In a business so susceptible to short-lived trends, few have the courage to trust their instincts. But from his earliest days as a gig-goer, Steve Zapp realised that his gut feeling was pretty reliable when it came to music.
That strength of conviction and resistance to prevailing fashions has served him well over 11 years at ITB. “I started out as ents manager at Reading University in 1991,” says Steve, who originally hails from Kent, “and when I was younger the bands I tipped seemed to happen, for some reason (see “First gig that blew you away” for proof of that). That helped me trust my own belief in an artist, and many of the acts that are doing best for me now – such as Biffy Clyro, Editors and The Courteeners – were unsigned when I saw them, but they had something I believed in, and I felt I could see the bigger picture with them and build their career from the live side of things.”
Read moreArtists represented by Steve Zapp
A Place To Bury Strangers
Apollo Junction
ASIA
Avalanche Party
Aviv Geffen
BEX
Biffy Clyro
Big Spring
Black Foxxes
Black Mountain
Blue Violet
Cavalera Conspiracy
Courteeners
The Cult
Cursive
Daytime TV
Declan Welsh and the Decadent West
Devon
Dirty Honey
Echobelly
Editors
The Estevans
Evan Dando
Fatherson
Fever
Haunt The Woods
Howling Bells
Inglorious
Jools
JOSIN
Juanita Stein
Kapil Seshasayee
Lamb
The Lemonheads
LIFE
Little Comets
Luke Sital-Singh
Magic Giant
MAMMÚT
Max & Iggor Cavalera
My Jerusalem
October Drift
Paceshifters
Papa Roach
Pat Dam Smyth
PINS
Pizzagirl
Portland
Public Service Broadcasting
Red Rum Club
Rival Sons
Sea Wolf
Sick Joy
Smith & Burrows
Soulfly
Thunder
The Twang
Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown
Vök
Vennart
The View
Walking Papers
Wax Fang
Wildermiss
Wintersleep
The Xcerts
YES