At events, and through letters, phone calls, e-mails, and class notes, we often discover the unusual experiences and proud achievements of our alumni. we thought the rest of our community would also enjoy meeting some of these interesting people. so, in this issue of American magazine we introduce, in the order of their class years, our first crop of class notables. Bert Holman, Kogod ’74
Standing off-stage absorbing the blazing, southern, blues-infused sounds of Gregg Allman’s keyboard, Warren Haynes’s guitar, and Butch Trucks’s drums, Bert Holman is reminded of what first mesmerized him in the fall of 1970, when he was a long-haired freshman at American University. As manager of the Allman Brothers Band, Holman has gotten an up-close view of one of rock’s legendary groups for more than a decade. Aside from coordinating with the band’s business manager, securing concert dates, and consulting with the seven members on their personal careers, he serves as the group’s tour manager 90 days a year. The Allmans gross about $10 million annually in ticket sales. 
Bert Holman with Allman Brothers Band guitarist Derek Trucks
“Every night when I’m on that stage and the band’s playing, and they’re cooking, I’m thinking ‘This is my dream,’” Holman says. Holman’s passion for the Allmans ignited 34 years ago in Washington, D.C., when at RFK Stadium he saw for the first time the southern musicians perform. “Amazing music was coming off the stage from these guys,” he says. “They blew me away.” An accounting major whose true passion was his role as the student council’s concert promoter, Holman brought the band to AU for two performances Dec. 13, 1970, at the old 1,000-seat Leonard Gymnasium. “They played two blistering shows that night to half houses,” Holman wrote in the liner notes of a CD of the shows the band released years later on its own record label. “Many of my friends to this day regret not spending the $3.25 [for a ticket] that night.” After graduating from AU, Holman worked in various parts of the music business. In the early 1980s, he befriended then-Allmans guitarist Dickey Betts. The band, which fizzled in the mid-80s, reformed in 1989 with new management, on which the group quickly soured. On July 4, 1990, Holman called Betts, and within weeks he was the band’s new manager. “We have an unusual situation, because they’re not signed to me, I’m signed to them,” Holman says. Holman’s greatest thrill came in 1995, when the Allman Brothers Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “In their speech, they said I was as much a part of the band as they are,” says Holman. “They couldn’t have said anything more.” —Mike Unger continued next page |
