College kids with Fake IDs, good music and killer work ethic. These are the topics I sat down to discuss with Artist Manager, Q Hefner while he prepared for his upcoming Fake I.D. Tour in Central Arkansas.
Lesi: So, what’s your origin story? What made you want to be in the industry?
Hefner: I moved back to Little Rock from Jackson Mississippi in 2017. Shortly after that, I linked up with Sinclare. One of the main conversations we would have was about booking artists and the issues artists had with finding shows in Little Rock and surrounding areas. So, we teamed up to do a tour called Speakers and Sneakers. This particular tour was designed to highlight artists that didn’t get the opportunity to do in-state or out of state shows. The tour spanned across 3 cities, in 3 different states, on 3 different weekends. Shortly after the tour’s completion, we had people contacting us about doing another tour. This new tour is called The Fake I.D. Tour. It’s a spin on young adults/college students getting fake ids. We’re going to have the artists faces on fake ids kind of like a way for them to have access to the show on campus. We want this to specifically cater to and attract college students in these college towns in Arkansas.
The Fake I.D. Tour. It’s a spin on young adults/college students getting fake ids… We want this to specifically cater to and attract college students in these college towns in Arkansas.
Q Hefner
Lesi: How long have you been involved in the industry?
Hefner: I’m freelance. I say all the time, no one would give me a chance, so I had to build my resume, so that’s what this is. I’m proving that I can work with different artist, proving I can put together shows, and proving I am about getting artists paid. I have been working with artists since about 2013. Back in Jackson Mississippi, I put together their 2nd Juneteenth celebration. I had local artist perform, so since then I’ve stayed putting together shows, working with artists, and putting together tours.
Lesi: Who have you looked at as inspiration or a mentor for you? Or has everything been just yourself?
Hefner: Everything has been self…I hate to do that, but, I am looking for a mentor, for some guidance. I feel like this is the best way, again, just to show somebody I’m hungry, that I have experience. That I’m willing to take risks and to try things. So, since I haven’t had much guidance, a lot has just been trial and error.
Lesi: When it comes to the music scene in Arkansas, Mississippi, and surrounding states, what’s your opinion so far?
Hefner: As far as the music scene in Arkansas, I feel like the sound here is non-descriptive. People really don’t know what to expect from Arkansas, but, there is a lot of music here so it’s hard to pinpoint Arkansas sound. I think it’s growing and there are more occasions and more places for artists to showcase their talents. Now for a moment, there wasn’t a scene, but, I see that it’s growing. As far as Jackson, Mississippi, there’s a huge music scene there! I believe from what I’ve seen, from when I started to currently, there are more and more artists being recognized that are from Mississippi. Because of this, there are more eyes on Mississippi and Arkansas is going to get more eyes on them too.
Lesi: What is your role? Would you say what you do is mostly manage?
Hefner: Yes, more so artist management. That’s what I would like to do, so the best way to do that is by managing artists. No one would trust me if I didn’t have anything to prove or if I didn’t do what I say I can do, so this is a great way to do that. At the same time, I love event coordination and curating events, helping people organize events, and hosting events. I like creating an experience and those 2 worlds kind of collide. Working with an artist is a highly creative job. How do we get our message out? How do we get our lookout? How do we connect with people? The answer is through the experience of creating the events. Managing artists and creating events go hand in hand.
Lesi: I wanted to be an artist at one point in time, then life happened, but I still wanted to be involved in the industry, so I decided to look into artist management. I’ve tried in the past and it did not work the way I thought it would, so what advice do you have for the people wanting to be an Artist Manager?
Hefner: Try it. Just try it! I jumped into it. I managed a group of guys from Mississippi and again, I can’t stress this enough, it was very trial and error. No one trusted me and it was for good reason. They didn’t have any reason to. These guys gave me a chance after they saw what I did with the Juneteenth show that they performed in! They let me know “Hey, we want to work with you, and we want to do more events with you,” so we got to work. So, try it. If you want to get into artist management, just try it. I will say that patience is the biggest thing in artist management because if you are not patient it’s not going to work. You’re really an assistant manager if you look at it. You’re helping the artist pull off whatever vision they have for themselves. You can kind of inject your own thing here and there but mainly you’re an assistant manager. You are helping to get a vision across the best way possible. So, my advice is to try it and have a lot of patience.
