How Evan Got Started In This Business

[Evan Skopp]

I wrote this last year when someone asked me to explain how I got started in the music biz. Someone asked me to repost it a few months ago and I hadn't saved it. I thought it was lost during one of our board purges, but I was able to retrieve it from my cache. (Just goes to show, nothing really dies in cyberspace).

Anyway, for your reading enjoyment.... "How I Got Started In This Business."

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OK, kiddies. Gather round. And try not to fall asleep...

I was raised in California, the eldest of three, and started studying piano when I was seven. In my first 12 years, I moved around a lot. Music and sports were a constant -- Little League baseball, Pop Warner football, and piano lessons. My father was a mechanical engineer working on various aeronautics contracts. I attended five schools before the end of 6th grade. My parents settled in Calabasas in the San Fernando Valley-section of Los Angeles in 1971 when my dad got hooked up with the Space Shuttle Program and we stopped moving around for awhile.

I went to Agoura High School a "few years" before the Linkin Park, Incubus and Hoobastank lads. I ditched piano and started playing acoustic guitar in 9th grade once I realized I wasn't going to be captain of the football team, but girls liked guys who could play and sing Dan Fogelberg and CSN&Y songs.

I was always a good student, but found much of high school boring, especially towards the end. So, I finished high school a year early and started taking classes at Cal State Northridge. At 17, I was one of the youngest students at Northridge and I was pretty intimidated by the whole thing. At 18, I decided to see the world. So in 1978 and '79, I traveled around Europe and the Middle East, spending a 12-month stint as a tractor driver on a kibbutz in the Negev Desert.

After my travels, I ended up at UCLA where I got a degree in Philosophy, mostly because I heard it was the hardest major and I wanted to see if I was up to the challenge. Also, I was planning on going to law school, and I heard that Philosophy was a good pre-law major. After college, I got a Paralegal Certificate from the UCLA School of Law and worked as a Paralegal in the Litigation Department of a big, Park Ave., New York law firm called (and I kid you not) Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Heine, Underberg, Manley, Myerson and Casey -- be glad you're not the receptionist at that place. It was during that time that I realized I absolutely, positively DID NOT want to be a lawyer.

It was also during that time that I started studying advertising at the New School in Greenwich Village.

[to be con't]

[Evan Skopp]

[con't]

I returned to California at age 25 with a kind of career crisis. But I took another Paralegal job at a firm with a shorter name, just to get some cash flow going. I moved to Hollywood during this time and ended up making a film. That's when the "bug" bit me and I realized I had to work in the Entertainment industry. I managed to parlay my legal background into a job in the Business Affairs Department of Carson Productions Group, Johnny Carson's production company. And, after a few years, I moved over to Act III Television, which was Norman Lear's company.

This was a really creative period in my life. I was playing in a band called Backstreet Romeos. We shared the bill at LA clubs like Lingerie and Madame Wongs with all the top musicians of the day -- many of whom went on to become famous players. I was playing a mid-'80s Strat and a Gibson Barney Kessel through a modded Silverface Deluxe. Someday, I'll tell you the story of that amp. This was when I really started learning a lot about guitar tone. One of my favorite things to do back then was to call up one of my gear buddies, like my friend Gordon, who also worked as a photographer and writer, and spend the night talking about which pickup is better for which type of tone. For you young kids, this is what us old guys did back in the days before web forums.. And, in case you're wondering, I was a "Seymour Duncan Man" way back then. I had an SSL-2 RW/RP in my Strat -- though, I have to admit, I also had a Lace Sensor in the same guitar.

During that same time, I was also doing stand-up comedy. I was writing screenplays. My writing partner went on to get an Oscar, but I didn't stick with it. I was doing voice overs. That's my voice on the "thanks for calling Seymour Duncan" message. I was studying comedy improv with The Groundlings. And I was reading scripts and writing coverage for Fox Television. Plus, I was living in the middle of Hollywood and going to the "right parties" and hanging out with the "right people." It was a very fun way in which to spend one's late-20s.

'Till some crack head held me up at gunpoint one night in front of my house.

