Middle Management

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071230.wlofficerock1231/BNStory/lifeWork/home - Globe and Mail (National daily newspaper in Canada)

It's cake in the kitchen, so turn on your Out-of-Office / Plastic spoons, helium balloons is how we on it / Productivity is at an all-time low / When the champagne hits the new girl, you bet she's good to go / Cake in the kitchen is the song that we sing / A party attended by people who don't do a thing.”


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Middle Management on the mic: Keon McLaughlin, left, and Brian Slowey began their hip-hop careers by rapping about office life for their co-workers.

Like many cubicle drones, Mr. Slowey and Mr. McLaughlin are prone to daydreaming their way through a day at the office. But unlike most of the workaday world, these aspiring hip-hop stars draw on that malaise for inspiration.

The members of Middle Management sing exclusively about work, a subject lost on a crowd fresh from final exams. Their lyrics dwell on the confined spaces, pointless meetings and general dejection that make up office life today – all set to hip-hop beats. In so doing, they may be the world's only band influenced by equal parts Jay-Z and Dilbert.

A year and a half after their act went from freestyling rhymes at board meetings to public performances and a recording session (in Mr. Slowey's kitchen), Middle Management haven't had much success beyond a few hardcore fans. But they maintain hope that their accessible beats and lyrics will tap into the same disaffected millions who tune into The Office every week.

“We're like the Fat Boys were in the eighties,” says Mr. Slowey, still sweating from a 20-minute set at Toronto's El Mocambo two weeks ago. “They were a bit of a parody, because they sang about being fat, but you also respected them because they were good. They're the prototype, for sure.”

The duo first bonded working as sales reps for a consumer electronics company. Driving to an appointment together, Mr. Slowey slipped a CD from A Tribe Called Quest into the car stereo. Mr. McLaughlin was astounded to find a fellow rap fan at work.

“I was like, ‘You like Tribe?' ” Mr. McLaughlin says. “I love Tribe. By the end of the trip we were both singing along.”

And so a model of office collaboration was born. Within weeks they were freestyling at work, improvising rhymes back and forth and attracting considerable crowds of co-workers in the process. Eventually their rhythmic throw-downs became a feature attraction at company meetings.

They found ample creative fodder in their cube-farm surroundings.

“They say a songwriter should write what they know,” Mr. Slowey says. “When you spend eight hours a day at work, that's what you know best. Jay-Z sings about selling crack on the street and we sing about cake in the kitchen.”

Through word of mouth they have sold 500 home-burned CDs – track titles include Meetings and Casual Friday – and developed a small, devoted fan base.

“I live the life they sing about,” says Ashly Knox, a fan yelling over the off-key guitar and teen-angst lyrics of the next band up at the El Mocambo.

“ Casual Friday is like an anthem for every office worker in the world,” says Mr. Knox, who works for a telecommunications company.

Mr. McLaughlin and Mr. Slowey plan to write and professionally record a full-length album this spring.

Ironically, work could well delay those aspirations. Mr. Slowey recently switched jobs, and his new employer has proven a fickle muse.

“I really like my new job,” Mr. Slowey says. “I'm realizing that it's really hard to write when you're happy.”

Still, they remain optimistic about the group's prospects. They've already planned a line of office supplies emblazoned with the band's logo, itself in design stages. “What's better than a Swingline but a Middle Management Swingline,” Mr. Slowey says. “The potential is huge.”

Mr. Slowey, a philosophy graduate from the University of Western Ontario, is exploring other mediums for his newfound talents. He's currently working on a film script. It features two young cubicle dwellers who form a band and sing about their dreary work a day world.

“It will see these guys blow up into superstardom,” Mr. Slowey says. “Hopefully I'll write it as it happens.”

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