User:EllenZoe/sandbox/Dave Kaplan (music executive)

Dave Kaplan is an American music industry executive, entrepreneur, producer, and philanthropist. The founder of Surfdog Records and Dave Kaplan Management, he has worked with artists including UB40, Brian Setzer, Eric Clapton, Sublime, Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, the Stray Cats, and Glen Campbell, among others. His production credits include Glen Campbell's See You There, the Dan Hicks albums Beatin' the Heat, Tangled Tales, and I Feel Like Singin' , all of Brian Setzer's albums, SuperHeavy's eponymous album, Joss Stone's LP1 and music for the films Step into Liquid and Varsity Blues.

Early life and education
Kaplan was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. His mother, Jeanette, was a social worker, and his father, Jarril, a corporate and human rights lawyer. As a youngster, he developed an interest in surfing, and surfed the first artificial wave pool in the United States located in Phoenix, then continued the sport while at the UC Santa Barbara. He graduated as Salutatorian from the UCSB business school in 1981 with a degree in economics and accounting.

Surfing and the oceans have been mainstays of his life and career.

Early career
Following his graduation, Kaplan moved to San Diego, where he worked as an accountant at the international firm, Ernst & Whinney (now Ernst & Young), earning a CPA in 1983. In 1984, he moved to Los Angeles to join the merchandising firm EMMC, whose clients included Michael Jackson, Bette Midler, Madonna, and David Bowie.

Artist management
While at EMMC, Kaplan developed relationships in the music industry, and in 1985 was recruited to co-manage UB40. As their co-manager, Kaplan played a central role in UB40's 1986 tour of Russia; they were one of the first Western bands to perform in the USSR. In 1987, following the resignation of UB40's co-manager, Kaplan founded Dave Kaplan Management (DKM). In addition to UB40, DKM's early clients included the BulletBoys. The DKM offices were originally located in Venice, California.

In 1992, Kaplan began managing Stray Cats founder Brian Setzer and his 19-piece Brian Setzer Orchestra as well as his Rockabilly Riot quartet. The DKM team oversaw the Stray Cats reunion – a month-long tour of Europe in 2004 that also resulted in a live DVD and album titled, Rumble in Brixton on Kaplan’s Surfdog Records.

In 1995, Kaplan relocated his businesses to Encinitas, California.

Dave Stewart, best known as co-founder of the Eurythmics, joined the DKM roster in 2007.

Kaplan oversaw the creation of the supergroup, SuperHeavy, which included Dave Stewart, Mick Jagger, Joss Stone, A. R. Rahman, and Damian Marley. They released an album that he co-executive produced with Irving Azoff on Universal Records in 2011, and a video of the recording sessions was released in 2012.

In 2015, DKM secured a deal with the Sublime, managing the band, its branding, merchandising, licensing, music catalogue and new ventures. In 2017, Kaplan was a producer for the Sublime documentary, Sublime.

The Surfdog and DKM current and archive roster also includes the Butthole Surfers, Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks, Slightly Stoopid, Sprung Monkey, Gary Hoey, Harry Perry, Drake Bell, and Ryan Adams.

Surfdog Records
In 1992, Kaplan founded a record label, Surfdog Records, which operated under the same umbrella as DKM. The label featured a stick-figure logo of a surfer with the motto: “Please help preserve our oceans” in keeping with Kaplan’s surfing lifestyle philosophy.

The first release on Surfdog was the Harry Perry album, an artist best known as the roller skating Venice Beach boardwalk musician. The album, Greatest Hits of the Millennium, came out in 1993. That year, DKM and Surfdog artist Gary Hoey released a remake of the Focus song "Hocus Pocus". In 1994, Kaplan contacted friend and filmmaker Bruce Brown and arranged a deal for Hoey to contribute 10 of 14 tracks to Brown's Endless Summer II surf film. Hoey has released several albums on Surfdog.

The next releases on Surfdog were Common Sense’s Psychedelic Surf Groove in 1996, Sprung Monkey’s “Swirl” in 1995.

Kaplan produced the song "Thunderstruck" from Sprung Monkey for the soundtrack to the film Varsity Blues in 1999.

