Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Maurice Champion - Urban Network (Los Angels) - Music Business - Ground SHAKING
On Tuesday July 29th, 2008 I was working diligently in the office of The Urban Network when I felt a powerful push and tug on the walls of the building. Little did I know, we were going through a Earthquake that struck 5.4 on the rector scale. As the walls began to shake tremendously I fell to the ground under the desk with Munya. I know that's crazy but I was very shocked like, "What's going on?". That was my first Earthquake experience. In Detroit we get Tornado's and that's about it LOL. Praise God the Earthquake didn't cause any major damages to anyone or any business. This event was scary and fun at the same time. I know that sounds absurd but it's very true. It's just amazing feeling an actual worldly disaster that you learned about in school. Plate tectonic, see I learned something Rob, Historical Geology teacher for MSCM.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
ZIMBABWE TO LA, AN INTERNATIONAL INTERN STORY SO FAR pt 3
Hey everyone,
I hope you guys are ready for yet another ride to my adventures here in LA, because I’m about to fill you in with another crazy journey. So sit back and relax and enjoy.
So about a month ago the fabulous BET awards were being held and so much great events were happening and every hot singer, rapper, music producer, managers, models, actors, actresses, and sportsmen, were in town and attending these awards for LA was the place to be at. Well I had the pleasure to attend the Keyshia Cole BET Awards Official after party at the Ritual Nightclub. This was such a great event and so much fun to be at, that I had my first red carpet experience with all the flashing lights on me and mingling with the stars and seeing celebrities such as Sean Kingston. This was a night to remember. Work had been pretty much the same that week and I had a lot going on for me. I was given the opportunity to transcribe the Common interview (which is in this month's magazine so check it out at wwww.urbannetwork.com) and an up coming artist known as HiPost. It was a lot of work but worthwhile knowing the new scoop on things.
That Friday I was invited to attend the G- Unit Listening party hosted by DJ Woo Kid at the Social Nightclub in Hollywood. This event was something unexpected and was packed with people and the whole G-Unit family representing, on behalf of G- Unit for they were touring in Canada, promoting their new album. After that I met up with the rest of the interns and some friends around UCLA and hung out hung out with them for the remainder of the night networking with other college students.
The next day, Joel, Nick and a friend of Nick's named Patrick who had come down from Texas to visit and I went, spent the day at St. Monica Beach and the pier. The day was just sunny warm a day of hanging out as a group of guys and having fun by the beach and cool out. We acted like real tourists and took pictures at every nice spot we can find, and I have to say I would probably be the blame of that. Hahahahahaha. We even road on the roller coaster and dragon swing don’t remember what the name of the ride was but it was decent. Later that day around 6 in the evening, I left the guys and met up with my friend Vivien who had invited me to attend with her a screening of a new HBO; show written and directed by Alan Ball (the writer for American Beauty) called True Blood. Vivien had been working on the set of this show and was part of the cast and members. The show is about the Southern Vampire Mysteries books by Charlaine Harris and its cast members are:
Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse,
Stephen Moyer as Bill Compton,
Alexander Skarsgård as Eric Northman
Sam Trammell as Sam Merlotte
Ryan Kwanten as Sookie's brother Jason Stackhouse
Brook Kerr as Tara Thornton
And a few others that I cant quite remember. They only screened two episodes from the show which totally got me hooked on, that I do advise you all to keep an eye for the show when it airs on HBO this fall. After watching the show everyone from cast and crew members and invited guests gathered outside the lobby for drinks and snacks and have a chance to meet and socialize with some of the actors and actresses from the show. I had the opportunity to talk to some of them from Alan Ball, Stephen Moyer, who was quite an interesting man and thought I was British because of my accent to some of the producers from the movie The Fast And The Furious franchises, one of the producers of Deal Or No Deal and a few cast members of the TV show Lost. It was truly a great experience and a great time. After a while of mingling, Vivien and I headed back to St Monica to meet up with Joel, John and Patrick for a night out, along 3rd street. Good Times. The next day all fours us met again for lunch and watched the finals of the UEFA EURO CUP 2008, (for those who don’t know what that is, its the European soccer or should I say “football” cup) which was very an interesting game and congrats to Spain for wining it. After a good lunch we spent the rest of the day at Nick’s place and hung out and ended the night watching the movie Wanted.
That week work had been a bit busy, for it was coming to the end of the month and at this point in time everyone is trying round up the last bit of the magazine. But work ended on Thursday that week for the 4th of July weekend, so we had Friday off. That Thursday night Joel and I hung out with some friends that we had met in our apartment place in Hollywood and all I can say is what a night. Lol. The following day Joel invited me out to spend 4th of July with a friend of his from The Firm for a BBQ to chill out and have a good time. Vivien also ended up joining us as well later on that day, and it turned out to be a great night of celebrations. That Saturday Joel, a couple friends of ours and I spent the day by Redondo and Hermosa Beach. It was a really hot, sunny day and the beach was the place to be at. I spent most of time running around playing soccer and volleyball and taking a dip in the Pacific Ocean just to cool body down. That Sunday John and I went to spend the day with Tim and see what he was up to, but to our surprise Tim planned on took us to Malibu beach for the day. Malibu was a beautiful quiet and calm place and very different from the other beach’s I had been that weekend. Malibu was fun.
The following week on Friday Warren took us to Warner Brothers Records for business and to also meet with the Chairman of black music Mr. Kevin Black. Being at Warner Brothers was something so out of this world and could not believe it. This was definitely a moment I cold not imagine being in, and seeing myself walking in the halls of Warner Brothers Records meeting up with incredible people. It was truly a point in my life I could not for get about. Later that afternoon we went to a studio in Watts where we met a really talented producer named Stix. He had amazing songs that he had been working on he really had me blown away that I really have an ambition to work with him one of these days. That Saturday I spent the day mostly at home relaxing but later on that night Joel and I met up with a few friend of ours and did the whole dinner, then a movie thing, which Larry later joined us on, to watch Hellboy, which I thought was a good movie.
The following weekend was the weekend that a lot of people had been waiting for all summer, the premier of the new Batman movie, “The Dark Knight”. I have to say this was on of the most anticipated movie of the year to come out and let me repeat myself and say that it was worth the wait and the money to watch this movie. If you have not seen this movie yet go and watch out now.
This last week has been quite a hectic week with work and the few things that had to be done, but Maurice and I we were able to get the job done and get most of the work done. During the weekend our apartment complex had a party and BBQ by the main pool with free food and drinks and a chance for all residents to interact with each other. This was really fun and Larry Joel Maurice and I attend the event and hung out with everyone. It was a good time everyone to have a great time to meet new people that live around us. Joel and I hung out that with a few friends that we had met that afternoon, down by the Marina for dinner and drinks and just get to know new people and friends.
Well in closing I would like to say this; Being at The Urban Network and this internship has made me realize what a great opportunity we have to be out here in LA and gaining an experience of a life time in the fields that we want to be in. I personally have learnt so much about this music industry that you really have to work so hard for what you want and be able to take every opportunity that you have and take advantage of it, for Napoleon Hill once quoted “Your big opportunity may be right where you are now.” So never turn away from an opportunity. It can change your life.
