10 questions with Passenger Entertainment CEO Joseph Day

Spinning Thoughts recently caught up with Passenger Entertainment CEO Joseph Day. Since moving to Canada three years ago, Joe teamed up with Rarity’s Adam Clarke to grow one of the biggest and rapidly growing management and booking companies in Canada. Joe works with the likes of Young Culture, Rarity, Losing Streak and more. Dan Bowyer got a chance to chat with Joe and find out just how Passenger Entertainment is changing the face of the Ontario music scene forever!

ST: How did you initially get into music?
JD: My Dad plays guitar and I grew up with him playing Pink Floyd and Crowded House every night! I hit my teens and just started developing my own taste and playing in bands. Just always seemed so natural, I was a heavy sports kid but honestly music was always there, you know? Can’t think of a day in my life I haven’t put my headphones in or had music around me in some form. It is vital to my sanity I think!

ST: What is your favorite part about the behind-the-scenes aspects of music (tour managing, booking etc…)
JD: The depth and level of work you discover! Being on tour with big bands you get to realize how many working parts there are. You turn up to a show as a kid and just think it all works magically! Meanwhile there are 10-15 people spending all day to make everything sound as good as it does! Being a manager I play such a pivotal role in making everything work. I’m really blessed to do what I do.

ST: How do you balance being on the road with other life responsibilities?
JD: It’s the hardest part. Some people are meant for the role and some just aren’t. Balancing things like relationships and finances is still something I’m trying to work on. Just because you love being on the road doesn’t mean your loved ones do! But I started touring and being on the road at the ground level. So if you can survive and enjoy that, you really come to appreciate it when the standard rises.

ST: You recently got involved with the Madden brothers of Good Charlotte! How did that come about?
JD: I was on the Warped Tour and came across them! I met them in Canada through booking a few years back. We struck up a conversation! Talked about Passenger and the great things we’ve been fortunate to do and that’s kind of just how it all started. Working alongside them has been amazing. Their knowledge and business sense is incredible and they really are changing the music industry forever! I’m excited for what is to come!

ST: Your company, Passenger Entertainment, that you founded with Rarity guitarist Adam Clarke is almost two years old. How was the first year for Passenger been?
JD: We are very fortunate to be two great friends with completely different personalities and music backgrounds. So coming together we had a lot of help from each other and our different qualities were complimentary. I wouldn’t have done the things I’ve been able to accomplish without Adam. We hit the ground running with respect for each other and for friends in the industry on day one, and that’s something we’ve been very passionate about always maintaining.

ST: What artists and songs are found on your playlists these days?
JD: I’m the type of person who is a little bit guilty of being stuck in his favorite old records! Having just been at Warped I’m getting back into a lot of the bands I would see like Every Time I Die, Wage War, and Losing Streak (selfless plug!)

ST: Who are some up and coming bands that Spinning Thoughts readers should be paying attention to?
JD: One of my bands Young Culture just finished their first record for Equal Vision Records, and we are all honestly really proud of it. I think it’s going to be huge and people aren’t ready for it! Vera Forever and Mallory Run are two unsigned bands I’ve come across this year that really blew me away!

ST: What is the best live show you’ve ever been to?
JD: Oh man that’s so tough to say! A festival differs so much from a club show! Rage Against The Machine at Reading Festival will always be a special one for me! Alexisonfire once played a secret club show in London (England) because they were stuck due to an airstrike and that’ll also be something I’ll never forget!

ST: You grew up in England. How does the scene there differ from the North American scene and what things do they have in common?
JD: Oh man it is so different! I really do love the local scene here in Ontario, Canada. It is something I personally am really proud that Passenger has helped to build! You can see a crazy show in Toronto and then see an equally great show in Oshawa 20 miles away! In my hometown in England we had nothing! It was either London or Oxford! People really pull together and support the local scene here. I always see the same people at almost any show in Toronto or Hamilton and I really appreciate that. We get a lot of love for bringing a community to this scene in the last year or so and I really take pride in that.

ST: Anything else you’d like to add?
JD: Just a thank you! We really do appreciate all the love and support we get from the people that rep Passenger! It’s given us a platform to grow our artists, our management and really has changed our careers. Only bigger things to come!

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