Bryan Sandell. Owner/Founder

Anyone trying to navigate the murky waters of managing a rock band in 2020 must be prepared to wear many hats and be capable of pivoting on a moment’s notice.  1212 Management LLC owner/founder Bryan Sandell has just the kind of eclectic resume, from IT and international musical instrument sales to tour managing and production, manufacturing and even an instrument-rated pilot’s license... just in case one of his groups needs a lift to the next show.

A fixture on the local Tempe, AZ, scene, the 41-year-old Sandell first moved to the area as an 12-year-old with his family  His father, an expert classical guitarist, became an executive for music instrument companies like Yamaha, Fender, Peavey and Taylor Acoustic, introduced Bryan to the business. Sandell spent time as a teenager in Düsseldorf, Germany and then Crawley, England, where his dad opened local Fender offices, giving Bryan the global perspective that would come in handy later on breaking acts like Authority Zero in Europe and Japan.

“He was just such a good musician, it intimated me from wanting to play,” says Sandell, who began working alongside his dad in Europe, specializing in IT and databases, while adjusting prices for each country’s pre-EU denomination and interacting with the artist relations department.

“I was always the Facebook guy, the nerdy computer kid sitting at my dad’s Apple Macintosh,” recalls Bryan. “I learned how to help bands navigate their way into getting the best results from social media.”

Back in Tempe, Sandell demonstrated his entrepreneurial acumen by co-founding AZpunk.com, a popular ‘00s, pre-MySpace online message board site which attracted the attention of Warped Tour’s Kevin Lyman, who gave them their own branded stage when the concert series landed in Phoenix. Sandell and his partners also released a regular series of 35-track compilation of promising local bands which was sold for $3 at regional retailer Zia Records, complete with dedicated, in-store point-of-purchase displays. 

While working part-time as an IT manager at the local university, Sandell helped Authority Zero lead singer/songwriter Jason DeVore launch his solo career in 2005, which led to Bryan joining the band as a second guitarist, a gig which lasted nearly two years.

Working with Authority Zero’s then-management, Sandell quickly expanded his duties from “boots on the ground” road and production managing to business management, until evolving into a full-time manager in 2010, eventually becoming 1212 Management LLC in 2015, after changing the name from Jadedkids LLC. 

Adding both Santa Cruz, CA reggae-rockers The Expendables (a relationship which goes back to Authority Zero giving them a slot on their first national tour) and Maryland ska-punks Ballyhoo! to the 1212 Management, Bryan runs his boutique firm like a family.

“I’m their life coach as well as their business partner,” says Bryan. “But they have to want to be managed. There has to be a respect for the way I do business and the way I represent them.”

An indie entrepreneur with a can-do ethic, Sandell has been able to navigate his 1212 Management LLC clients through some tough times during the Covid, reorganizing their merchandising by creating turnkey online retail stores and helping them hone their social media interactions and livestreams. All while making sure to give back, not just to furloughed road crews but to pandemic victims in all fields. “Anything I can do extra on the side is important to me,” he says. 

Aside from road managing artist like Rebelution, ScHoolboy Q and Goldfinger (doubling as guitar tech), Sandell is an instrument-rated pilot, his chief hobby.

With no children, the 41-year-old looks to his bands as his offspring. 

“I don’t just work for my commission,” he insists. “I’m a part of their family.”