The Bobby Bones Show - Co-Founder of Happy Jack Records David Nathan

Episode Date: September 1, 2023

In this bonus episode of Takin' A Walk, Buzz talks with the Co-Founder of Happy Jack Records David Nathan. *****Thank you so much for listening to the TAKIN’ A WALK PODCAST SHOW hosted by Buzz Knight!   Listen to more honest conversations with a compelling mix of guests ranging from musicians, authors, and insiders with their own stories. Get inspired, get motivated, and gain insights from honest conversations every week that can help you with your own journey. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and be part of this blessed family. Website: https://takinawalk.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thebuzzknight LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/buzzknight  Linkfire: https://lnk.to/takinawalk Please consider subscribing, leaving a review, and sharing it with your friends and family!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands. I vowed I will be his last target. He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves. We always say that trust your girlfriends.

Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you get your podcast. What's up, everyone? I'm Ago Vodam. My next guest, it's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo.

My dad gave me the best advice ever. He goes, just give it a shot. But if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. It would not be...

Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In 2023, Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd was accused of fathering twins. But the pregnancy appeared to be a hoax. You doctored this particular test twice, Ms. Owens, correct? I doctored the test ones.

It took an army of internet detectives to uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg Gillespie and Michael Mancini. My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young. This is Love Trapped. Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences.

Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Bob Pittman, Chairman and CEO of IHeart Media, and I'm kicking off a brand new season of my podcast, Math and Magic, stories from the frontiers of marketing. Math and Magic takes you behind the scenes of the big. businesses and industries while sharing insights from the smartest minds in marketing. Coming up this seasonal math and magic, CEO of Liquid Death, Mike Sessario. People think that creative ideas are like these light bulb moments that happen when you're in the shower. It's really like a stone sculpture. You're constantly just chipping away and refining.

Take two interactive CEO, Strauss Selnick, and our own chief business officer, Lisa Coffey. Listen to Math and Magic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Well, I'm Buzz Night. I'm the host of Taking a Walk, Music History on Foot, and follow us at Apple Podcasts at Spotify, the podcast playground, or wherever you get your podcast. And we love stories of hope and redemption and good work for the greater good. On an upcoming episode of Taking a Walk, we're going to feature somebody who's a singer-songwriter named Emily Kavanaugh, who has a, terrific charity initiative called A Song for You. So that'll be upcoming. But on this episode today, David Nathan is our guest. David is a former music executive of Republic Records. He's trying to change the narrative around mental health and addiction by creating something amazing called Happy Jack Records, in honor of his late son, Jack Nathan. We'll talk to David Nathan next. on Taking a Walk.

Well, David, Nathan, thanks for being on a virtual version of Taking a Walk. I'm in the backyard here in the mean streets of Carlyle, Massachusetts. Where are you? Actually, currently, I am in New York City, with my distraction being the FDR, the 34th Street in the FDR, so we'll see what happens. Well, I think distractions. are all a walk of life, if you will, in New York City. That's right.

They are. Yes, they are. So, David, tell us about the idea behind Happy Jack Records. So, well, it all comes from my son, Jack Nathan, who was a serial entrepreneur, had his hands in art, fashion, music, and even starting at the age of like 14, 15 years old and kind of grew up with that for me being in the music industry but really was like I said, a serial entrepreneur, had a bunch of businesses, but as he started to get into the college years,

he started to focus a little bit more on it. And he started a company called Happy Jack, which is all a mental health. company that it focuses on being a voice for young adults that don't have the voice or don't, you know, are afraid to speak up and super focused on mental health, clothing, music, and art. And so Jack built that company partnered with Child Mind Institute. First $1,000 he made when he launched the company in July of 20, I'm sorry, in June of 2020, he donated to the Child Mine Institute.

and then about a month later he went to a party down in South New Jersey, took what he thought was a Percocet. It was laced with fentanyl and he went to sleep and never woke up. So at 19 years old and 11 months, so almost to his 20th birthday. But what happened then is that my ex-wife and I, Jack's mom, took over the company with Jack's super focus of, you know, the mission, the message of helping kids that suffer from mental health. We have 60 college ambassadors that work with us across the college campuses. And we have since donated over $160,000 to different foundations and charities.

Super, you know, playing along the lines of the mental health space, although we do dabble a little bit in, you know, breast cancer awareness, kids with cancer, organ donations, all that kind of stuff. But one of the things Jack always wanted to do was be in the business and start music. And, you know, loved, love music, huge Mac Miller fan, huge Travis Scott fan, Drake, Kanye. And so after Jack passed away, it was always on my mind as someone who's been in the music industry to take it to the next steps. And quite frankly, it just never got to that space. A couple of people that were surrounding us didn't think it was the right time. I always wanted to do it. Maybe I just needed something to kick me in the butt.

