Meet Yvonne Loveland: Founder/Owner Voodoo Queen Management

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yvonne Loveland and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yvonne, any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?
I have been involved in the music industry for twenty seven years coming up this February of 2021. There has been so much that has changed with the business side of things since I started. With that being said I myself have been through many changes and in my own opinion believe that “Voodoo Queen Management and Yvonne ” have evolved together in multiple ways for the better. There has been many moments where my determination has been low and the thought of giving up has crossed my mind and did not leave me for days even weeks. Then something or someone sparks an idea or a thought and then I am off running in a forward direction again, usually in a few directions if I am being honest. For me there really is no giving up. The brand that people know as a management, production, promotion, and entertainment company is not just about numbers and most of all it has not been about money. It has always been about passion and love of the arts both visual and audio wise. The main difference that sets me aside from many who call themselves a band manager or any other title that people may call us in this line of business is that I myself am an artist. Not a musical one, but a visual one. My choice of medium is usually pencil or paint. I do not feel I am great at that but the love of creating is what causes me to strive so hard to help others in their dreams. So if I actually gave up I would feel like the biggest failure of all. I try to talk and walk the same path and believe me I am not perfect and the mistakes over the many years have proven that. The one thing that I do know to hold solid and true is that I get back up and keep trying. Which is what I try to instill in our artists.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Some of these questions I somewhat answered in some of the previous mentions. However all of these questions are very good so lets start with ” Was It Easy?” Starting out I was a secretary for a recording studio that most of the time I did voluntarily to assist a friend of mine who was the owner. It was a little extra money and it was fascinating dealing with musicians coming in for practice space as well as dealing with an engineer to record their music. At the time we dealt with tapes instead of CD’s and of course that shows my age quite a bit. There was a lady who worked there who did PR and booking. Watching her and helping in any way I was able is what peaked my interest in doing the same thing. When I went to book my first few shows it was a leap of faith. Never had I done such a thing and I watched other promoters do events and spoke to so many local bands from all over on what they liked and did not like or respect. Ten years almost I worked with snail mail as they say sending in submissions and press packets. Hard copies as they say which most of the youth today do not even understand what that is almost everything is digital now. A ton of money spent on many materials that most of the time did not produce even the slightest of answer or response from the companies they were mailed to. Those that did I ate up every ounce of information and way of doing things that they would offer. Learned from mistakes and put into action the best way of doing things. Like many other types of industries, the music industry changes literally on a yearly sometimes even monthly basis. It is hard to keep up but always keeps you on your toes when your working with artists who depend on you to assist them. It is a sea of musicians and only a handful will be seen in larger lights. That does not stop us and what we at VQM want others to know is just that! Every one is unique and so is their taste we hope that by giving a band a chance to perform or simply sway your ears to their sound you will find something you enjoy that you never knew existed in the first place. We encourage so many to keep trying, keep evolving and keep following their dreams. That is what we are doing every day we wake up!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The one thing I know to be true is a solid local show at your favorite bar or venue will always be exciting! Sometimes what you think your cup of tea is music wise is actually totally different when you discover new bands with new sounds. So the visit would be mingling with a showcase full of new and interesting people!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are quite a few people who deserve credit in keeping this company alive! The struggles I have had with so many artists coming in my life and some of them leaving has always been extremely hard due to I open up my heart to them fully and their success is a huge part of why I do what I do. There is a very special musician who thirteen years ago stepped into my life when I was having a rough go and needed to make many tough decisions on what direction I was going to go in. Tony Loveland who is a very talented drummer was such a big part of my evolution not only business wise but personal wise. He helped me through the transition of being a promotional company to a management company. He is also my husband. We met on line due to my interest in bringing his band (Habit Of Force) from Chicago IL. down to St. Louis to play a show. I pretty much stalked him from there, went against all my own rules and I have no regrets doing so! My sister from another mother, Kathey Waxler and I met when I was working with another amazing band named D-Railed based in St. Louis, MO. If it was not for her our Voodoo Queen Management would not have expanded. We became connected at the hip sorta speak even though we were miles away. She lived in Springfield MO and I was in Coal City IL at the time. Hours of phone calls and magical conversations sparked multiple ideas and one of the best ones was that of the Voodoo Queen Digital Magazine sector of VQM and is her baby. Through that we have added many spectrums to the Management aspect and all of it to assist our own roster bands as well as help so many wonderful musicians across the world. Both of these people have been a life savor in more ways than I can count!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vqmmng/
Other: We are in process of working on new things for the 2021 website which is normally up but at the moment under construction Voodooqueendigitalmagazine.com As far as other links the facebook is what we utilize the most.