Lesi: Now how do you feel about managers going harder for the artist compared to how hard the artist goes for themselves because I see and hear that a lot happening in the industry?
Hefner: Oh yeah I don’t agree with that at all. On one side, I would say the manager is a bit of a stronghold because sometimes you have to have those encouraging words, give that pat on the back, or just say “Hey man, I believe in you! I believe you can pull this off!” You have to have that coaching and be able to keep that energy alive because for all actual purposes, that’s your job. You can’t get paid unless they get paid, so to some extent, you have to keep them excited and motivated to do what they do. Now, on another hand, I cannot go harder for this than you. I can’t get up there and rap for you. I can’t do all the interviews and the commercials because that’s not my job and if I have to get up and rap, then we’re in reverse and moving backward. I’m learning that in the realm of growth, its ok if an artist gets to a certain level of success and decides they want to work with another manager. I’m starting to grasp that ahead of time and beginning to brace myself. They are growing as an artist and you are growing as a manager, the artist will then say ‘Hey I’m doing this now, I’m doing x amount of shows and making x amount of money, I need someone that’s going to take me to the next level.” As a manager, I think that it’s good to work with other artists. We know they will move up and go on and do other things. When they move up you’re able to say that you’ve worked with this person and helped get them to this level. The nature of the industry is like basketball. Players come in to play, then they go to the NBA. They’re no longer playing on the same level they started. You have to find someone to help advocate for them and help get them through troubled waters as you did for the previous artist. Manage them, watch them grow, then work with another artist to build your resume.
Lesi: You touched a little bit on the concept of The Fake I.D Tour, who all is going to be on the tour?
Hefner: We have Sinclare who is from Little Rock, AR. He has been on a spree of dropping mixtapes and taking his music to the next level. He’s been performing live and doing more shows than he’s ever done. This guy has a great work ethic and is going to help carry the tour.
Saeuce is from Pine Bluff, AR. He’s had different shows in Little Rock within the past year. Two of those performances, in particular, had packed houses and people loved them! He’s recently been putting out projects as well.
J. Mula is from Little Rock, AR. He recently just came back to the state. He’s been on the scene and has been around for a while now. I needed a veteran on the team to give us that veteran energy.
Last but not least, we have B. Tee. He is a bubbling artist that I would say is somewhere between Rap and R&B but doesn’t sound like anything in Arkansas for the moment. I’m excited for him to showcase his work because his sound is so different to the ear. He’s been picking up steam throughout the state and making promising moves.
Lesi: When does the tour start?
Hefner: The first show is Friday, September 20, in Conaway, AR at Greenwood studios. Shout out to Chad for helping us put this together. He is a studio engineer and concert promoter that has been intricate in bringing a lot of great artist to Arkansas. Big Krit, Big Boi and Yelawolf just to name a few.
The next show will be Friday, September 27, in Little Rock, AR, at 801 Chester. We’ll be one of the first people to perform at this newly renovated venue. It’ll be a great show indoor and outdoor with food trucks on site. We want all Philander Smith College students to come out and kick it with us. it’s going to be a great time!
On Friday, October 11, we’ll be in Fayetteville, AR headlining at Club Lush. Shout out to DJ D. Sewell for the work he’s put in. He has several showcases he puts together every month so expect a great turnout!
Lesi: What do you hope the outcome of the tour?
Hefner: I hope it’s great! We’ve got a lot of students from the surrounding colleges in Conway, Little Rock, Pine Bluff, and Fayetteville already buzzing about it. The goal is to attract college kids in these college towns. If you get a freshman on your music, then they’ll more than likely stay a fan throughout their college years. Same for the transfer students. They’ll be at school, become a fan, then go back home during breaks and encourage the people in their hometowns to become fans as well. It’s all about creating the sound of Arkansas. Once we get that sound buzzing, we can create something outside the state lines.
We would like to give a special thanks to Give It Gas Magazine, Ind1 Music, Backwoods Atlanta, Arkansocks, and Traffic Clothing for Sponsoring the tour.
