SN. 4 / EP. 175 - RADIO VERSION - Carl Stubner, Manager of Fleetwood Mac

The Man in the Big HatIn 2010 we were engaged by Mick Fleetwood to help him open Fleetwood’s on Front Street in Lahaina, Maui.Opening a restaurant and bar had been a life-long dream of Mick’s from the age of 12, when he first played restaurateur with his friends and his family in the barn out back. He hung empty wine bottles from fish nets and served snacks from his mom’s kitchen. Klub Kellerman was open for business!In the spring of 2010 our plane touched down on the island of Maui. We were there as special guests of Mick Fleetwood’s at his 110 acre farm perched on the side of the Haleakalā Volcano. This is where I would meet Mick’s pot bellied pig Tilly, but that’s a story for another time…Like all of us, I grew up listening to Fleetwood Mac on my parents record player, and their music weaves itself through the memories of my life. I had goosebumps as we touched down. Was I really here as a guest of Mick Fleetwood?Another memory I have as a child was of Curious George and with the man in the big yellow hat…The man with the big hat was always a bit of an enigma to me, powerful and sure of himself, a natural caretaker.With our bags in hand, and the warm Maui island breeze blowing across the tarmac, we watched as Mick Fleetwood’s family suburban screeched to a stop in front of us at the curb, the door flew open, and the man with the big yellow hat flung open the passenger door…This was Fleetwood Mac’s manager of 21 years, Carl Stubner, here to pick us up personally, to welcome us to Mick’s home, and do what he does best: Command the situation with a big smile and easy laugh, he makes it look simple. It is NOT simple.The hat was truly BIG, but it somehow fit the manager in board shorts, the hat, and flip-flops! I was immediately having fun.It takes a small army to keep a band like Fleetwood Mac on the road, in the studios, and free of outside noise for 40 years, to continue to create beautiful music for the millions of fans around the globe. And it takes one man, at the center of it all, to see the big picture, to anticipate the up and the downs of a successful rock & roll band of 40 + years…A person who is “the glue’ of the “family” which is the band.That man, that glue in Fleetwood Mac, and so many other historic bands, is Manager Carl Stubner, Chairman of Suretone Entertainment. Carl is that unique once-in-a-lifetime person that you may or may not be fortunate to meet, the person who makes stars, and keeps the rest of them up in the sky, shiny and bright.Check out upcoming tour dates for Fleetwood Mac at fleetwoodmac.comYou can find Fleetwood Mac on Facebook, Spotify, Apple Music, Twitter and InstagramCheck out ZZ Top on zztop.comYou can find Carl Stubner at Suretone Entertainment: suretone.com