSEEN when he was a kid. That made him validate me, but it was still hard. I use to say that 80% of the time I could get him to do the right thing, 10% of the time I could cover up his mistakes, and 10% of the time, we were F***ed.
TNB – As someone who makes their living on the road, how are you seeing this crisis effect the industry first hand?
O’Keefe – We are all sitting at home wondering when things will get back to normal. I try to keep my core crew updated as often as possible. The good news is that when everything does go back to normal, it will be such a sense of relief, it will be like the roaring 20s again!