Monday, July 28, 2008
To Live and/or Die in L.A.
Since what happens in Los Angeles, definitely does not stay in Los Angeles, I will assume a few of you have heard parts of my summer story and I will attempt to fill in the blanks. For the rest of you, just follow along. This should still make sense... Kind of.
I started my summer at Crash Mansion in downtown Los Angeles where McNally alumni Conall Walsh was my mentor. This guy is one of a kind. I really hope you are lucky enough to meet him someday.
Then, very shortly after I celebrated the organization I work with back home being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, I survived being robbed at gunpoint. In broad daylight. At 2PM. On a busy street. How is that for peace? Ironic right? I changed internships twice, experienced all the challenges of entering into a new work environment (3 times), and all the while maintained 70 hour work weeks. 50 at the internship and 20 at the "day job" (I'll explain below).
The “day job”, for lack of a better term, is as a consultant for the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization Youthrive. They are the upper midwest affiliates for PeaceJam International, an organization that works to connect young people with Nobel Peace Prize Laureates like the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and President Oscar Arias. For my job, I am working on the 2nd edition of a CD (Zero Element) project that utilizes credible Hip Hop music as a tool for bringing the ideas of peace to young people. I'm basically using the appeal of music and art to get kids to acknowledge the cryptic messages of peace woven into the fabric of Hip Hop culture since the art form began. To claim that message as their own, and encourage them to begin breaking away from the commodified garbage being sold to them at their own detriment. Through my work at Youthrive, I was also able to work with the Cesar Chavez Foundation (East L.A.) during their Los Angeles PeaceJam event and travel back to MN for a week to work on the POWER Summit with the Sisters of St. Joseph in St. Paul. I have been busy. The real kind of busy. A kind of busy I did not know existed prior to this summer. Really.
Next I went to The Firm in Beverly Hills. My mentor there was Tony Ross. As the office manager he is responsible for SO many people. The office there spans two floors and is pretty big, which means he has to deal with every individual and every individual’s set of problems. I have learned a lot about how to conduct business under pressure from watching him. He makes it look easy but I still wonder to myself if I could do what he does. I didn’t get the impression that The Firm interns are generally that “highly cut-throat type” of competitive, but by the time I got there, Jon & Joel had set the bar VERY high for other interns like myself to follow. Don't get me wrong. I have always given 110% to my internships but we worked HARD. And work hard at a constant rate. There was literally NO DOWN TIME when I was there. None. I made so many runs some days that I still have the blisters on my feet now to prove it. I even estimated one week that I was walking an average of 7-8 miles per day. This was by no means a “requirement”. It was out choice. There were a few interns that put their energy into other areas, but when runs were needed, Jon, Joel, and I stepped up every time. This was our choice. They set the example and I followed suit. And it paid off.
In fact this summer I beat my original record of being offered a job within the first 21 days of an internship by 1 whole week. But not at The Firm... At my 3rd internship, a mobile marketing company called GridMob, where I was offered a promotion to a paid position after only 2 weeks.
You’ll have to wait until the next blog to hear about my most recent internship with GridMob. But I’ll say this... It involves BMW’s moving at high rates of speed through Beverly Hills, massive amounts of cigarettes and second hand smoke, 3 carnivorous fish, one little dog named Henry, and me (a young Mexican kid with only my gift of gab) talking a professional locksmith into breaking down the doors of a stranger’s mansion on Paris Hilton’s street. And yes... It was all legal. But so much fun it probably should not have been.
Oh yeah, and not that you would care anyways but I will be deciding whether or not I stay in L.A., or come back to MN very soon.
Stay posted!
PEACE. PEACE.
LL
LarryLucio.com
I started my summer at Crash Mansion in downtown Los Angeles where McNally alumni Conall Walsh was my mentor. This guy is one of a kind. I really hope you are lucky enough to meet him someday.
Then, very shortly after I celebrated the organization I work with back home being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, I survived being robbed at gunpoint. In broad daylight. At 2PM. On a busy street. How is that for peace? Ironic right? I changed internships twice, experienced all the challenges of entering into a new work environment (3 times), and all the while maintained 70 hour work weeks. 50 at the internship and 20 at the "day job" (I'll explain below).
The “day job”, for lack of a better term, is as a consultant for the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization Youthrive. They are the upper midwest affiliates for PeaceJam International, an organization that works to connect young people with Nobel Peace Prize Laureates like the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and President Oscar Arias. For my job, I am working on the 2nd edition of a CD (Zero Element) project that utilizes credible Hip Hop music as a tool for bringing the ideas of peace to young people. I'm basically using the appeal of music and art to get kids to acknowledge the cryptic messages of peace woven into the fabric of Hip Hop culture since the art form began. To claim that message as their own, and encourage them to begin breaking away from the commodified garbage being sold to them at their own detriment. Through my work at Youthrive, I was also able to work with the Cesar Chavez Foundation (East L.A.) during their Los Angeles PeaceJam event and travel back to MN for a week to work on the POWER Summit with the Sisters of St. Joseph in St. Paul. I have been busy. The real kind of busy. A kind of busy I did not know existed prior to this summer. Really.
Next I went to The Firm in Beverly Hills. My mentor there was Tony Ross. As the office manager he is responsible for SO many people. The office there spans two floors and is pretty big, which means he has to deal with every individual and every individual’s set of problems. I have learned a lot about how to conduct business under pressure from watching him. He makes it look easy but I still wonder to myself if I could do what he does. I didn’t get the impression that The Firm interns are generally that “highly cut-throat type” of competitive, but by the time I got there, Jon & Joel had set the bar VERY high for other interns like myself to follow. Don't get me wrong. I have always given 110% to my internships but we worked HARD. And work hard at a constant rate. There was literally NO DOWN TIME when I was there. None. I made so many runs some days that I still have the blisters on my feet now to prove it. I even estimated one week that I was walking an average of 7-8 miles per day. This was by no means a “requirement”. It was out choice. There were a few interns that put their energy into other areas, but when runs were needed, Jon, Joel, and I stepped up every time. This was our choice. They set the example and I followed suit. And it paid off.
In fact this summer I beat my original record of being offered a job within the first 21 days of an internship by 1 whole week. But not at The Firm... At my 3rd internship, a mobile marketing company called GridMob, where I was offered a promotion to a paid position after only 2 weeks.
You’ll have to wait until the next blog to hear about my most recent internship with GridMob. But I’ll say this... It involves BMW’s moving at high rates of speed through Beverly Hills, massive amounts of cigarettes and second hand smoke, 3 carnivorous fish, one little dog named Henry, and me (a young Mexican kid with only my gift of gab) talking a professional locksmith into breaking down the doors of a stranger’s mansion on Paris Hilton’s street. And yes... It was all legal. But so much fun it probably should not have been.
Oh yeah, and not that you would care anyways but I will be deciding whether or not I stay in L.A., or come back to MN very soon.
Stay posted!
PEACE. PEACE.
