"We don't need gasoline!" Mr Scott Booker, the ultimate music lover, aka the managing director of Hellfire Enterprises Ltd talks on his life for music
			Utayo Furukuni: How & when did you meet Ｔhe Flaming Lips? How long have you known them?
			Scott Booker: The first time I saw the Flaming Lips play was at a small club in Norman, OK. I went to see the Police, or maybe Sting play at a big venue and there was a flier for a Flaming Lips after-show party at this club. My friends and I went to see the Lips. My friends didn't like it so they left me there but I refused to leave. I thought the Lips were great!! I didn't actually meet them at the show. I met Michael through the record store I worked at. He would come in and shop and I would go up and talk to him but he was very shy. Wayne would also come in the store, but he had a motorcycle helmet on and he would always keep the visor down, so you couldn't really talk to him. He would bring his records to the counter and buy them without ever showing you his face. I thought he was going to rob the store! Eventually, Michael and I became good friends and he introduced me to everyone else. It was a small scene of people who liked the same kind of music. This was all about 15 or 16 years ago, maybe longer.
			UF: Why did you become their manager?
			Scott: The Lips' original manager quit working with them. She had a nervous breakdown or something and quit working with all the bands she booked. Everyone knew me from working at the record store and from promoting shows locally. So, when they were about to go on the road Wayne and Jonathan (Donahue) asked me to answer phone calls for them from the record label, which was Restless at the time. I was always at the record store, so it was easy for me to do. That would be the start of my helping The Lips but I wouldn't officially be their manager until Warner Bros signed them about a year later. I actually tried to get them a manager and no one was interested. Their A&R person suggested that I should manage them because the band trusted me and I got along well with the people at the record label. The band's lawyer Bill Berrol was a big help for me as well, and he answered all the technical questions I had about the music business.
			UF: What is The Flaming Lips for you?
			Scott: One of the greatest bands ever and some of my best friends!!
			UF: In childhood, what kind of kid were you? Are you actually born in Oklahoma?
			Scott: I was a bit of a bookworm as a kid. By high school I was pretty normal. I tried to go see every band that came to town.I was born in Illinois, but moved to Oklahoma when I was one year old. My mother was born and raised in Oklahoma and wanted to come back home.
			UF: What kind of music were you first influenced (or inspired) by?
			Scott: I remember buying 45 rpm of songs that I loved on the radio. But when I started buying albums, it was about junior high. I have no brothers or sisters, so I wasn't influenced by older siblings, like a lot of people so I would listen to the radio and see what I liked. Some of the first albums I bought were by Supertramp, Cheap Trick and ELO. Then I started buying Beatles albums. The first alternative music I probably really loved was DEVO. REM really opened my eyes to the indie music scene and from reading about their influences I learned about The Feelies, Husker Du, the Replacements, The Velvet Underground etc.Around this time I was old enough to go see local bands in clubs. I would go see The Lips every time they played and they were so great, even back then.
			UF: Have you ever joined a band? If you have, which instruments did you play?
			Scott: I tried to be in bands, I played guitar. We were never any good, so I decided to promote shows instead.
			UF: I heard that you run a record shop called Rainbow Records in Oklahoma City. Do you still run the shop?
			Scott: No, I don't have the time to run the record store anymore. I miss it quite a bit. I started working at a store called Sound Warehouse when I was fifteen and I worked there for several years and then switched to Rainbow Records. Rainbow was a great store it was used and new records. We carried tons of great indie stuff as well as amazing jazz CDs and records.I have loved record shops since I was twelve. I would go to the record store every day and read all the information on the albums and listen to everything I could.
			UF: Why & when did you establish your company Hellfire Enterprises Ltd? Is it because you wanted to concentrate on working for The Flaming Lips?
			Scott: Hellfire Enterprises Ltd. was originally just called Hellfire Management. I created it just to manage the Flaming Lips. I never dreamed I would be managing bands. I actually went to college and earned a degree in History and was planning on teaching high school. When the opportunity to work with the Lips presented itself and I just went for it and haven't looked back since. I feel like I have got the greatest job in the world and work with some of the most creative musicians ever!
