Elvis Andromeda Maryshine owns The Andromeda Agency, an Artist Management and Talent Buying company based in Erie, Pennsylvania. When she was 15 years old, she started working box office/hospo in venues and booking DIY shows.
She grew up in the industry, she explained, “My mother was a small independent Talent Buyer and Artist Manager in the 80’s and also worked at festivals and as a hair and wardrobe stylist; my biological father was a musician and audio engineer. One of my first memories is riding on a tricycle through a venue during my father sound-checking before a show.”
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We are excited to have Elvis as one of our Women’s History Month feature! Continue reading to learn more!
You said you want “help women know that they can pursue careers in the music industry & they can kick ass at it,” can you expand further on that?
I believe it’s my job as a woman in the industry to not only encourage women to pursue careers in this area; but make it as accessible as possible by prioritizing giving internships to or hiring qualified women & LGBTQ+ for The Andromeda Agency. I also would LOVE to see more women as touring drummers, touring guitarists, and studio or touring audio engineers?!
What advice/tips would you give to women pursuing careers in the industry?
YOU CAN DO IT! Women can do anything in the industry. They can be studio engineers, they can be touring front of hour engineers, they can be studio or touring drummers(guitarists, bassists, etc.), they can be Tour Managers, they can be drivers, they can own record labels, they can be venue owners-you get the idea. The music industry has been extremely male-dominated; which makes it harder; and you really have much less room for error than you would if you were male. You have to dot all your i’s and cross all your t’s. You have to be smarter, push harder, be better, and be quicker. Make sure you’re extremely professional. Be the best at what you want to do. Don’t let anyone intimidate you.
What are some small things everyone can do to promote equality in our scene?
Make it a point to book bands that have women, LGBTQ+, and POC. Don’t book bands who degrade anyone for their LGBTQ+ status, ethnicity, heritage, etc. Stand up & stick up for your female, LGBTQ+, and POC peers. If you’re an event promoter put ‘LGBTQ+ SAFE SPACE’ at the bottom of your fliers and actively protect that. You may think it’s obvious that the gig is a safe space, but to many LGBTQ+ folks it’s still a little scary sometimes especially if they’re not familiar with the company or the space.
What other females in the industry (musicians, managers, photographers, etc.) inspire and motivate you and why?
Honestly, I think Evange Livanos of Alternate Side (also manages Motives, Grayscale, etc) is such a badass and I’m totally in awe of her. I’ve never met her, but she was the first female manager I knew of aside from my mother.
Nina Swint (assistant at APA; formerly owned OOC Entertainment) was the first other female promoter/talent buyer I knew of; and just knowing she existed doing a similar thing helped keep me going when I felt discouraged.
Kaitlyn Johnston (Freelance Photographer, OOC Entertainment) & Michelle Baltzer (OOC Entertainment) are also killing it with their productions and I have a ton of respect for them. I would 100% recommend them over any other production company in Chicago.
What are your plans for the future? Is there anything in particular that you are looking forward to the most? Why?
When I moved back to Erie about 2 years ago and set a personal goal to restore Erie to a B-Level market within 5 years. Things have started to fall into place for that and I’m incredibly excited to see where they are by the end of the year.
If you had to set one goal for yourself for the rest of the year, what would it be?
I’d really like to be able to salary an assistant!
