by Aishah Ali

JAMIE DRED, MY PIECE OF ADVICE:

“Just keep trying, you just have o get up and keep going!”

 

This August, we sat down with Jamie Dred, the ‘Stay Fresh Entertainment’ music manager behind some of the Midlands best musical talent to discover his musical background and quiz him on what his demanding job actually entails…

Aishah: When did you first feel you had an attachment to music?

Jamie: I’m not sure exactly when, but it would have been some time when I was kicking in my mom’s belly when she was out at a party, I imagine. Around then sometime, so I would probably have been about -5 months.

Aishah: Was music a big part of your family life growing up?

Jamie: Yeah, my mom was a singer in a group that was signed to a record label and my dad was what was known as the ‘sound man’, which basically meant he was a sound engineer, but he had his own sound and he used to do a lot of parties.

Aishah: What music inspired you when you were growing up?

Jamie: It has to be reggae; it was played in my house constantly when I was growing up.

Aishah: What’s been your biggest achievement so far in your career?

Jamie: I mean there have been a lot of different moments really. You know, when you think: ‘Is this really happening?!’ It’s hard to say to be fair. Everyday something happens so I’m just grateful for any opportunity I get.

Aishah: What do you try to achieve through your music?

Jamie: I’m a manager so it’s all about making my artists known and making people aware of their music, really that’s it. I’m basically just raising awareness of their music and furthering their career. I work with artists from the Midlands but try to make them known across the UK.

Aishah: Ok, it sounds like you’re a busy man.  There must have been some obstacles you have had to overcome to get to where you are today?

Jamie: Yeah I think there are obstacles I have to face every day, from not being able to get out of bed in the morning to not being able to get in touch with people. I mean the only thing that I always say is if you get one knock back, you just keep trying, if you get two knock backs, you just keep trying. You just have to get up and keep going.

You can follow Jamie Dred, the founder of Stay Fresh Entertainment @StayFreshJamieD