LL
LarryLucio.com
Maurice Champion - Urban Network (Los Angels) - Music Business - Time Is Drawing Nigh
As the end of my internship approaches, the busier it gets. The marketing and branding department that I'm apart of at The Urban Network started a marketing campaign for the company, as well as the forthcoming conference in Houston, TX this September 24th through the 27th, 2008. I've been responsible for overseeing the marketing campaign. Last week I finished editing the EMI promo video for their artists that performed at The Urban Network last conference in March. Before the EMI, I edited SESAC's promo video clip also. You can watch these videos at www.youtube.com/urbannetwork or www.theurbannetwork.blogspot.com. This week is no different with no exceptions when it comes to getting things completed before I leave. I'm currently working on another video as I write this blog. It's funny because I'm learning things on both sides of the spectrum. One side is the knowledge I desired to seek while being out here in California and the other side is exercise and experience I'm getting from editing these videos. Plus I'm working with someone else footage that makes work more challenging. I'm going out with a BANG, mark my words!
On another note, living at the Meadows have been great. Since moving in the Meadows in May, the business admin has prepared two (2) full blown out cater style food for all the residents. I love it here! Below are some of the pics taken from the event Saturday July 26, 2008.
On another note, living at the Meadows have been great. Since moving in the Meadows in May, the business admin has prepared two (2) full blown out cater style food for all the residents. I love it here! Below are some of the pics taken from the event Saturday July 26, 2008.
Christina- Soup Bowl- Minneapolis
So this week went by pretty fast considering it was finals week at school. But as always Soup Bowl was entertaining.
This week I had to post comments Soup Bowl and The Z-MO Trio about the school showcase at the Acadia cafe this past Wednesday. I did that all day Tuesday, Soup Bowl and The Z-MO Trio have tons of friends that I had to search through just to find the ones from the Twin Cities, but it was a good time. Wednesday I didn't have to come in early to school for internship the only thing I had to do that day was go to the Acadia school showcase, which I did. Everyone did a fantastic job, the music was great and the food was great also. I had a fun time and it was awesome to see fellow students come out and support each other. Though I left a bit early so I didn't get to see the last two bands that were suppose to play, but I'm sure I'll end up seeing them sometime soon here.
That was all that my week consisted of. It's been a great time at Soup Bowl, some good memories and new information that will be really helpful later in life.
Christina
This week I had to post comments Soup Bowl and The Z-MO Trio about the school showcase at the Acadia cafe this past Wednesday. I did that all day Tuesday, Soup Bowl and The Z-MO Trio have tons of friends that I had to search through just to find the ones from the Twin Cities, but it was a good time. Wednesday I didn't have to come in early to school for internship the only thing I had to do that day was go to the Acadia school showcase, which I did. Everyone did a fantastic job, the music was great and the food was great also. I had a fun time and it was awesome to see fellow students come out and support each other. Though I left a bit early so I didn't get to see the last two bands that were suppose to play, but I'm sure I'll end up seeing them sometime soon here.
That was all that my week consisted of. It's been a great time at Soup Bowl, some good memories and new information that will be really helpful later in life.
Christina
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Unai Bolivar - 93X Rocks! - Production - Twin Cities
Hey guys & girls!
For some reason my recent posts haven't been showing and I didn't realize it until now, but I will include all information about the past weeks in this one and will be as thorough in my explanations about my internship with 93X as I can! First off, a review of the past two weeks!
On the first post that didn't show I wanted to tell you guys that it was the first time Patrick allowed me to record him for a commercial and edit it all on my own! I guess he saw he could trust me and that my ability was up-to-par with what he needed so he let me do the entire process; from recording, to editing, to saving on all systems and make it radio-ready! I learned how to operate the EncoDAD, Audicy, and Dalet hardware/software properly and have been looking over Patrick's shoulder every time I could to see if I could learn a new trick or two!
The week after that we had finally talked extensively about beginning the "Ask The Expert" segment for the Loud & Local show. This segment allows people who tune to 93X to email their curiosities regarding ANY aspect of the music industry. The question can range from how to get a certain guitar sound to how to put together a good media package or presentation! Every week a question would be addressed, an answer recorded fro the mouth of one of our local experts at McNally Smith (our gracious Department heads were the ones followed around the most) and aired on the Loud & Local spot. We set everything up to start the following week. We planned out the name of the segment [McNally Smith College of Music's Ask The Expert], the time it would air in [before the 'Goodbye' segment of Loud & Local], a music intro and bed were made, and a set up of how we would go about getting the media [we settled on having me record the teachers at school using a good quality field recorder and then making the recording radio-ready].
The week following that we aired our first Ask The Expert segment. The official debut was by the head of the music business department: Dave Olsen. He talked about how to copyright and protect your material if you are into composing songs and creating ideas. Keeping your ideas protected is extremely important as you never know who might end up using something you did for money, and you want to make sure that either: A. that doesn't happen; at least not behind your back. Or B. That you are handsomely rewarded for your work.
This week we aired the second segment of McNally Smith's Ask The Expert. This time we had Judy Donaghy talk to us about how to keep your body and voice healthy in the case that you are a rock singer who either practices a lot or gigs or just demands that much from their voice. She described tips for keeping the voice clear and throat unharmed. This is something that I think hit the spot with 93X Rocks' listeners as a lot of them are avid rock singers or know someone who is and will consequently come back to listen to more advice from our resident experts!
Since this was my last week at my internship. I decided I would take the time to show you guys that in most jobs [especially in the music industry] it's not all stress and deadlines. I took some pictures of things that I thought were cool and were a part of what not only 93X means or is, but also who the people that work there are.
First off, the atmosphere is very relaxed at 93 X and the adjacent radio stations.
One quirky thing about the place that says a lot is: there is a radio tuner in the bathroom. Yep..two knobs: one for volume and one to pick the station. It's great..you can listen to anything you want in the bathroom. Another thing was there are toys everywhere! Doug's office [the 'big dog' at 93X Rocks!] is covered in collectibles! Not to mention there is a Toshiba scooter/cooler in Patrick's office and regular scooters spread throughout the facility, for ease of transportation obviously. Every one's mood at 93X is always cheerful and it was a pleasure to work along side them!
Now that my internship has come to an end I realized that I wasn't going to let them high and dry with out any support from the school. So I took the liberty to make a batch of Ask The Expert segments which I will email to Patrick so he can air.
I am very happy with my experience at 93X and my first internship. Patrick and all of the guys and girls at 93 X are AWESOME. They're all funny, quirky, unique, great conversationalists, and they are always willing to help!
I would like to take this opportunity and thank everyone involved in this project and everyone I met! I want to thank Patrick for being such a good boss and great friend over all; I want to thank Doug and Rudy and the rest of the guys and girls from 93X whom I had the pleasure of talking to and growing with; I want to thank Bryan Forrester for giving me this great opportunity and trusting me with the Ask The Expert segment. It means a lot to me when a teacher endows me with the same trust and responsibilities as an equal. I want to thank Sarha Paterson for helping me out along the entire time! Even though it's your job you did it with a good heart all the time and a great spirit! I want to thank Debbie for cheering me on and being such a sweetheart! All of you guys helped make this experience ten times better than anything I was anticipating!
I will see you all next semester.
Best wishes,
Unai J Bolivar Uriarte
For some reason my recent posts haven't been showing and I didn't realize it until now, but I will include all information about the past weeks in this one and will be as thorough in my explanations about my internship with 93X as I can! First off, a review of the past two weeks!
