Bicoastal Bang music + sound design has hired Brian Jones as its new senior producer. Jones was formerly a music coordinator in the New York office of bicoastal and Nashville/international talent and literary firm William Morris Agency. He replaces former Bang senior producer Lauri Aloi, who is now East Coast sales representative at bicoastal/ international Partizan.
Bang music + sound design partner/executive producer Lyle Greenfield saw Jones' musician background as being of great advantage to the company. "Brian comes to us with music in his blood. He'll learn quickly how that translates into advertising," Greenfield said.
Jones holds a degree in marketing from the University of Wyoming, Laramie. Upon graduating, he deferred jumping right into the workforce to tour with his own band, Big Mouth. While the band achieved some fame in the Rocky Mountain states and in the Midwest, after three years Jones decided to leave the rock star life and moved to New York.
Within a month of his arrival, Jones landed a job in William Morris' mailroom, which is commonly referred to as the "agent trainee program." There, prospective talent agents push around mail carts while connecting with established agents who act as mentors. William Morris talent agent Ken DiCamillo, who often arranged personal appearances for Bill Cosby, Tony Bennett and Ray Charles, became Jones' mentor, enabling Jones to "graduate" from the mailroom within six months.
Jones's interest in music led him to Music Central, William Morris' music department, where he became a music coordinator. His responsibilities included working with music agents from William Morris' Nashville and Los Angeles offices, providing administrative support, and filling in for agents when they were not available to attend a live performance.
After three years at William Morris, Jones began to feel the limitations of his position. The bulk of the rock music division was headquartered in Beverly Hills, which meant Jones would have to move to the West Coast in order to advance.
Late last year, when the senior producer position became available at Bang, Jones's longtime friend and Bang composer Jane Mangini asked Jones if he would be interested in producing. "I always thought being a producer and a songwriter would be the ultimate goal in my life, because being in a studio and on the business side of things is really exciting," related Jones.
Jones joins a Bang staff that includes Mangini, composer/ sound designer Wendell Hanes, and senior producer/head of production Frank Molina. Jones and Greenfield will handle sales representation for Bang on the East Coast. West Coast composers are John Wood and Christopher Joannou, who is also a partner/ creative director. Producer MiShawn Williams represents Bang on the West Coast.