That's when I decided to get out of LA. So I picked the place in the world I most wanted to live - Santa Barbara - and I moved there. I was able to re-fashion my resume to make me look like a Paralegal, and a top-notch Santa Barbara law firm recruited me and hired me. They even moved me up to SB from LA. But honestly, I wasn't into being a Paralegal again. I really just took the job to get to Santa Barbara, not because I wanted to be a lawyer-slave again. The fact is, I really didn't know what I wanted to do. So, at 31, I was back in my career crisis.

[to be con't]

[Evan Skopp]

[con't]

Here's where it gets a little weird... In my first week up in Santa Barbara, one day I was looking at a box of Seymour Duncan pickups in my house. For some reason, I decided to see where they were manufactured. Honestly, before that point in time, I knew they were American-made, but I had no idea in what state they were built. And then I saw it: "601 Pine Ave., Santa Barbara, California." That's when I saw my future...

When they make the movie version of my life, this is the point where the heavens open up, the bolts of light come streaming down from the clouds and the gospel choir starts singing.

I knew I had to work for this company. I didn't know in what capacity. I didn't care. I just knew I had to work there. I remember looking them up in the phone book, calling the number, and asking the receptionist, "Do you folks ever hire people?" And she said, "No." And hung up.

But I was just getting started.

I started putting together a package that consisted of my resume, letters of recommendation from Johnny Carson and Norman Lear, and a personalized letter of introduction. Well, semi-personalized: the letter was addressed "To Whom It May Concern." At the exact time I was putting this letter together, the Santa Barbara News Press ran a profile on Seymour Duncan pickups, including an interview with Cathy Duncan, the CEO. She talked about how she likes employees to be happy and motivated to do their best work. She talked about how decision-making was done in a democratic context. She talked about how employees had done very well for themselves here. It sounded like the ideal situation for me. And just as important, now I had a name to whom I could address the letter.

So I sent off my letter. Sat down next to the phone. And waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

[to be con't]

[Evan Skopp]

[con't]

"OK," I thought. "It's been four weeks. Should I call just to make sure they got my letter? I should have at least gotten a rejection letter by now. No, don't call. Then, you'll come off too aggressive and you'll blow it. Just be patient. They'll call."

But they didn't call. I was bummed.

Meanwhile, back in my law job, I just narrowly missed getting assigned to a year-long trial out of town and I knew I was on deck for the next long out-of-town trial. I had a brand new baby at the time, and I didn't want to spend that kind of time away from him.

A year and a half after I first sent my resume, my then-wife was reading the classified ads section one morning and said, "Hey, it looks like Seymour Duncan is looking for an administrative assistant."

"I will get that job," I said. And I meant it.

Taking a job as an administrative assistant was somewhat of a step down the ladder of success for me, but it was one I was willing to take. Hell, I would've swept the floor, washed Seymour's car, or taken his shirts to the cleaners. I just wanted in.

Well, I didn't see any harm in sending off the same cover letter, resume and letters of recommendation that I sent the first time since they were obviously mis-placed or ignored. So I just changed the date and fired it off.

And waited.

And this time, the call came 48 hours later. It was Cathy Duncan.

"Hi. This is Cathy Duncan. I got your letter. And actually I got it the first time you sent it too. You really worked for Johnny Carson?"

"OK," I thought, "She knows I sent the same letter twice. She must really think I'm a jerk."

"Honestly, I don't think you'd be right for an administrative assistant job. I could see you getting bored real quick."

"OK," I thought, "so why are you calling me?"

"But I would be interested in talking to you about marketing."

Being the suave, debonair, think-on-your-feet kinda guy I am, I said, "What's marketing?" Then I thought, "Geez, that was a stupid thing to say."

She said, "Rather than me tell you what marketing is, I'd rather hear what it means to you. So let's meet Tuesday at our offices on Pine Avenue and you can tell me whatever marketing ideas you have for the Seymour Duncan company."

Heavens re-open. Light re-streams. Choir sings again.

[to be con't]

[Evan Skopp]

[con't]

I, literally, run to the Santa Barbara library and check out every book they have on marketing. Then, I spend the weekend learning about marketing, talking to Gordon -- in addition to being a writer and a photographer, he's a Harvard alumnus and a really smart guy -- and I put together a very crude marketing plan for Seymour Duncan pickups.

