Fans of ‘90s hard rock may recognize Aldy Damian for his role as drummer of the band Eyes, most known for their single “Callin’ All Girls” and for being fronted by vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, who would eventually serve as lead vocalist of legendary rock group Journey from 2006-2007, as well as singing lead vocals in the progressive metal supergroup Sons of Apollo. Damian also served as a touring drummer for other rock acts, including Billy Idol.
Aldy Damian would eventually use the connections and knowledge he had accrued as a touring musician to transition into a career behind the scenes, serving as a music executive and producer. He founded the recording studio Damian Productions, which became known for employing cutting-edge recording technology Otari RADAR at the time. He also founded organizations such as Damian Music and D3 Entertainment, which led to a distribution deal with BMG, which was formerly one of the world’s largest music publishing companies before its eventual acquisition by Sony in 2008. Damian released PepsiWorld, the first music compilation album of number one hits backed by PepsiCo the second largest beverage company in the world. Additionally, One of his most notable deals was acquiring the rights to the entire music catalog of Death Row Records, the legendary hip-hop label co-founded by Dr. Dre.
Damian continued work behind-the-scenes in the entertainment business for a while, co-founding Liberation Entertainment with MCA Music president Jay Boberg, which worked in film and television distribution, with the backing of venture fund Clarity Partners. However, Damian eventually found his calling in the field of commercial real estate. With family roots in the real estate business, he began securing deals in cities throughout the country. He eventually became the founder and CEO of Accredas Investments, a commercial real estate company based in Rolling Hills, California.
Things were looking up for Aldy Damian and his real estate ventures. However, his growing career in real estate was almost unceremoniously cut short by a catastrophic neck injury around 10 years ago. Damian was on a skiing trip when a bad wipeout resulted in him badly injuring several cervical discs. As a result, he had to travel to Germany to have one of the very first approved M6 dual replacement cervical disk procedures to repair his neck. In addition, he had to have several surgeries using Prodisc and Vivo cervical disk replacement technologies and several other surgical procedures at Cedar-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.
After a total of seven cervical neck surgeries, a back surgery, and a thoracic outlet surgery, Aldy Damian had to endure a long and often painful rehabilitation process as he inched his way back to his real estate career. Despite the challenging journey back, he kept his focus on his goal of continuing to build a substantial real estate career.
Drawing strength from the love and support of his family, Damian persevered through his trials and made his way back to the family offices of Accredas Investments, where he continues to add to his lengthy portfolio today. After successful transactions with retail giants such as Walgreens, TJ Maxx, and Smart & Final, as well as companies in different industries such as Banner Hospital and Raytheon, Damian has accrued a portfolio of over 1.5 million square feet in real estate space. Most recently, Damian negotiated a deal with Fleet Farm to bring a Chase Bank location to the busy intersection of County Line Road and Appleton Avenue in Milwaukee.
Damian has experienced the whole gamut of emotions during his storied life. He credits his intense focus and the love of his family with giving him the strength to overcome the most daunting challenges throughout all the stages of his career. As he continues looking for the best real estate deals, he will not forget what it took to get to this point in his career.
Written in partnership with Tom White
