(06-21-2004) Bono will rock in his new role - The Seattle Times*

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Bono will rock in his new role

By Mike Cassidy
Knight Ridder Newspapers


SAN JOSE ? It's really no surprise that Irish rocker Bono would come to work where the streets have one name (Sand Hill Road). Yep, the U2 rock legend has become a venture capitalist, joining a new Menlo Park firm put together by old Silicon Valley hands Roger McNamee and John Riccitiello. (Bono's next hit: "Mamas Don't Let Your Rockers Grow Up to be Tech Investors.") No. This move isn't about money. OK, it probably is.
But it's also about music. A belief that rock 'n' roll never forgets or is here to stay or is not a bad way to get noticed.

Look, Bono in Menlo is good for Silicon Valley. It's way past time we have our own one-name-wonder. Hollywood has Cher. Alaska has Jewel. And we have Bono.

And let's just say the music at launch parties is about to get a whole lot better.

In fact, this is freakin' brilliant, as Bono himself might say if he were at the Golden Globes. McNamee, the co-founder of two investment firms, is a rocker from way back. He's got his own band, The Flying Other Brothers, which, well, could use to raise its profile a bit.

Bono not only is cool, he is way hooked up. He knows George Soros, Bill Gates, the pope. He's been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

He's been to the White House.

And now he joins Elevation Partners, a venture company formed early this year.

You want a deal done? Bono can get you in the door ? particularly if you're looking to invest in the entertainment field, which is what Elevation is after, the Wall Street Journal reported last week.

But my money says Bono was brought in along with Fred Anderson (a former Apple Computer finance guy, who is not known to rock) because he can play the guitar. And sing.

OK, this is a little bit of speculation.

Elevation is in a "quiet period," a Securities and Exchange Commission-inflicted state that apparently bars executives from talking about rock 'n' roll, among other things. Business people, rockers or not, take this very seriously now that a few big executives are facing hard time for cooking books and such.

One person close to the band refused to be quoted, apparently out of concern that the SEC rules apply to groupies.

But The Flying Other Brothers' bass player, Bill Bennett, said the Bono factor couldn't hurt, musically speaking.

"I'm sure that there's nobody in the band who hasn't had a thought of the possibility of having Bono sit in at some point," says Bennett, a writer by day who does marketing and public-relations work. "Or maybe getting a gig in Dublin or something like that." Dublin in Ireland, not near Pleasanton.

Maybe that's getting ahead of things. The band, formed of tech investors, analyzers and marketers, launched in the late '90s, after years of dabbling around. Last year, it played 50 gigs, Bennett says. And the band has cut three albums.

No doubt, with the Bono connection, sales will skyrocket.

Right?

"Uhhh," says Bennett. "Well, honestly. I think that ... uh, I doubt it."

Mike Cassidy is a columnist at the San Jose Mercury News.


Copyright ? 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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