On the first post that didn't show I wanted to tell you guys that it was the first time Patrick allowed me to record him for a commercial and edit it all on my own! I guess he saw he could trust me and that my ability was up-to-par with what he needed so he let me do the entire process; from recording, to editing, to saving on all systems and make it radio-ready! I learned how to operate the EncoDAD, Audicy, and Dalet hardware/software properly and have been looking over Patrick's shoulder every time I could to see if I could learn a new trick or two!
The week after that we had finally talked extensively about beginning the "Ask The Expert" segment for the Loud & Local show. This segment allows people who tune to 93X to email their curiosities regarding ANY aspect of the music industry. The question can range from how to get a certain guitar sound to how to put together a good media package or presentation! Every week a question would be addressed, an answer recorded fro the mouth of one of our local experts at McNally Smith (our gracious Department heads were the ones followed around the most) and aired on the Loud & Local spot. We set everything up to start the following week. We planned out the name of the segment [McNally Smith College of Music's Ask The Expert], the time it would air in [before the 'Goodbye' segment of Loud & Local], a music intro and bed were made, and a set up of how we would go about getting the media [we settled on having me record the teachers at school using a good quality field recorder and then making the recording radio-ready].
The week following that we aired our first Ask The Expert segment. The official debut was by the head of the music business department: Dave Olsen. He talked about how to copyright and protect your material if you are into composing songs and creating ideas. Keeping your ideas protected is extremely important as you never know who might end up using something you did for money, and you want to make sure that either: A. that doesn't happen; at least not behind your back. Or B. That you are handsomely rewarded for your work.
This week we aired the second segment of McNally Smith's Ask The Expert. This time we had Judy Donaghy talk to us about how to keep your body and voice healthy in the case that you are a rock singer who either practices a lot or gigs or just demands that much from their voice. She described tips for keeping the voice clear and throat unharmed. This is something that I think hit the spot with 93X Rocks' listeners as a lot of them are avid rock singers or know someone who is and will consequently come back to listen to more advice from our resident experts!
Since this was my last week at my internship. I decided I would take the time to show you guys that in most jobs [especially in the music industry] it's not all stress and deadlines. I took some pictures of things that I thought were cool and were a part of what not only 93X means or is, but also who the people that work there are.
First off, the atmosphere is very relaxed at 93 X and the adjacent radio stations.
One quirky thing about the place that says a lot is: there is a radio tuner in the bathroom. Yep..two knobs: one for volume and one to pick the station. It's great..you can listen to anything you want in the bathroom. Another thing was there are toys everywhere! Doug's office [the 'big dog' at 93X Rocks!] is covered in collectibles! Not to mention there is a Toshiba scooter/cooler in Patrick's office and regular scooters spread throughout the facility, for ease of transportation obviously. Every one's mood at 93X is always cheerful and it was a pleasure to work along side them!
Now that my internship has come to an end I realized that I wasn't going to let them high and dry with out any support from the school. So I took the liberty to make a batch of Ask The Expert segments which I will email to Patrick so he can air.
I am very happy with my experience at 93X and my first internship. Patrick and all of the guys and girls at 93 X are AWESOME. They're all funny, quirky, unique, great conversationalists, and they are always willing to help!
I would like to take this opportunity and thank everyone involved in this project and everyone I met! I want to thank Patrick for being such a good boss and great friend over all; I want to thank Doug and Rudy and the rest of the guys and girls from 93X whom I had the pleasure of talking to and growing with; I want to thank Bryan Forrester for giving me this great opportunity and trusting me with the Ask The Expert segment. It means a lot to me when a teacher endows me with the same trust and responsibilities as an equal. I want to thank Sarha Paterson for helping me out along the entire time! Even though it's your job you did it with a good heart all the time and a great spirit! I want to thank Debbie for cheering me on and being such a sweetheart! All of you guys helped make this experience ten times better than anything I was anticipating!
I will see you all next semester.
Best wishes,
Unai J Bolivar Uriarte
Evan Gundlach, music buisness, universal, twin citys
I can’t believe how fast the time is flying by, its feels like the summer just started. This week I got to do something a little different and it was pretty cool. Some one at the LA office had a database about single songs being played on shows and tracking the CD sales after. I didn’t know it but we had one of these data bases as well but we had only 100 songs in it compared to 600 in the other one. For most of this week I have been combining the 2 data bases and adding more in depth information about the artist and albums. The music meeting on Friday was really long and we got to watch new videos from ill
Friday, July 25, 2008
Langen- Soup Bowl- Minneapolis
Same old same old this week at soup bowl. It was full of booking and chocolate ice cream.
I'm still working on the Dingus tour and am getting a lot of responses back but all of them are asking me to look for some locals which is almost harder than actually booking the shows. It's extremely frustrating to look for bands. Myspace changes some of the ways you can search for bands and it's becoming more and more difficult to use Myspace as a resource for bands. I have started to use Purevolume but I consider it a bit out of date and I know I'm missing out on many new bands that don't have a purevolume.
Even though the semester is done, I will keep on working on this tour along with various other ones.
Peace,
Langen
Monday, July 21, 2008
Cole Hendricks - Recording Technology - Studio Atlantis - Los Angeles
Hey everyone,
Not much new lately. Just been working alot of hours at the House of Blues. I am enjoying myself so much at the job. I have been blessed to be able to work with some of the top music artists this summer while working there.
I'm finishing up my internship at Studio Atlantis very soon. I've been golfing alot in my spare time trying to always improve where needed. I am happy to be out here enjoying my job at House of Blues and enjoying the weather and people.
Not much new lately. Just been working alot of hours at the House of Blues. I am enjoying myself so much at the job. I have been blessed to be able to work with some of the top music artists this summer while working there.
I'm finishing up my internship at Studio Atlantis very soon. I've been golfing alot in my spare time trying to always improve where needed. I am happy to be out here enjoying my job at House of Blues and enjoying the weather and people.
Evan Gundlach, Music business, universal distribution, Twin Cities
The summer seems to be just flying by. This week went by really quick although I had a pretty bad beginning. I had a slight case of pink eye but I caught it early on so I got rid of it pretty quick. I couldn’t go to universal on Tuesday since I might be contagious but by Thursday I was ok to go. On Thursday I found out that someone in
Traci @ Key Club, LA-- Music Business: Where do I begin...?
Hey all!
So last week was crazy busy and by Tuesday it already felt like it should be Friday. I don't even know how much I can remember, but I will try... for you.
Monday was kind of slow at work, but I got to meet up with a good friend of Charley and Debbie's, Nancy Leiviska, who works across the street at Cube Vision in the 9000 building. We took a midday stroll through a residential area near Sunset and chatted about our backgrounds a bit while trying to find Sammy Davis Jr's ex-wife's house (Nancy used to work with Sammy when she first got started with music). We had so much fun we are made plans to make it a frequent thing, taking walks when I get done in the afternoon.
Tuesday was a little busier at work. We had our Marketing Meeting a day earlier because Jerry Pressman, the club owner came in. Then work resumed as usual. I can't even remember what all I worked on, just that I stayed busy.
