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Reported by: Fields Moseley
Thursday, Sep 17, 2009 @10:38pm CDT
They are "Manage This," and right now, they are riding high. For the last two years they competed in the Fortune Battle of the Corporate Bands. In two weeks, they'll be in Cleveland for the finals.
Wednesday, lead singer, Steve Morton talked up the crowd at party for Utah software company, InContact. Then he and the rest of the band cranked out a popular tune by The Killers. "Mange This" has found a place entertaining industry leaders and their clientele.
"We'll play anything people will dance to," said Tom Rhoton, who plays lead guitar.
"A lot of Billy Idol, U2, Ramones," added Carine Clark, the keyboard player.
The interesting thing is, Clark, Rhoton, Jordan Pusey and Steve Morton were at their own company party when they came up with the idea to form a band.
"It was kind of funny because we were listening to the band and we thought, I bet we could do better than this," said Pusey, who plays the drums.
It's worth noting, these amateur rock stars are all managers themselves at Symantec, the third largest software company in the world.
"I'm the Vice President of Product Marketing," said Morton, who sings and plays base.
"I'm the Chief Marketing Officer for Symantec," said Clark.
"I'm Vice President of Marketing for the Americas," said Rhoton.
"I'm a Senior Manager for Product Marketing," said Pusey.
Steve Morton admitted he needed some practice.
"It had been 15 years since I had picked up a guitar or sung a note in a band," he said.
Clark said she was reluctant to join a band. "They're like no, we really want you to be in the band. I said nope, don't do that."
But practicing in a basement began and soon they were playing events for Symantec around the world.
"We've played in France, we've played in Malta, played in Vienna," said Pusey.
Now, they are getting ready for a week long tour that will end in Cleveland.
"We get to play at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame which is amazing," said Morton.
"Manage This" is a finalist in the Fortune Battle of the Corporate Bands.
"I don't expect to win, but I expect to have a really good time," said Clark.
"Not that many people ever get to do something like this," said Rhoton.
34 bands entered the contest and now it is down to eight. On October 2nd, they will play in front of family and co-workers and the money raised by the event goes to charity.
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