And about 10 months ago, I got introduced to my partner now, Sam Koch, who graduated Indiana, young kid, 25, DJs all over the world, very super smart, suffers from his own issues, you know, depression, anxiety. And as soon as we got on the phone, within five minutes of that conversation, Happy Jack Records was born. And, you know, with the focus, and working with artists that want to make a change in the industry, want to help themselves, want to help their fans, want to help their communities,

and quite frankly address a problem that's been longstanding in this industry, on top of every other industry, but longstanding where it's been taboo to talk about. Did you see firsthand in your aspect to the business that you were in with Republic Records and your career, Did you see firsthand the problem that was going on with musicians and mental health and addiction? Yeah, I mean, it's funny. I had this conversation with somebody the other day, and I was saying that, you know, I worked very closely with Amy Winehouse, you know, front and center, who died of a, you know, alcohol overdose, you know. And I always knew there were problems.

my biggest problem was that I never said anything. And, you know, I look back at all these artists, you know, they have that famous 27 club, right? All these artists that have died at that age, Kirk Cobain, Jimmy Hendricks, Janice Joplin, Jim Morrison, you know. And I always question whether or not if somebody jumped in and said something, if the label, the managers, the agents, friends didn't enable, but, you know, educated, maybe these guys, you know, this could still be here.

But you can't look backwards. You know, you've got to look forwards. And that's the whole mentality of what we're doing here is if we can bring the artists that want to help and want to change or have already made the change but want to talk about it and educate, we're all in. Do you think people from outside the business have an empathy in terms of what goes in, to an artist being a touring artist and the stress that it places on them and then the bad habits that occur and certainly the destruction? Yeah, that's a very interesting question. From my perspective,

because I've always been in the business, I would probably say yes. I don't think anybody, just use Taylor Swift as, you know, for example, because I just went to her concert. everything that goes on behind the scenes, right? The preparation, the money, the stress, the anxiety, everything that goes into getting ready for that show has to take its toll on Taylor. Now, she's a very smart, talented, forward-thinking artist and probably has help and is able to talk about her issues, whether she writes a song about it or something. But yeah, I do believe that there is a misconception.

about, you know, money and success in the music industry that everybody, you know, well, if they're, they have problems, then they bring it upon themselves. Like, I don't believe that. I believe that they're, you know, they're put here to entertain and do their job. And again, the reason why we're doing what we're doing, we can get into it if you like, is because there is that stress factor and because there is that, that the distraction and the stress and the anxiety and the addiction components to it. Where we're going to allow the artists, we're going to take away all that stuff

so that the artists can do what they do best, which is focus on writing, recording, performing, and singing. Well, yes, let's get into it because what you've come up with here as you're really working to revolutionize a business and do great work is really various tiers that will allow this to be hopefully a success.

I have no doubt it'll be a success. So talk about, you know, the aspect of this that is providing strong reinforcement for the artists at every level. Yeah. We, there's a bunch of things that, so this company is not designed to just sign artists that are being success,

that have success in the streaming or radio or touring or whatever. The idea of this, like I said, earlier is to work with artists that want to be a part of this, right? Believe in what we're doing. We'll get up on a soapbox and talk about their addiction problems, their anxiety, their depression, their, you know, whatever they have, and be able to communicate it in a way that can educate but can help. And I'm not interested in signing an artist that doesn't want to do that, first and foremost. Secondly, is the program that's put in place, right? You can't push and force anybody to go to therapy.

but we strongly recommend it. And we're offering, you know, to pay for therapy for six months to see where we stand. And if we have to continue to do it, we will. We're going to bring in coaches that are going to be focused on nutrition, on physical, on, you know, nutritional. But then also the generic, you know, organic mental health issues like I talked about. And then, you know, God forbid you ever have this, you know, issue. there's going to be an opportunity for suicide prevention, suicide hotlines, if you ever do have to get to that space. But again, these are pieces of the puzzle that are going to allow us to go do what we need to do best,

which is brand market, promote the artist, but on the artist side is going to, like I said earlier, is going to be able to give them a clear path to be able to go to what they do best. It makes complete sense. My question is, how do you merge the important mission of helping these artists through the creative process and through their challenges with creativity and the resilience of creativity? Well, it's funny because a lot of people will argue that because they're so messed up in one way or another is how they're, you know, they're creative. I don't, I think that if you have a clearer head and you don't have to worry about, you know, where your next meal is coming from, you don't have to worry about where you're sleeping tonight, you don't have to worry about having the ability to talk to somebody, it's going to clear your mind in a healthy way and give you the opportunity to see clearer, to be able to, you know, write more easily, to sing at a better occupier. You know, your vocal range, right, will change if you're not drinking, if you're not, you know, if you're in a better health space. Your stomach won't give you, you know, the a jada and the angst and the, you know, all the upsetness that a lot of artists go through when they're about to go on stage.