Wednesday, more work (I enjoyed being busy this week, don't get me wrong... I just can't talk about some of the things I worked on because it involved a little espionage...). Left at my normal time but was invited back to join in the red-carpet event of the evening. Oooh.. Fancy! We hosted a charity event for The David Lynch Foundation including a silent auction and some bands. I had a wild time trying to find a "date" last minute, but I pulled it off and managed to make myself look fabulous in 30 minutes in order to make my appearance for the night. There were some indie film stars (no, not Indiana Jones... I got that a lot this week), although I really can't even remember their names... I recognized their faces but couldn't tell you anymore than that. We didn't stay very long, but it was a great time while we were there.
Thursday I did some follow-up for our Rock for MS event coming up on Wednesday with local art galleries that were invited. I had made a database of the galleries and email invitations because the event features a rock & roll photographers and their work up for display and as part of another silent auction. I have seen some of the photos and they are amazing, and include the iconic photo of Bob Dylan with the tire (If you don't know what I'm talking about, you should look it up. Great photo).
Friday was a casual day and was pretty laid back. I finished up with the few galleries left to contact and did a little PR, but it was a pretty slow day. The bus took a really long time to get back to Culver due to traffic, so after that I slipped into a pretty lazy night. It was pretty refreshing actually after the crazy week I had.
Saturday, Tim Bjorkman came over for a BBQ and relaxing catch-up session since we have been trying to schedule time to hang out, but due to the sometimes last-minute-opportunity style of the music business usually got changed around. mmm...BBQ and sunshine... Then he had to go and help out an artist friend/client of his for a performance and I boogied over to an Alumni house-warming party with John. We had a lot of fun catching-up with our peers and hearing about their recent adventures. The next soiree will be an afternoon pool-side at the Meadows.
Today was a wind-down/gear-up day for the upcoming week. I usually like to take Sundays to decompress and prepare myself for what's to come since one usually doesn't know what that will be and it is important to be able to take things as they come with as much energy as possible. Positivity is the name of the game and we always need to steal away time to debunk.
Oh, also, in there somewhere I spoke with a songwriter in OC about recording at least one song in the near future... looks like I may be able to fulfill my deal with Charley after all... :)
I hope you all have a great week and we'll chat soon!
Peace,
Traci
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Nick Garrison - Alan Ett Music Group - Los Angeles
So this past week I was put in charge of a another project. With the program File Maker, Max, the computer guy, added a new version for cd descriptions. I have been updating their database all week. It has been a lot of computer, but it's been good.
One of the breaks from that routine I had was getting to sit in with another mixer. He was working on a show for a series that hasn't been aired yet. I was allowed to sit in with him and watch him mix the whole show. The attention to detail is amazing. So much work goes in to shows that I didn't even notice, but if what they did wasn't there, you would know something was missing.
It was a good week.
Oh, and if you haven't seen it, you should check out "Dark Knight". Alan Ett did some work on that movie. It's crazy to be working for a place that is doing such big things.
Maurice Champion - Urban Network (Los Angels) - Music Business - Get Out!
This weekend I was able to observe more of California beautiful locations. My girl and I went to California Pizza Kitchen in Santa Monica. Before we actually went to the restaurant, someone was subconsciously raining on our parade by saying, “California Pizza Kitchen is cool but its very motif because you can buy everything they sell anywhere else”. Motif Huh! Dude who cares, we never been LOL. My perception of California Pizza Kitchen was this simple little spot that served pizza but when we arrived, that perception was promptly changed. It was a full dine in restaurant that was packed with people ordering. We waited approximately five (5) minutes before we were actually led to our table. The atmosphere of this place was amazing. I really enjoyed the feeling of being there. Some places just give off this good vibe and California Pizza Kitchen is one of them. We tried the Original BBQ Chicken Pizza that was cool but it didn’t give the feeling of wanting to buy it again. After the meal we decided to head to Santa Monica Pier which was right up the street on Ocean. We walked on the beach glazing at the Pacific Ocean while the children voices on the rides acted as background music for that specific scene LOL. Driving around Malibu was fun as well looking at different shops and homes.
I visited the Studio City and more of Beverly Hills. It was very intriguing being up there in the hills. I was just thinking how in Cali it’s two different worlds. You have those people that live in pits of the city that never seen Hollywood and they live in California. Also, you have those people that live on top of those hills that don’t realize the pits of the city exist. I guess we can call it the haves and have not’s. I’m glad I’ve been exposed to both because it one of those things that help balances you as a person. No too longer ago I was in Watts doing some film work for Flawless in the studio. This internship has been very beneficial to me on the business side and as a person. I can’t complain. It’s been too good!
I visited the Studio City and more of Beverly Hills. It was very intriguing being up there in the hills. I was just thinking how in Cali it’s two different worlds. You have those people that live in pits of the city that never seen Hollywood and they live in California. Also, you have those people that live on top of those hills that don’t realize the pits of the city exist. I guess we can call it the haves and have not’s. I’m glad I’ve been exposed to both because it one of those things that help balances you as a person. No too longer ago I was in Watts doing some film work for Flawless in the studio. This internship has been very beneficial to me on the business side and as a person. I can’t complain. It’s been too good!
The White Stallion
Hey there again, another week at Soup Bowl Records done with. This week I could say was a bit more productive, yeah that's a good word for this week.
Well on Tuesday I had to go through all of Ryan's venues for each state and put them in an excel document with the name, address, contact, phone number and all that good stuff. It was a fun time, I didn't mind doing it. Ryan wanted to do a video update for Soup Bowl but no one wanted to talk except for me, but in the end we didn't do it. It would have been fun though. After I had finished up a state for Ryan he showed me how to update the Soup Bowl website, which was fun. I like to use html stuff, I do a lot of it with my myspace and what not. I got to update the website and post a little blog about what is new with Soup Bowl, which is just The New Monarchs joining us.
On Wednesday I had to type up an Management Agreement for five or so artist, that was cool. I love reading that stuff and looking at what they agree to. After typing that and printing it all out, I had to go to class but after class I had to start looking up some more music blogs. We need more electronic music blogs for The New Monarchs since they are more that genre and all the other music blogs we have are rock oriented.
That was what my week consisted of and I'm sure this week will be jammed pack with more blogs and venues. But till then,
Christina
Well on Tuesday I had to go through all of Ryan's venues for each state and put them in an excel document with the name, address, contact, phone number and all that good stuff. It was a fun time, I didn't mind doing it. Ryan wanted to do a video update for Soup Bowl but no one wanted to talk except for me, but in the end we didn't do it. It would have been fun though. After I had finished up a state for Ryan he showed me how to update the Soup Bowl website, which was fun. I like to use html stuff, I do a lot of it with my myspace and what not. I got to update the website and post a little blog about what is new with Soup Bowl, which is just The New Monarchs joining us.
On Wednesday I had to type up an Management Agreement for five or so artist, that was cool. I love reading that stuff and looking at what they agree to. After typing that and printing it all out, I had to go to class but after class I had to start looking up some more music blogs. We need more electronic music blogs for The New Monarchs since they are more that genre and all the other music blogs we have are rock oriented.
