DEBBIE CROSS, TOUR ASSISTANT, KENNY
ROGERS
PRODUCTIONS AND DREAM FACTORY
Debbie Cross was introduced to the music
business when she answered a blind
want ad in her local newspaper. Bored after
several years of being a stay-at-home
mom, she just wanted something to do that she
liked. The job turned out to be as a
receptionist for the firm that booked and
promoted Kenny Rogers' touring interests.
After two days on the job, she was already
bored, and asked for additional duties.
Soon she was checking on tour routing,
availabilities for potential support artists,
issuing contracts, talking with promoters about
dates, advancing production, and
handling just about everything to do with
Rogers' tours, except for accounting and
payroll. She worked with Rogers' organization
for 13 years and advanced to
event/production coordinator.
In 1994, Cross was hired away by Real World
Tours to work for Alan Jackson. As
tour assistant, her job was to provide backup
assistance to the production manager,
tour manager, lead bus driver, and everyone who
worked under them, as well as
review tour contracts and handle personal
errands for Jackson. As Jackson gradually
cut his touring schedule back from 110 to 40
dates a year, Cross' position became
redundant and she was let go in 1999. Several
job offers were immediately forthcom-
ing, but she didn't feel that any of them were
a good fit. After about two and a half
months, she was called back to work at Kenny
Rogers Productions, this time as tour
assistant in charge of scheduling and
co-ordinating air and ground transportation,
accommodations, and any associated special
events. www.kennyrogers.com
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT ·
ASSISTANT
JOB OVERVIEW
These assistants handle a variety of paperwork,
answer phone calls and e-mail,
order concert tickets, and interface
with
record label, management team,
publi-
cists and agents.
SPECIAL SKILLS
"Being anal; being meticulous,"
are
skills that helped Beth Barnett
become
successful. "You're getting
information
and paperwork from all different
direc-
tions and if you're not organized, then
it
gets a little crazy. You're dealing
with
CASE STUDY:
"It's a lot easier to communi-
cate with people if you're a
little
laid back and easy to talk to,
rather than someone who is
rigid and uptight."
"You definitely have to do the
grunt work at the beginning
and feel okay about it."
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