So the idea, again, is just to kind of create this clear vision and execute it. So hopefully it actually adds more creativity to it than, you know, than having to come. up with something and have the angst in your mind of having writers block or you know what do i do what do i write about how do i write it um and you know i didn't write it fast enough right or i didn't sing it fast enough or i was in the wrong wrong um you know octave or level so will you have artists that are sort of part of this support system who aren't going through the program but can sort of help be a foundational piece because of their past experiences You mean like existing artists or new artists?

Existing. Well, I mean, listen, the conversations are being had at a bunch of different levels with all different artists. In theory, the idea is to work, develop, create new artists, right, for the next generation. And we like to call it the class of 24, right? And then in turn, the success of the class of 24 will then power. are the class of 2025. Now, that being said, and I would love this to happen, if somebody just use Post Malone as the example, right, you know, who's signed to Republic Records, but loves this idea and, you know, we're able to get to his manager or him or his team and he, you know,

expresses his love or his appreciation for what we're doing. Now, he may be working, he may be mentoring an artist that's underneath him that's not signed to a record label. He may be interested in investing in the company, or he may simply be interested in, you know, doing exactly that, like sitting down with these artists as we're developing them and have real conversation about the struggles that he's gone through. So it's kind of a, you know, a three-pronged approach, right? I would love nothing more than to have, you know, a post or the weekend or, you know, Adele or Bieber or Taylor or something on the label, of course. But, and I think that's going to come. I I really do. I believe that as we build this, you're going to start to see it. I always,

I don't know if you remember the movie Jerry Maguire, but I always kind of, you remember at the end when Jerry and Cuba getting junior hug each other at the end after the football game and the other agent, looks at his guy and the athlete goes, why do we have a relationship like that? Like, you know, and he pushes him away. I kind of, that's what I hope happens, right? That people go to Republic, go to Atlantic, go to, you know, Warner, RCA, and have that. conversation with the chairmen of those companies and say, why don't you do this? Why don't we do this? Why are my signed to a label that doesn't care? Because unfortunately, and I said, I've said it a bunch of times, the amount of meetings that I've been in over my career and the amount of times that anybody has ever asked how the artist is doing, probably about zero. So you're looking to change really a stigma, a paradigm, and have, you know, certainly in terms of industry alliances, people take the leap, so others will take the leap.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, we're first movers, you know, that's sad but true that no one's done this yet. So, and I was kind of thrust into it with Jack passing away to take my two loves and put them together, right? But, and so now, you know, my goal and Sam, my partner's goal is to change the music industry. So the world of being a trailblazer and an entrepreneur, it can be a roller coaster ride. It can sometimes be a lonely ride for sure. Where do things stand at the moment in terms of alliance building and the whole process?

Well, we, you know, there's a lot of different checklists that we have. place. You know, I hope it's never a lonely road, to your point, because every single person from the record labels to, you know, Billboard just did an article on us, which was great. I haven't found one person that has said and said to me, that's not going to work. You know, you're barking up the wrong tree. You're doing something that's taboo. No one's going to talk about it. I don't, that's not happened once. And we're trying, we're trying to find strategic partnership. right, that are going to help us along the way. We're planning college tours.

We're planning festivals. We're planning, you know, multiple recording sessions with different artists, different writers, different producers. And inside of that, there's different sponsorships and brand partnerships, you know, from touring, right? So we're having conversations with UTA, William Morris, CAA, because when we get to that space, we want to have an agent that is locked in to give us first write of opportunity to go bring these artists on the tour.

We're working with other writers in producing companies to have music brought in and selective sessions happening so that we do have, you know, stuff there. Then we're also, you know, we're working obviously with the mental health, you know, the mental health alliances, right, all these foundations and companies that focus on, you know, on therapy and self-help and meditation and all these different kinds of things. So we're building these sponsorships, and that's going to fund some of it. And then, you know, the more money we raise and the more we have in our bank, the more we're going to be able to utilize all that stuff and really do what we want to do,

which is educate and help. So where's the roadmap right now? So where do you stand in it in terms of the ultimate, you know, complete launch? I know you had a launch party and, you know, all of that to, you know, obviously. bring people together, but where do things stand? Yeah, we have, there's three artists that were already focused on working with. We have, when I tell you, honestly, we probably have 30 submissions already at our website of music and people.