That was what my week consisted of and I'm sure this week will be jammed pack with more blogs and venues. But till then,
Christina
Langen- Soup Bowl- Minneapolis
This week was another thrilling week at Soup Bowl Records. Okay, so I'm lying, but it wasn't that bad.
It was another week full of booking. I'm still working on some Now, Now Every Children tour which is not going well. Apparently the band is getting mad that the dates are filled and a few had to be cancelled due to the venue. I wish they knew just how much work all of this really is. I hate how some bands take booking agents for granted. I've also run across this with my own company and it's really frustrating. I would rather work with bands that have tried to book their own tours before because then they know just how hard it is to book tours and to get everything going.
Ryan is letting me work on a whole new tour. It's for the band Dingus (www.myspace.com/dinguspunk) and it's in October which gives me plenty of time. I feel like this tour is more on me than the last ones because I will get everything finished with the venue. Before now I would send out the e-mails asking if the band could play and then once I got a positive response Ryan would kind of take over. This time it's all me which is exciting but extremely stressful.
Well, that's all for now
Until next week...
Peace,
Langen
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Maurice Champion - Urban Network (Los Angels) - Music Business -The Unreachable Becomes Reachable, The Unavailable Becomes Available...
What’s going on readers and supporters? You know when I deliver I give you something good every time. In that case, right now I’m giving you food for thought and it’s on you if you do the dishes. Last Friday on July 11th, 2008, I hoped out the car walking to Warner Bros. Records. As I’m walking, I’m briefly able see some of the background sets for the attracting tourists. As We (Flawless, Munya, Jason, and I) walked through the doors all you see is a long desk in the front with a couple of a Sreceptions and receptionist. There were two (2) sets of soft leather sofas and chairs sitting on white shag like carpet on both sides of the waiting room. The carpet was so soft I wanted to take off my Rockports (they’re comfortable) Lol. It’s funny because they (Warner Bros.) have these funky seventies (70’s) televisions on playing videos. While waiting on Kevin Black, the Office of The Chairman of Warner Bros, I just happen to look up at the entrance door viewing the Warner Bros, Reprise, Sire, Warner Nashville, and Nonesuch Records logos on the door. Here is a Brief history of Reprise Records. The label was started by Frank Sinatra and later sold to Warner Bros. with the help of Mo Austin, Frank’s accountant. (Back to the story) We were greeted by Kevin Black intern and then lead down the hall, through a door, down some stairs, through a door outside to another door that was the vicinity of Kevin’s office. After meeting with Kevin’s assistant, we waited in his office for him to come in. This was enough time for me to assimilate being at Warner Bros.. WHAT A DISTANCE I CAME!!!
I say that for this reason. Growing up in Detroit, MI isn’t the brightest city for seeking refuge through your dreams because your dreams are tainted by other people mess ups and the depression that’s giving off by others and so much other crap. If you’re in an environment like that, please believe that there is a brighter day but you must have faith that there is. Coming out to California and being exposed to these nice places and nice things has really open my eye’s allowing me to see that you can really have what it is you desire. A year ago I was in my mother’s basement praying to see nineteen because of what was going on outside of my home. Now I’m walking on top of the hills in Malibu looking over the Pacific Ocean. On the roof top of a beautiful hotel that overlook Hollywood. Dude I WAS IN HOLLYWOOD, MAN! Only with the help of God that this is possible but you must also work towards your dreams and goals as well. I know I haven’t “made” it yet, but I do know I’m not that far from achieving it. I look at situations like, “The cup is half way full not half way empty”. Continue to work and work and I promise you your rewards will be revealed to you. “The unreachable becomes reachable, the unavailable becomes available…” (Stacy Charter).
I say that for this reason. Growing up in Detroit, MI isn’t the brightest city for seeking refuge through your dreams because your dreams are tainted by other people mess ups and the depression that’s giving off by others and so much other crap. If you’re in an environment like that, please believe that there is a brighter day but you must have faith that there is. Coming out to California and being exposed to these nice places and nice things has really open my eye’s allowing me to see that you can really have what it is you desire. A year ago I was in my mother’s basement praying to see nineteen because of what was going on outside of my home. Now I’m walking on top of the hills in Malibu looking over the Pacific Ocean. On the roof top of a beautiful hotel that overlook Hollywood. Dude I WAS IN HOLLYWOOD, MAN! Only with the help of God that this is possible but you must also work towards your dreams and goals as well. I know I haven’t “made” it yet, but I do know I’m not that far from achieving it. I look at situations like, “The cup is half way full not half way empty”. Continue to work and work and I promise you your rewards will be revealed to you. “The unreachable becomes reachable, the unavailable becomes available…” (Stacy Charter).
Monday, July 14, 2008
Nick Garrison - AEMG - LA
Hey,
So most of last week was spent finishing up some ongoing projects here. I did a lot of casting for a new library they have set up. Casting is where I listen to and categorize music that comes in, which helps their clients when their clients are trying to search for a specific style.
Also, they are working on adding certain addendums to some other their contracts, so my job was to find and organize who has a non-exclusive license agreement. It was great to already feel familiar with contracts as I was reading them thanks to the class I took last semester at McNally.
It was a busy, but good week at Alan Ett.
Take care,
Nick
So most of last week was spent finishing up some ongoing projects here. I did a lot of casting for a new library they have set up. Casting is where I listen to and categorize music that comes in, which helps their clients when their clients are trying to search for a specific style.
Also, they are working on adding certain addendums to some other their contracts, so my job was to find and organize who has a non-exclusive license agreement. It was great to already feel familiar with contracts as I was reading them thanks to the class I took last semester at McNally.
It was a busy, but good week at Alan Ett.
Take care,
Nick
Traci @ Key Club, LA-- Music Business: "Last week on: Interns..."
So, I know I got a little preaching last week on making the most of everyday out here, and I hope you all got something from it, but this week I will stay a little lighter.
Most of the week was the same fun stuff at Key Club, some Jumbotron, a little demo listening, marketing meeting, and a barn raising... I mean cleaning, a barn cleaning.
"A barn cleaning?" Why yes, avid reader, a barn cleaning. See, there is the club, quite large despite its street appearance, on the right hand side that runs to a back alley. On the left-hand side in a separate building on property attached by a small fence/gate, are the actual Key Club offices. Now, because the club is deeper than the office building, there is a little barn-like-shed (Hollie's Shed as it is so lovingly called) where we store supplies and decorations for special events held at the club. Now that we've finished the tour, lets get back to the whole idea of a barn cleaning...
So like I said, the barn houses all of the special events goodies, from vases, picture frames, candle holders, etc to extra furniture and decorations. Well, when we have an event, naturally we take items from the barn to set up in the club, but at the end of the night, the club staff returns said items to the barn, but doesn't generally put them back into their proper places. So we have to go in a few times a year and reorganize in order to inventory and of course, be able to locate what we are looking for. So on Friday, Hollie and I went to the barn for a little "spring cleaning" if you will. Now that everything is back in order, it will be my job in the near future to return to the shed and inventory the items. It may not sound like a lot of fun, but we worked very quickly and efficiently and had a few good laughs along the way, so it was actually a good day. (With the exception of a bee that we watched die a slow and painful death despite our efforts to get him out of the blistering sun which, no doubt, was the cause. RIP little bee, thank you for not stinging us.)
