Activist’s Greg Suess

What was the first concert you ever attended?

Depeche Mode on July 13, 1986 at The Forum with Sheri Ruiz and several of her girlfriends for her eighth-grade birthday party. I was the only boy invited. I had never danced at a concert and it all felt very Footloose.

You can go back in time and see any concert. Whom would you see and when?

I would see Maxwell with my wife in 1999. We met that year and we both loved Embyra. That album still takes us back.

Name a manager not in your company whom you admire.

Bill Silva. He’s so inclusive, abundant, nice, humble, smart and cool. He possesses the feeling of “I have enough” and he wants everyone to succeed.

You’re made czar of the concert industry. What’s the first thing you’d change?

I’d put a Hollywood Bowl in every city. I love the Hollywood Bowl.

Name a mistake you’ve made in the biz, and what you learned from it.

It’s easy to get into business with people, but not always easy to get out of business with them. Have a clear exit plan.