In 2000, Kaplan convinced Dan Hicks to regroup his Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks band for an album called, "Beatin' the Heat". He produced the album, securing appearances by Tom Waits, Bette Midler, Elvis Costello, Brian Setzer and Rickie Lee Jones, and continued that role on four other Dan Hicks solo releases as well as the Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks hits compilation, Greatest Licks.

Surfer Jack Johnson released his first music on the soundtrack album to the surf film, Loose Change, on Surfdog Records in 2000.

Kaplan’s relationship with management client, Brian Setzer, resulted in his executive producing 20 album releases on Surfdog, beginning with his first, Ignition, in 2001. Also, in 2001, the Butthole Surfers album, Weird Revolution was released.

Kaplan produced the music for the Bruce Brown's son, Dana Brown's surf film, Step Into Liquid, and released the soundtrack album of that music in 2003.

In 2007, Dave Stewart released his album, "The Dave Stewart Songbook Vol. 1," on Surfdog Records, followed by the 2011 release of The Blackbird Diaries, and 2012's The Ringmaster General.

Surfdog Records signed Glen Campbell in 2011 and Kaplan became his co-manager. The label released his album Ghost on the Canvas - Campbell’s farewell studio recording following his diagnosis with Alzheimer's disease. In 2013, Kaplan co-produced Campbell’s record See You There. In Kaplan's role, he conceived and organized Campbell's goodbye tour which served as the foundation for the Glen Campbell...I'll Be Me documentary, in which Kaplan appears and was released in 2014.

In 2013, Eric Clapton ‘s label Bushbranch Records teamed up with Surfdog Records to release Clapton's record Old Sock in North America. Since then, Surfdog Records released Clapton's The Breeze: An Appreciation of JJ Cale, I Still Do, and Happy Xmas. Kaplan served as producer for the Clapton TV specials related to each of those albums.

The Stray Cats reunited again in 2019, and marked their 40th anniversary with a new album, 40, released on Surfdog.

Surfdog Records has released more than 100 albums by artists such as Brian Setzer, Eric Clapton, Stray Cats, Joss Stone, Dave Stewart, Glen Campbell, Butthole Surfers, Drake Bell, Slightly Stoopid, Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks. Gary Hoey and many more.

Other Enterprises
Kaplan's Surfdog Records and DKM expanded to create Surfdog Music Publishing & Licensing in 1993, Surfdog Entertainment Marketing in 1995, Surfdog Merchandising in 2008 and opened Surfdog's Java Hut, a smoothies, and coffee bar located in front of his Encinitas offices in 1998. Moving further into the surf industry, he entered into marketing deals with Surfline, Surfing Magazine, Billabong, Hurley, Rip Curl, as well as MTV. In other campaigns, he did extreme-sports marketing for such companies as Best Buy and 1-800-COLLECT.

In May of 2019, Kaplan negotiated the sale of Dave Stewart's catalog of 1,068 songs to Hipgnosis, a deal that included writer’s, artist’s and producer’s share of Stewart’s income.

Philanthropy
Kaplan has been involved with the Surfrider Foundation since 1992 and has been a member of the advisory board since 1994. To support the foundation, he organized recordings by Pearl Jam, Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Brian Setzer Orchestra, Jewel, Ramones, Paul McCartney, Beach Boys, James Taylor, Rage Against the Machine,  and other artists for three MOM: Music for Our Mother Ocean compilation albums that were released by Surfdog Records in the late 1990s. These albums contributed approximately $500,000 to Surfrider Foundation.

Kaplan served as an officer and on the Board of Directors for the Wishtoyo Foundation, founded by Tribal Ceremonial Elder Mati Waiya. The foundation educates both Native and non-Native people about the history, values, and spirituality of the Chumash people.

In 2010, to drive awareness for Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C), Surfdog Records released a Dave Stewart single featuring Joss Stone, titled "Stand Up to Cancer". Proceeds from the single were donated to the SU2C organization.

In addition, Kaplan and DKM also work with Banding Together, a non-profit that provides music therapy, mentorship and instruments for young people with special needs, including autism.