Skip to content

Jesse Sandler, Production Manager

Share this Post:

Jesse Sandler

Production Manager Jesse Sandler is currently working with Phish. He’s the son of legendary Tour Manager, Harry Sandler and he has worked his way up the ranks of concert touring and live events. He considers his official beginning as a Production Manager dates to 2008. He was Production Manager for Bon Jovi for a decade and over the course of his career has worked for Nickelback as well as Prince, and Michael Jackson. He recently took some time to speak with PLSN about his career path, his mentors, and advice that he’s gotten—and still uses, as well as gives out to others coming up in the business.

Phish photo by Andrew Giffin

How did you end up in the industry?

My father, Harry Sandler, worked in the industry for years as a Tour Manager. Basically, he was my pathway into the industry. The first gig I ever did was in 1998 as a runner for a private event that John Mellencamp was doing in New York. My father asked me if I wanted to do it, and I was like, “Sure.”

I really didn’t know much about the business. I remember when I was a kid, I used to go on tour with him, but never really thought of it as it is now, being a career, a profession. I got into the business, to begin with, through him, which makes sense, I guess.

Were there moments or jobs that you think really set you on the course of your career?

I think, from the beginning, the stars sort of aligned for me. The first tour I ever did was in 1999. I was the Production Assistant for Mellencamp. I was like a glorified runner, because I had no idea what I was doing, to be honest. The person that I worked for was Kevin “Rocky” Holman, the Production Manager and Monitor Engineer for Mellencamp. We had a great relationship. Rocky was also Bon Jovi’s Monitor Engineer, so working with Rocky got me onto Bon Jovi. So, the next year I was on the Clair crew, hanging P.A. for Bon Jovi. Working for Bon Jovi, introduced me to, John “Bugzee” Hougdahl, who was Bon Jovi’s longtime Production Manager. Once I was on Bon Jovi, they kind of knew that I did production stuff with Rocky, albeit limited. The next Bon Jovi tour that was going out, I found out that Bugzee wasn’t bringing his assistant back. So, I immediately called up a friend, the head rigger for Bon Jovi, Mike Farese, who I knew much better than Bugzee. Mike called Bugzee and spoke to him about me. Bugzee agreed and brought me on. The rest is history. I went on to be Bon Jovi’s Production Manager in 2010 and I was there for the next 10 years. I would say, those first couple of tours were sort of pivotal, because it just put me in position to navigate through and be in the right place. I got to work with people who I admired, who I thought were really amazing at what they did, and I learned so much from them. Those things carried over in my whole career.

Phish photo by Andrew Giffin

What would you consider one or two milestones in your career?

I think working for Bon Jovi, in general, was big for me. I always tell people that I started out being the last person on the audio crew, and eventually I became the production manager about 10 years later. To me, that was a real big deal, because I felt like I really worked my way up the ladder, and made the dream come true, in some respects. I think that was probably the biggest milestone of my career, just going through that whole process.

I’ve worked with great bands. I’ve worked for Nickelback for 10 years. I’m very proud of working with them for so long. I’ve worked with Phish going on nine years. I think, overall, I’m just proud that I’ve been able to work with a small number of bands for a long period of time. I’m proud of what I do, and how I do it.

Who have been some of your mentors?

My main mentor when I started out was Rocky, because obviously, he was the first person that I worked for, and the first person who I basically learned anything from. He took me under his wing, so to speak, and made me feel like I belonged. That was the first person. Then, moving on, I think Bugzee was a great influence in my life, working for Bon Jovi for all those years. We also did Prince together, we did Michael Jackson together, and he was definitely more than a boss. He was the kind of person who taught you a lot without actually teaching you anything. Just paying attention to him, seeing the things he would do, seeing how he dealt with people, just that kind of relationship where, when I was working with Bugzee, I was definitely more experienced, and wanted to learn more. I think he was the perfect mentor for that, in so many ways.

Then, Mike Farese, who was our Operations Manager/Head Rigger on Bon Jovi. Mike, to me, was always the smartest guy in the room. He was very savvy when it came to all aspects of production and rigging. He saw all the details, and everything. He would always be the guy to point out the thing that nobody else saw. And he was always right. He was that guy. That definitely taught me a lot of things. He’s also the one that introduced me to drawing with CAD.

Obviously, my dad. We didn’t work together that much, after my initial years of touring, but he was a very well respected person in the industry. And I think that, again, I took a lot away from his work, and how he dealt with things. And, I think, he gave me the genes, so to speak. The things you can’t really get from, without being part of the family, so to speak. I think he was proud of me. I think he was happy that I did such a great job, and that everybody liked me, as opposed to just, “Oh, that’s just Harry’s son,” that kind of thing. We never really discussed it. I think he was just proud that I made something of myself.

Phish photo by Andrew Giffin

Was there a piece of advice you got early in your career, that you still find applicable today?

Whether I got it directly or not, I think that if you work hard, you do the right things, you stay true to yourself, and what you believe, everything works out from there the way it’s supposed to. I think that’s just being true to yourself and trying not to waver in the face of other things; that may make you question yourself, or what you’re doing. Any of that kind of outside noise. I think having fun, too. I mean, when I worked with Bugzee on those early tours, we would have so much fun that it didn’t even seem like work, to be honest. Always have fun, always have a good time, but take the work seriously, and get it done.

Is there a piece of advice you would offer somebody today, starting on the business?

I would pretty much say the same thing. I would say find your niche, find out what you love to do, whether it’s production, lighting, video, audio, creative. I mean, just experience it, and do what you love to do. Because that’s what it’s all about. Doing something that makes you happy, and that you’re passionate about doing. In the business that we work, sky’s the limit. It has so much to offer, and it has so much to give you, if you take advantage of it.

What would you say is an important trait or understanding to have, as a production manager?

I feel like the production manager is a key figure, obviously, in any tour. But I definitely feel like you are the balance. I feel like you create the stability. I think being very patient, letting people know that you’re confident in what you do, and then, people, in return, are confident in you. I mean, just as a reference, people who get mad, and people who get angry, things like that, to me, that’s not what a leader does. I mean, don’t get me wrong. There are times when I think you have to show that, sometimes, just to let people know that ‘Hey, I’m a nice guy, and we can have a great relationship,’ but sometimes the leader of the pack has to show everybody else that he’s in charge too. But I just think, being good-natured, even keeled, and trying… I know life is hard, and when you’re dealing with so many people, sometimes, it’s hard to have a perfect balance, but really, just trying to stabilize what’s going on tour, because it is so hectic, and there’s so many opinions. There’s just so much going on, it’s a mini city, in some respects.

What has surprised you most about your career path?

I mean, honestly, sometimes, I’m surprised I’m even here. This is probably the last place I thought I would ever be. I never considered it, even though my dad did it for most of his life, and I went on tour with him. So, a lot of the times, I just feel like, doing what I do is amazing, and I never ever thought that I would be doing it. I guess, that’s sometimes the thing I think of the most, and go from there.

I love being a production manager. As I said before, I never knew what it was. I never knew the skill sets involved. And somehow, I feel like it’s the perfect thing for me. As I said, it was probably in my genes all along. I love solving problems, I love working with people. And I think that touring is a great place for people who have great skills, great imagination, but don’t necessarily always conform to the somewhat ways of the world, because you do have a certain freedom in touring that you don’t have in other places. Deep down, I am a little bit of a control freak, even though I try not to publicize it. So, deep down, it eases my anxieties too. I think, definitely for me, it was definitely the right path for my life.