			UF: Why does your company call Hellfire itself? Where did the name come from? It is quite funny name!
			Scott: Where we live, Oklahoma, is in a very Christian area of the country. Growing up you would go to church all the time on Wednesday and Sunday (twice on Sunday). I knew that when my family found out the career I had chosen to pursue they would have thought I have gone crazy, so I wanted to come up with a name that represented what many people thought of when they thought of rock and roll is the Devil!! It was my way of making fun of where I am from but not in a mean way, just funny!
			UF: What is the hardest side as a band manager, especially in the field of music? But on the other hand what is the advantage of being a band manager?
			Scott: The hardest part of being a manager is simply the stress of having to make decisions. My job is to give my opinion and advice to bands and then together we work through every situation that presents itself. When Wayne wants to make a movie, I help him create a situation in which he can. If Wheat want to record an album before they have a deal with a label, I help them reach that goal. Being a manager is a 7 days a week, 24 hours a day job, I get calls at 3:00am as well as during what would be considered business hours.The advantage of being a manager is helping to introduce the world to great bands and great music. Sometimes I feel quite evangelical in my approach to introducing bands to the world. I am just lucky to work with great people and to have a job I love!! Right now my roster includes The Flaming Lips, Wheat, The Starlight Mints, Craig Ross, Stephen Jones from Babybird, Satellite and filmmaker Brad Beesley. I am sure some of the names you have heard of and others you haven't but you will.
			UF: Could you advise our readers who want to be a band manager? What do they need to be that?
			Scott: I would advise anyone who wants to be a manager to stay humble, always listen to people, be polite, and if you don't know something just ask! You never look stupid asking a question!! To be a band manager you have to love the people you work with and they become family. You also need patience because it will take a great deal of hard work and time for anyone to become successful.
			UF: How did you meet Wheat? Why did you decide to work with them?
			Scott: Michael from The Flaming Lips was working with Dave Fridmann at Tarbox Road Studio when Wheat was recording 'Hope and Adams'. He sent me the songs they were working on and I really loved them and Michael told them I was interested in the band and they called me. Philosophically we got on very well, so we decided to work together. They have so much potential and their new record is being recorded with Dave Fridmann, who works with Mercury Rev and the Flaming Lips and also Brian Deck, who used to be in Red Red Meat and recorded the last Modest Mouse record. I think they are an important band and people should hear their records.
			UF: Do you think that you will work for any other bands in the future if you meet some very inspiring music / bands?
			Scott: I am sure I will. I am always looking for people to work with. The bands and I have to think a great deal alike philosophically, or it won't work. I have been called by Ian McCulloch from Echo and the Bunnymen if I would be interested in working with them but I decided not to because I wanted to focus on new bands. Bob Pollard (from Guided By Voices) asked me if I would be interested in working with them but he was pretty wasted so I don't know if he would remember now or not but I didn't want to pursue that either. I love both of those bands, but it didn't feel right. I really love to work with Elliot Smith because he is a great guy. I am sure there are bands practicing right now that I will l hear one day and be inspired by!
			UF: How do you extend your connection in the field of music? I think that you have a wide connection in the world!
			Scott: Well, I am so lucky that The Flaming Lips are so well-loved that opens a lot of doors for me!! I try to be friendly and I am not afraid to call or talk to anyone. I love traveling with my bands when I can and enjoy meeting people.
			UF: What is your biggest dream (or vision) from now?
			Scott: Honestly if things stayed the same I would be happy but I sure would like to see my bands sell millions of records!!
			UF: What is your favorite motto?
			Scott: My favorite motto is a line from the documentary called Heart of Darkness. It is a documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now, the movie by Francis Ford Coppola. He was facing seemingly insurmountable odds in making his movies and was very frustrated. He borrowed a line from a German General from World War II. The General was running out of fuel for his tanks to attack the Russians so to inspire his troops he created the motto we don't need gasoline!!!　 Coppola took this motto to create a great movie in what seemed like an impossible situation. We have used that line many times when The Lips and I had to face something that seemed impossible but with enough will power and creativity you can do anything. We don't need gasoline!!!

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