Tuesday comes around and I meet with Cathy. She says, "OK, what do you have?" I say, "OK, first of all, let's talk about what business you're in. You might think you're in the business of selling pickups and amplifiers for guitarists. But I think it's bigger than that. You're in the business of creating premium tone solutions for musicians."

Then, she put her hand up and stopped me and I thought I'd blown it.

"Evan, I don't want to waste your time."

"OK," I dejectedly thought to myself, "Being a paralegal isn't so bad."

But then Cathy said, "Rather than have you go though this whole plan twice, I want to set up a time where you can meet with the entire Management Team."

"Uh, so... is that good?"

"Yeah, it's good. How about Friday at 3:00?"

In the movie version, this will be where you see me driving back to my office while Katrina and the Waves play "Walking on Sunshine."

Then, I meet with the Management Team. I present my plan. They like it. But they grill me hard. They each put me through the paces. The tech guys wanted to know if I was tech enough. The business guys wanted to know if I was business enough. The artist guy wanted to know if I was really a player. All I remember Seymour saying to me was, "Do you know who Danny Gatton is?" And I said, "Yeah, my friend Gordon was the photo assistant on his 'Cruisin Deuces' album cover. You can see his name in the liner notes." Seymour nodded approval.

Next, I had a meeting one-on-one with Cathy. She asked me to bring in samples of ads that I liked and disliked. Which I did. And it was at that meeting that she made me an offer to come on board as Marketing Manager. Imagine the risk she was taking? Putting the company's marketing in the hands of someone who, a few weeks prior, didn't even know what the word marketing meant. She was brave!

Anyway, I learned a lot about marketing from Cathy and from classes I took at UCSB Extension. I now teach in that program. Funny how things work out.

I made a lot of mistakes, especially in the beginning. But I also had some successes, including participating in the launch the Antiquity series, Basslines, the Seth Lover pickup, the Duncan Designed program, the Pickup Booster, Benedetto, D-TAR, and others. At the time I joined Seymour Duncan in 1993, DiMarzio was still slightly larger with more market share. Things have changed a lot since then and we've tripled in size. I feel very fortunate that I could be part of a team that has enjoyed some success and is now the world leader in our product category. Hopefully, I've contributed to that success.

One of the things I'm most proud of this this right here. In 1996, I started this Forum and I was the original administrator. The way I envisioned this Forum was just a bigger version of Gordon and me talking about pickups and guitar gear.

And now, it's Gordon, me... and you.

[Curly]

Evan,
thanks kindly for digging this up!

I think, far beyond the interest we have in your job at SD, there are quite a few life lessons in your story

my fovorite part was this:

All I remember Seymour saying to me was, "Do you know who Danny Gatton is?"

[HamerPlyr]

Even better the second time around. Thanks for the repost, Evan.

[ratherdashing]

Thanks Evan! That is truly an inspiring story!

[tone4days]

time to tell us the story of the silverface deluxe?

[ErikH]

Great story, Evan. Thanks for sharing it, again.

[Luke Duke]

Glad to see this again Evan!

[The Golden Boy]

Sorta reminds me of when I used to call in orders to this sub shop for everybody in the office- the manager said I had a voice for teleMARKETING.

Your story is way cooler. But something makes me think the subs aren't quite as tasty.

[dd12939]

Evan, that is a very cool story. Thanks for posting it. I must have missed it the first time around.

[Forbes]

Don't recall seeing that before, great story, thanks Evan.

[Xeromus]

Awesome, thanks Evan. Coolest VP of marketing, ever.

[B2D]

This needs to go in the vault pronto.

[ratherdashing]

This needs to go in the vault pronto.

+1

[JacksonMIA]

Great story, Evan. Thanks for posting.

[GoMano]

Umm.... I'll trade you my '65 SG Custom for the Barney Kessel.....??


Seriously - Great story, and I, for one, am SO very glad you jumped through all those hoops and landed here - I'm really stoked we're friends dude. And Seymour Duncan, yeesh - what an amazing company, and amazing people. Kudos to Cathy (you portrayed her perfect; I can so hear her saying that to you. She's an amazing human being :-)

[ArtieToo]

Wow . . . that is such a great story. I don't know why, but I always just assumed you'ld been with the company since the 70's or something.

So . . . do you get to say "nah-nah-nah" to the girl who hung up on you?

Artie