Now, listen, again, you're going to be hard pressed to find somebody today that doesn't have some type of mental health issue, right? Which is what it is. But, you know, we have to, we also are still running a business, and we do have to try and find if we're going to compete, we need to find the right types of artists, the right things that fit us. You know, we're not genre specific. We're a full service, you know, we're going to be a full service label in terms of music, country, rock, hip hop, rap, pop, you know, it doesn't matter to me. We just want to find the right artists. So we're, we're, our, the train is rolling. It's out of the,

it's out of the station. But, you know, again, we need to find, you know, we're getting the funding. We're starting to get it. We've had some incredible meetings. And we've already had three or four people commit to putting money in, which is great. But, you know, until that happens, we really can't officially launch, you know, and go. But we're already kind of off the side working with the artists that we already really want to work with and putting our time in and starting to create the roadmaps, whether it's in, you know, in North Africa, it's in the Middle East, it's in America. It doesn't really bother us.

You know, we're going to be a global artist, a global label, and we're working. with global artists, and that is for us the whole foundation of it. So let's talk to two constituencies that are listening to the podcast. First, an artist that might want to reach out, how would they reach out to you and to your organization? First and foremost, you can go to our website, which is happyjackrecords.org. And there's information in there, which gives you the opportunity. to do a bunch of different things, one being submit your music and send us notes,

which is obviously that you know that you can connect through us on Instagram, which is just happy Jack Records at Instagram. Those are probably the two best ways. You know, it's a small company right now. It's just Sam and I and two interns that are working with us and our financial guys. So rest assured that anything that's submitted we're going to see and we will get back to you, good, bad or indifferent. Well, the second constituency is the partner slash person wanting to write the big check.

How should they connect with you? Pretty much the same way. You know, they can always email me, which is David at happy jacks with an sworld.com. So David at happyjacksworld.com or you could go to our Instagram or our website. But yeah, I welcome any of those calls. But again, you know what? We really do want to find. Like, I'm just not interested, honestly, Buzz.

I'm just not interested in someone just writing a check. You know, like it has to be meaningful. It has to be we want to surround ourselves with artists, managers, producers, investors, brand partnerships, strategic alliances that all want and believe in what we're doing. And I think that's the difference is we're not just a company that's open and just, you know, someone comes to me and says they want to write a check for, you know, $100,000 and, you know, go do what you want to do. You know, it's hard to say no to that.

But I have to believe, and so to Sam, my partner, that there is a better and a really good barometer here to be partners with the right people. And I truly believe that. Like I'm, again, I said, I'm not interested in signing an artist. just to sign an artist. I'm not interested in doing a brand partnership just because someone's going to write check for a million dollars or whatever. There has to be a bottom line belief in what we're doing. David, I know in a year from now when we're regrouping in person or virtually or, you know, via the phone, it's going to be off and running and it's going to be great

success stories. I applaud you for the work and we're all behind. you and happy Jack records in memory of Jack. Thank you. Yeah, I wouldn't be here without it. And, you know, he's just, I know he believes in this. I know he is exactly what he would have done. And so I have, you know, my life has changed now. And I have a responsibility, but I also have the privilege of being able to do this.

and, you know, and even naming the record company after him. And so I'm not stopping. I'm going to change the business with my partner. And we're going to do some amazing things. And, you know, I just, I appreciate you being one of the first people who's, you know, who's recognized this and is believing in what we're doing enough to want to talk to me about it. Thank you, David. Taking a walk with Buzz Night is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or where

wherever you get your podcasts. When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands. I vowed, I will be his last target. He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he

deserves. We always say trust your girlfriends. Listen to the girlfriends, trust me, babe, on the IHartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, everyone? I'm Ago Vodam. My next guest, it's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. He goes, just give it a shot.

But if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In 2023, Bachelor star Clayton Eckerd was accused of fathering twins. But the pregnancy appeared to be a hoax.

You doctored this particular test twice, Ms. Owens, correct? I doctored the test ones. It took an army of internet detectives to uncover a disturbing pattern. Two more men who'd been through the same thing. Greg, a lesbian. Michael Mancini. My mind was blown. I'm Stephanie Young.

This is Love Trapped. Laura, Scottsdale Police. As the season continues, Laura Owens finally faces consequences. Listen to Love Trapped podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Bob Pittman, Chairman and CEO of IHeart Media, and I'm kicking off a brand new season of my podcast, Math and Magic, stories from the Frontiers of Marketing. Math and Magic takes you behind the scenes of the biggest business. and industries while sharing insights from the smartest minds in marketing. Coming up this seasonal math and magic, CEO of Liquid Death, Mike Cesario.

People think that creative ideas are like these light bulb moments that happen when you're in the shower. It's really like a stone sculpture. You're constantly just chipping away and refining. Take-2 interactive CEO, Strauss Selnick, and our own chief business officer, Lisa Coffey. Listen to Math and Magic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.