Steve Sesnick news

[bradski]

Unverified, but this just appeared on Reddit.
https://www.reddit.com/r/VelvetUndergro ... condition/

Stephen Sesnick is in critical condition
Hello I am the grandson of Stephen Eugene Sesnick jr, the former manager for the Velvet Underground.

My name is Alexander Sesnick and I thought people here would like to know that Stephen Sesnick is currently on life support in the hospital after he had a bad fall at the age of 81

He is still alive but is sedated and under life support

I know a lot of people do not have particularly positive feelings about my grandfather but this post is not the place for people to talk shit

It’s not really any of your business and I may regret even posting this as this is a family matter; however, I thought the people on this subreddit would want to know

I will try to answer any questions within reason obviously nothing that is a private matter or anything but I understand that people may have questions.

[falconwhit]

my 2c about Sesnick: Like most (all) artists, the VU blamed others when things didn't work out (the label! the manager! the press! the radio!), when in reality they did a fine job of sabotaging themselves (try promoting WLWH to radio, refusing to play in NYC, etc).
It's clear that Sesnick did some unsavory stuff towards the end (i.e. trying to squeeze a few bucks from post-Lou VU in Europe or with Doug's lp), but he served them well for almost three years, and they wouldn't have been able to survive so long without his help - for example getting MGM to pay for airfare and hotels when they were playing tiny clubs, or getting a new deal w Atlantic.

[MJG196]

Whatever Sesnick did or didn't do with the band happened over 50 years ago. At this point - who the hell cares about that!

I hope the dude is able to recover.

[Mark]

my 2c about Sesnick: Like most (all) artists, the VU blamed others when things didn't work out (the label! the manager! the press! the radio!), when in reality they did a fine job of sabotaging themselves (try promoting WLWH to radio, refusing to play in NYC, etc).
It's clear that Sesnick did some unsavory stuff towards the end (i.e. trying to squeeze a few bucks from post-Lou VU in Europe or with Doug's lp), but he served them well for almost three years, and they wouldn't have been able to survive so long without his help - for example getting MGM to pay for airfare and hotels when they were playing tiny clubs, or getting a new deal w Atlantic.

I'd never really thought of it that way, but I think there's some sense to this. That band was never going to be an easy sell. And of course while he sometimes gets the blame for what went down between John and Lou, this is John Cale and Lou Reed we're talking about - considering the strength of those two personalities, it's not like things weren't going to blow up at some point.

There are some updates on the thread now which indicate he might be in with a chance of pulling through.

[bobbydriver]

FWIW - I always thought the stories about Sesnick as the "baddie" are pretty tame. He just sounds like most managers of that era in the music biz, it was literally his job to make the band a financial on-going concern. He did the hustle as best as he could. Turned out he made some bad decisions. Gee whiz

I hope he pulls through, but to me the saddest part is that he never did an interview to tell his side of the story (to my knowledge?)

[Mark]

There are a few quotes from him in the Bockris/Malanga book but they're not terribly revealing.

[Mark]

Hmm, the OP on Reddit has now deleted his post and all his replies.

[falconwhit]

Stephen Eugene "Steve" Sesnick Jr. died

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/na ... d=37154012

"To those close to him, Steve was known for his profoundly strong Catholic faith [...] Steve Sesnick is most widely remembered for his involvement with The Velvet Underground, an influential American rock band that originated in New York City in the 1960's. As the band's manager from 1967–1971, Sesnick worked to bring the band broader commercial success, taking them from their role as part of Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable to an independent rock band that toured the country playing significant venues. During this period, Sesnick was also instrumental in establishing the Boston Tea Party as a premier rock concert venue located in Boston, MA."

"Over the years, Sesnick's entrepreneurial endeavors were wide ranging and included a Boston sports photo gallery in collaboration with members of the Boston Celtics, an ice cream retail and wholesale business, representation of artist Mel Bolden, and several groundbreaking golf and technology concepts. Sesnick made an impact in the golf industry with his conceptualization of the Skins Game, a popular annual golf event from 1983 to 2008 where four prominent golfers competed head-to-head in a match play format. The game brought broad attention to the sport during a time when interest was waning. After leaving the music and golf industries, Sesnick worked in technology and sustainability, working with teams to invent a number of technologies, each with the goal of providing a better future. He was passionate about the work he did with his team at the University of Florida and Sestar Technologies inventing improvements to the solar cell and for several projects he had in flight to support sports, science, and diversity."

https://www.stjohnsfamilyfuneralhome.co ... ributeWall

[bradski]

Many thanks for the update, I was wondering what had happened.

[Mark]

Sad to hear that. One by one, we're losing a lot of those who were there at the time, and their stories too. Sesnick seems to have been a complex character for sure, but I bet a long sit-down interview with him would've been fascinating. RIP.