Not all teenagers are sitting around on their screens or causing a ruckus in and around town. Some of them are killing it in the music industry, and Da Manager, made up of Banjo Golder on vocals and guitar, Arlo Kirk on lead guitar, Phoenix Preston on bass, and Cruz Kill on drums, are making quite the impact.
With a perfect blend of aggressive riffs, thundering drums, and soulful lyrics, Da Manager songs capture the essence of 90’s grunge (take me back), whilst infusing it with their own personal touch. If you want my advice, put the iPad down and take a listen, with the volume up loud.
Tell me about the name, Da Manager, who came up with it and what does it mean?
We don’t really have any reasoning behind the name, so if you want to make something up go ahead!
Who or what inspires your music?
Our roots are grunge and old school rock, think Silverchair, Grinspoon and Wolfmother, but recently we’ve all been loving heavier music. We’re digging bands like Bring Me The Horizon, Of Mice and Men and Pierce The Veil, as well as a lot of early 2000’s metalcore and post hardcore. You could also say that our newer music reflects that. Rap music is another influence, local rappers like JK-47 and Dredub have influenced a few rap-rock songs we’ve done.
Where do you make the magic and who does your production side of things?
We write most of our music at Banjo’s house. That’s where we rehearse weekly before gigs. We’ve been lucky enough to record with some big names in the industry already. Through winning the Bluesfest Busking Comp in 2023, we met Nick Didia and recorded ‘Max20’.
Nick has produced records for some big artists such as Rage Against the Machine and Pearl Jam. We’ve also done some recording at The Grove Studios on the Central Coast, where Owen Buttersworth and Harry Duffman helped us bring LBS to streaming services.
Where do you see the music industry in 20 years given how much it’s changed already?
The music industry is constantly changing and evolving. Streaming services and social media have forever changed how artists promote and make a career out of music. With A.I. now being thrown into the mix, who knows where the industry will be in 20 years.
We just hope that social media and A.I. don’t kill the art and passion of authentic music.
Whether our genre is top of the charts or nearly forgotten, we’ll be happy if we’re still making music and playing shows. That being said, we’re working hard to write better songs and play bigger shows, so by that time, everyone will know who we are.
When you’re not making music, where can we find you all?
When we aren’t jamming or playing shows, you’ll find us at the beach, skatepark, jumping off bridges, or anywhere else we can have a good time.
More about Da Manager
‘Short and Sweet’ is your backstage pass to NSW’s Northern Rivers Music Scene, inspired by BayFM’s Ange Kent host of Northern Rivers Music Box and music journalist, Prudence Clark, from Off the Record.