Anyway!
Now onto the personal ventures of the week, for which we will have to rewind from Friday to Wednesday. ~~~~ (that was supposed to be a rewind, which is difficult to demonstrate without use of sound or other media) Wednesday evening there was a Los Angeles Women in Music "Best of the Best Soiree" (aka, great networking event!!!). Charley came and picked me up from work and in our attempt to think of something(s) to do before the event began, we stumbled upon an Arclight theater and decided to catch a movie. We saw Hancock, which was surprisingly better than I had thought it would be based on the previews, and I highly recommend that everyone go check it out, I laughed, I cried, I ate popcorn. Then we moved on to the event, and even though we were an hour early it worked to our advantage. It seems that due to a communication error, the room was completely full, so much so that they ran out of food before everyone had eaten and people had to stand in the back behind one of the tables with the filming crew (which is FANTASTIC by the way). So our being there early secured us a table. We also had a chance to meet some great people before-hand as well as spend the evening with some amazing people performing that night that needed to sit with us.
We sat with the wonderful TC Campbell who is an amazing pianist who was playing that evening with the lovely Miss Ronee Martin (also at our table) who was a phenomenal singer/songwriter who has had a song recorded by... someone from Motown who's name a can't believe I have forgotten right now. We also had Michael (whose last name I have also forgotten at present) who plays several instruments, writes music, sings, and is a worship leader. Among his many endeavors, he is also playing with Diana Ross at the Hollywood Bowl Symphony this summer (insert shock and awe here).
We had a wonderful evening, in which I was asked by Michael, a la Berry Gordy, to sing a little something for him in the middle of dinner (definitely an interesting request while I am chewing a garlic roll...). I got to speak a little with Ronee as well and we have since been in contact about trying to sit down and do some writing together after a charity event she is hosting on the 20th. I plan to contact Michael and TC this week to touch base and see what stuff they are working on next.
Following the event, Charley and I stopped off at Wendy's since we didn't really get any of the food at the Soiree since we were more concerned with the great conversations we were having with people involved in WiM (Women in Music.. keep up). We grabbed some dinner and ate in the parking lot, which I think was sort of poetic in a way. THAT is my kind of classy... get all dolled up, smooze the night away, then grab fast food that you eat in the parking lot... Classic! (Charley may hate me for revealing that dirty little secret, but I had a blast with it so I wanted to share)
Wow... can't believe I'm not done yet... I will finish soon I promise.
We can now fast forward back to Friday~~~ (what? I know I used the same symbol for rewind and fast forward... what of it? You try and do better!) ~~~ Friday was a slow night, which picked up when Warren and a colleague (?) of his came over to play Monopoly with Munya and Maurice... and eventually me. I love the game, and try as I may to polish my strategies, I usually end up losing. Friday was no exception. Our team (the interns) lost to Warren and Jason (said colleague (?)) by $90 million dollars plus property. Ouch. (for those of you that think that number is high, we were playing the Millennium Edition, where the dollar amounts are 10,000 times higher)
Saturday was filled with personal business and today was spent relaxing/being lazy and almost getting food poisoning at a local restaurant which I won't name because I have been there several times before with good experiences and don't want to tarnish their name over one bad one. It was a good week.
That's all for now, join us again next week. Same intern time, same intern channel (if you don't get the reference, I really don't know about you... but here's a hint: Think Batman... not Cristian Bale Batman, the old old TV show Batman.... pretty much I just gave it to you... Ok, OBVIOUSLY, I need to quit writing and go to bed).
Peace,
Traci
Sunday, July 13, 2008
ZIMBABWE TO LA, AN INTERNATIONAL INTERN STORY SO FAR pt 2
Hey guys
Well its been some time since I updated you with another epic of my internship here in LA because allot has happened since the last time I wrote, I mean a lot, I do apologize for this late blog, but I do have to say that I do get caught up with other stuff and I seem to get side track all the time when I want to write and its been really busy. So sit back and let me take you on a ride on my adventure so far.
The few weeks have been really crazy full of fun and excitement and my internship keeps getting better and better each day, I'm telling you now, I don't want to go back or should I say leave LA, it’s awesome out here. So like 4 weeks ago we where graced with the appearance of a hip-hop group from the south known as Nappy Roots. They came by the Urban Network so we can have a listen to there up coming album which sounds great and has this a great southern vibe to it, so trust me on this one, I advise everyone to have a look out for the album when it comes out. Meeting these guys and getting know them and just learning from them was worthwhile.
That same week during the weekend Joel, Tracy and I dressed up looked fresh and went over to see the Premier of SEX AND THE CITY. I have to tell you that this movie was ok from a guy’s point of view but from a girl, it was the best thing that was ever created, lol. Which I think is true because when we got to the amazing theater called the Bridge, all the women had there gorgeous dresses on and heels and looked like they where the girls from sex and the city, which I thought was really interesting to observe if you know what I mean hahahahaha. Anyway I guess the new thing in LA is wear watch you are going to watch so I can't wait to see what people are going to be wearing next week when the new Batman comes out.
The Following week at work Maurice and I attended an event for Karina Pasain, hosted by K- Day radio station at a skating ring. The event went well and it was great fun. I got to the chance to put on some skates and just try show off some moves which I couldn't do because it had been at least 9 years since I had put on some skates so this was a chance to laugh at me and see me try and skate for it was very funny seeing me skate but I did get my motion on and was skating away eventually. Karina then came on stage that was on the center of the skating ring and performed a number of songs, which was really entertaining, and the girl could really sing for a 16 year old. So I congratulate her on her upcoming album, it’s going to be a success. So after the event we went to grab some food and unfortunately on our way there, our friend that also interns with us, (Jayson) car broke down, and at this point we new we were up for an adventure. But luckily we weren't too far from Warren's apartment, so that was a good thing. We began to walk towards his place when things changed and Warren wanted us to have a taste of the Hollywood hills and see the lights of the LA from the La Parc hotel roof. I just knew then that this was going to be amazing. On our way there we walked through a gas station, and realized that we were in the middle of a movie scene, and we were told to quickly get out the way, I thought this was funny, and now I can say that yes I have been in a movie scene. So we got to the hotel and went on the roof and it was just amazing to see the skyline of the LA city, the view was incredible, something that I hadn't seen in years.
That weekend Nick came by and picked Tracey, Joel and I, and took us to the Bob Dylan exhibit at the Skirl Ball center. This was a big learning experience about a man who changed the face of music. This was a really interesting exhibit and had so much information and crafts and work that Bob Dylan had done over the period of 10years of his life (1956-1966) this was truly amazing and it was something that I wish a lot of people could attend. That night we all hung out by the sunset strip and just walked around and observed the various activities that were going on, basically the night life of the strip.
The following week at work was pretty busy, for we are preparing for the companies marketing campaign for their conference in Houston in Texas, coming up in September. I have learned so much so far with my internship in the marketing and branding side of things, but still have a lot coming for me that I cant wait to get my hands on. That week a friend of mine phoned me from Minnesota introduced to me to a friend from Zimbabwe named Vivian. Vivian and I met up and she showed a bit of the nightlife of LA and we just hung out and did a lot of getting to know each other. The next day Vivian and her friend Karina took me to the Farmers Market by Fairfax, and this place was crazy, and had so much food, but not just any old food, but different kinds of food to, American burgers African, French crepes, and Japanese food.
