Vlad Nowajczyk of VladPRomotion, a music manager and journalist.

When I was a high school kid (1992) I wanted to manage a local thrash band, but became a local show promoter instead. A year later I became a journalist, so the music business was pushed aside. Over next 12 years I was gaining knowledge, observing ups and downs of national promoters and trying to understand their ways. In 2004 I thought I was ready, so I joined one of the very few Polish thrash bands of that era as their manager. Being really naive I worked not just for free, but also invested from my own empty pocket. I was a full-time teacher then, one of the worst paid jobs here. Well, the cooperation ended soon as I was offered a job in the States. So in 2006 I went to NYC with the intention of learning as much as possible. This is the real start, I never had any other jobs since my return.

I am boring, really! I finish working about 3-4 AM. Go to sleep. Wake up at 7.40 to take my daughter to the kindergarten. I usually ride my bike then, and after some shopping I come back home. Spend some time with my girlfriend if she’s not at her university. Back to sleep. Wake up early afternoon for more family time and more work by the PC. When the family is asleep, working on 100% till late. Music, music all the time. My girlfriend loves Aria, my daughter prefers Iron Maiden, so it’s mostly classic heavy metal. Gets thrashier when I’m alone. It’s much more interesting when I’m out at gigs or festivals, lots of beer and other stuff involved. Did I mention music? Can’t live without it.

Being free. Not having to wear „proper” clothes. When I was a teacher it used to be a kind of issue. The pupils loved it, the directors did not.

Unprofessional people in large numbers. Examples? Nah, I will write a book about it one day.

Usually via facebook, but often through e-mail too. No doves, no bottled letters. Boring.

I need to a have a good feeling about them. And the feeling has to be mutual.

I often reject bands that don’t have „it”. Can’t describe the „it”, but I’m usually right. And of course, if they play shitty music I don’t even bother to ask about anything more. I’m keeping my roster on a high artistic level, so my media partners trust me. I appreciate the trust and am not going to bring bad surprises.

I work on different levels: management and PR. Of course they’re interconnected, but sometimes separated in the deal. My full roster as of August 27th are:

https://www.facebook.com/AssassinOfficial
https://www.facebook.com/SanitysRage
https://www.facebook.com/Roarback
https://www.facebook.com/rustedbrain
https://www.facebook.com/ironkingdom
https://www.facebook.com/hi.gh.officialpage
https://www.facebook.com/Woslom
https://www.facebook.com/kuazarmetal
https://www.facebook.com/eternaljudgmentmetal
https://www.facebook.com/abductummetal
https://www.facebook.com/metalofficialbandpage
https://www.facebook.com/Gorefield
https://www.facebook.com/finalcurseofficial
https://www.facebook.com/celladorband
https://www.facebook.com/valpurgisnightofficial
https://www.facebook.com/DAMmetal
https://www.facebook.com/TerrifierThrashers

and of course Arm The Pit.

ASSASSIN are truly a legend, German thrash metal at its best!
SANITY’S RAGE play unique blend of all classic metal styles from 80s till now, which happen to sound thrash metal too. So here’s the point where elitists and poser say „all thrash is either Metallica or Slayer-related”. Fuck them.
ROARBACK mix oldschool thrash with 90s death metal and are awesome at it. They just signed their 1st record deal and the full-length will be released soon via Mighty Music!
RUSTED BRAIN are the only Polish band on my roster and it’s no surprise. They kick ass hard with their oldschool thrash and are getting better every time. Fast learners, smart kids. Not something you come across too often these times in my country.
IRON KINGDOM slay with their Maiden & Manilla-influeced oldschool heavy metal. Canada rules!
HI-GH and their „spunk”... well, if you mix 70s hardrock and punk with 80s speed and thrash, that’s what you get. If you mix them with weed, of course.
WOSLOM’s approach to thrash is taking „Black” Metallica and making it both thrashier and more melodic at the same time. Insane? Well, they are just capable of it.
KUAZAR’s idea was to mix German and South American thrash with death metal intensity. Succeeded.
ETERNAL JUDGEMENT are what Municipal Waste could be if they were still fresh. Crossover thrash with a lot of heavy metal influences. Redneck party on!
ABDUCTUM invent insane heavy metal melodies and mix them with slightly thrashier passages. At first you just think „what the fuck they think they are doing”, but then you get it!
METAL are metal as fuck! Old Manowar and Manilla Road are their main influences and they are great at it.
GOREFIELD are mainly taking less obvious NWOBHM influences and making them thrashier.
FINAL CURSE’s modern thrash is not just Pantera and Machine Head worship. Their blend is simply much much more, which makes them stand out over the bunch of pointless „groove” bands.
CELLADOR, my latest signing, play German power metal with American feeling. Not usual these times.
TERRIFIER kick asses so hard that I myself can’t believe it. Epic thrash metal at its best, with influences ranging from Bay Area to modern forms of metal. Oldschool and modern at once.

Two bands I’m loosely connected with are
DAM, returning oldschool UK thrashers
and another UK band, unique doom/thrashers Valpurgis Night that are all about gloom and heaviness with razorsharp riffing from time to time.

I’m in touch with them on daily basis via internet, as a family man I can’t be as remote as I used to be... They see what I do.

Because a lot of media think that an unmanaged band is less professional. And you know what? They’re usually right. A musician’s mind should be concentrated on music, not on the very process of spreading it to the masses. Masses, haha.

Lots of good work, lots of good friendly violent fun! I don’t keep such a long-term schedule, but my daughter will be 9 then! Presumably I will have to visit a lot of „dinosaurs” stadium gigs so she could see what I’ve already seen.

John, you’re a busy bee! One of my media partners reacting fastest to the news you got. Arm The Pit is an arising promotional platform for me bands and I wish you all the best! Keep up the good work!