MIX Course: Fontaines D.C. manager Trevor Dietz on the Dublin band's remarkable road to success

The countdown is officially on for the MIX (Music Industry Xplained) Course 2021!

Brought to you by Hot Press, the acclaimed course is aimed at those who want to succeed in music, management, media, publicity, promotion, publishing, record labels, and lots more, within the music, entertainment, events and media space – and is set to return in its online format following last year's hugely successful course.

Recognised by the music industry in Ireland and abroad, MIX is a 13-week series of lectures (one each week) by top professional exponents from the Irish and international music industry. Key subjects include: Record Companies and How They Work; Music Marketing; Publicity; Image Development; the Independent Route; Record Production; Social Media; Music Publishing and Music Online. Also covered are Radio, Working with the Media, Management, Finance, Touring and Distribution, and Music Publishing.

To secure your place on this year's course, just email [email protected] or go to hotpress.com/mix

Every year, the MIX Course's Wrap Night features a lively panel discussion – and back in 2019, Fontaines D.C.'s manager Trevor Dietz was on hand to share the secrets behind the Dublin band's remarkable rise to stardom.

As their manager, Trevor helped mastermind the band's journey from BIMM Dublin to the top of the Irish and UK charts.

"Fontaines D.C. came along in 2016," Trevor revealed at the MIX Course Wrap Night. "I spotted them and put them on three or four times at the Workman’s and then we decided to take the relationship from promoter to manager. I’d been putting on bands for twenty years and had my plan of attack ready for when one jumped out at me. I’d watched and studied the managers who came into the venue; people like Frank Murray, God rest his soul, who looked after The Pogues. He called me just before he passed away – Frank was looking after the Mighty Stef at the time – and said, 'Have you found a band yet? No? Well, just go out and find them!' Lo and behold, these guys came along pretty soon after.

"At the start, when we decided to work together, it was really just one question," he continued. "I went for a coffee with the boys in William Street and asked if they’d set their goals and their endgame. I wouldn’t have worked with the band if they hadn’t had huge expectations and huge dreams. If other people had heard the conversation that day they would have gone, 'Jesus, these guys are nuts, it’s not going to happen', but I knew we could go well beyond Ireland with this. So, first and foremost, you need a band that shares your vision and who are reliable, accountable and honest."

Although Fontaines D.C.'s success appeared to happen overnight, Trevor noted that "it felt quite slow to us."

"The first single, ‘Liberty Bell’, was in May 2017, so there was two years of a wait before Dogrel came out," he said. "We didn’t realise we had such a big hit on our hands until the label started tipping us off about the UK pre-orders being though the roof. I don’t think the charts mean anything to eighteen-year-olds but, having grown up with them, they’re still part of how I measure things. I was there the week of release going, 'Are we selling more than Emma Bunton? How are the Chemical Brothers doing? Are we going to get top five?' It felt very bizarre!"

Fontaines DC at Forbidden Fruit 2019 Monday 3rd of June. Copyright Miguel Ruiz.

Trevor also revealed that there was a real DIY ethos at the heart of the band from their early days.

"Before the Fontaines were a band, they put on some spoken word nights at the Workman’s and released two poetry books together," he said. "They had the confidence to expose themselves lyrically and get their ideas out. As a manager, you want to know that a band are capable of doing things for themselves. Part of the reason I was so attracted to working with the lads is that they have a very simple way of putting their stuff across – particularly on social media. Promoting their early gigs before I became involved it was, 'Fontaines, time, place.' There was no hard sell, no 'come see us.' There was nothing gimmicky about how they presented themselves. And they still point-blank refuse to compromise on that. They just put the songs out there and your Pitchforks, Guardians, NMEs and Hot Presses sold it for them with their good reviews. It wasn’t calculated, but their understated way of doing things has become a bit of a Fontaines D.C. trademark."

He went on to stress that, "contrary to what other people might tell you, radio is not dead and airplay still sells records."

"The support we got early on from Steve Lamacq on BBC 6 Music was a major factor in us getting signed," he added. "We released our first three singles ourselves and were prepared to do the album that way as well, but because of him playing ‘Checkless Reckless’ off the air all of these really cool industry people started coming to our gigs.

"After one of them, we got a call from Partisan Records, a label with a big presence in the States. I was hugely impressed that they’d already signed the Black Angels who I’m a massive fan of, and Idles who we’ve just finished doing thirty dates across the States with. Matt Berninger from The National and Steve Jones from the Sex Pistols were both at the L.A. gig. Stuart Pierce the footballer and Shane Meadows are also big fans, and Elton John – him again! – bought Dogrel on Record Store Day. Anyway, there was no bullshit, no playing games. It was, 'We want the band.' The gig was on the Wednesday, Partisan rang on Thursday and on the Friday they sent their A&R man, Jeff, to Dublin. It moved that fast."

Trevor also opened up about his career highlights:

"Surviving through this game for the past twenty years without having to compromise," he said. "I’ve never had to put a DJ or a band on that I thought was shit. And, of course, it’s lead to my involvement with Fontaines D.C. It’ll probably have to die down a bit before the madness of what’s happening really sinks in. Incidentally, bands looking for a gig should just Facebook me. If I like your stuff, we’ll start you off with a Bank Holiday Sunday at the Workman’s. That’s kind of how Just Mustard and The Murder Capital came through."

Just email [email protected] or go to hotpress.com/mix to secure your place on this year's Mix Course.