This place was tasteful and Karina and I had some Brazilian food and it was delicious. We had so much to eat and After a good lunch we walked around the area and had a look at the different stores that were around us, and we were luckily to be in the scene of the Premier of a movie that has just come out called "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl". Well we didn't stay to see the whole event for we had other plans. That night Joel Cooper was celebrating his 21st and I have to say buddy we had a great time and Happy birthday once again even though it was a while ago but we had fun, that night.
To be continued…………………………
Munya
Well its been some time since I updated you with another epic of my internship here in LA because allot has happened since the last time I wrote, I mean a lot, I do apologize for this late blog, but I do have to say that I do get caught up with other stuff and I seem to get side track all the time when I want to write and its been really busy. So sit back and let me take you on a ride on my adventure so far.
The few weeks have been really crazy full of fun and excitement and my internship keeps getting better and better each day, I'm telling you now, I don't want to go back or should I say leave LA, it’s awesome out here. So like 4 weeks ago we where graced with the appearance of a hip-hop group from the south known as Nappy Roots. They came by the Urban Network so we can have a listen to there up coming album which sounds great and has this a great southern vibe to it, so trust me on this one, I advise everyone to have a look out for the album when it comes out. Meeting these guys and getting know them and just learning from them was worthwhile.
That same week during the weekend Joel, Tracy and I dressed up looked fresh and went over to see the Premier of SEX AND THE CITY. I have to tell you that this movie was ok from a guy’s point of view but from a girl, it was the best thing that was ever created, lol. Which I think is true because when we got to the amazing theater called the Bridge, all the women had there gorgeous dresses on and heels and looked like they where the girls from sex and the city, which I thought was really interesting to observe if you know what I mean hahahahaha. Anyway I guess the new thing in LA is wear watch you are going to watch so I can't wait to see what people are going to be wearing next week when the new Batman comes out.
The Following week at work Maurice and I attended an event for Karina Pasain, hosted by K- Day radio station at a skating ring. The event went well and it was great fun. I got to the chance to put on some skates and just try show off some moves which I couldn't do because it had been at least 9 years since I had put on some skates so this was a chance to laugh at me and see me try and skate for it was very funny seeing me skate but I did get my motion on and was skating away eventually. Karina then came on stage that was on the center of the skating ring and performed a number of songs, which was really entertaining, and the girl could really sing for a 16 year old. So I congratulate her on her upcoming album, it’s going to be a success. So after the event we went to grab some food and unfortunately on our way there, our friend that also interns with us, (Jayson) car broke down, and at this point we new we were up for an adventure. But luckily we weren't too far from Warren's apartment, so that was a good thing. We began to walk towards his place when things changed and Warren wanted us to have a taste of the Hollywood hills and see the lights of the LA from the La Parc hotel roof. I just knew then that this was going to be amazing. On our way there we walked through a gas station, and realized that we were in the middle of a movie scene, and we were told to quickly get out the way, I thought this was funny, and now I can say that yes I have been in a movie scene. So we got to the hotel and went on the roof and it was just amazing to see the skyline of the LA city, the view was incredible, something that I hadn't seen in years.
That weekend Nick came by and picked Tracey, Joel and I, and took us to the Bob Dylan exhibit at the Skirl Ball center. This was a big learning experience about a man who changed the face of music. This was a really interesting exhibit and had so much information and crafts and work that Bob Dylan had done over the period of 10years of his life (1956-1966) this was truly amazing and it was something that I wish a lot of people could attend. That night we all hung out by the sunset strip and just walked around and observed the various activities that were going on, basically the night life of the strip.
The following week at work was pretty busy, for we are preparing for the companies marketing campaign for their conference in Houston in Texas, coming up in September. I have learned so much so far with my internship in the marketing and branding side of things, but still have a lot coming for me that I cant wait to get my hands on. That week a friend of mine phoned me from Minnesota introduced to me to a friend from Zimbabwe named Vivian. Vivian and I met up and she showed a bit of the nightlife of LA and we just hung out and did a lot of getting to know each other. The next day Vivian and her friend Karina took me to the Farmers Market by Fairfax, and this place was crazy, and had so much food, but not just any old food, but different kinds of food to, American burgers African, French crepes, and Japanese food.
This place was tasteful and Karina and I had some Brazilian food and it was delicious. We had so much to eat and After a good lunch we walked around the area and had a look at the different stores that were around us, and we were luckily to be in the scene of the Premier of a movie that has just come out called "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl". Well we didn't stay to see the whole event for we had other plans. That night Joel Cooper was celebrating his 21st and I have to say buddy we had a great time and Happy birthday once again even though it was a while ago but we had fun, that night.
To be continued…………………………
Munya
Another week at Soup Bowl Records had past and we are coming upon the end of this semester but that doesn't stop the work from flowing. We are still working hard even though we really want our month break before the fall semester gets started. But enough of that, so this week in Soup Bowl Records, I had to look up Artist Pages in Newspaper on the West Coast.
I had to go by state and look for Newspapers in large cities like Los Angeles, Sacramento and places like that all across the West Coast. Ryan wanted me to look this stuff up so when Dingus tours the West Coast soon we will have places to send info about the shows that are out there. It's a great idea to collect all of this stuff now instead of later when you really need it.
Some of the cities I had to look in barely had any Artist Pages so that was difficult and some cities didn't even have a Weekly so that was just a waste of time. It was a bit time consuming but I found plenty of them. That was all I had to do this week, but this coming week who knows what I will have to do.
Till then,
Christina
I had to go by state and look for Newspapers in large cities like Los Angeles, Sacramento and places like that all across the West Coast. Ryan wanted me to look this stuff up so when Dingus tours the West Coast soon we will have places to send info about the shows that are out there. It's a great idea to collect all of this stuff now instead of later when you really need it.
Some of the cities I had to look in barely had any Artist Pages so that was difficult and some cities didn't even have a Weekly so that was just a waste of time. It was a bit time consuming but I found plenty of them. That was all I had to do this week, but this coming week who knows what I will have to do.
Till then,
Christina
Evan Gundlach, Universal, Twin Cities
Hey again, Well this week at universal was a pretty slow one, but it was still a lot of fun. Tuesday I got all caught up in the album tracking database. I’m not fully caught up since they want to go back another full year but I was still pretty happy about it. Thursday was pretty much working on the same thing only I got invited to help out at the three doors down and hinder show on the 21st of august, but unfortunately I might be out of town. I also helped get the food order ready for Friday’s music meeting since we hadn’t had one in a while. I was pretty excited for the music meeting on Friday. We got to watch new videos from the game and Sheryl crow, along with hearing new tracks from hinders new album. I helped run the lights at the music meeting and at the end everyone went around and told people about up coming shows. The flobots are coming to town on the 21st of august as well so I’m trying to get a ticket and go to that. I finished the database up to as far as they had it so I left a half hour early after I helped with the mail. It was a good time and I’m looking forward to finding out about these up coming shows.
Langen- Soup Bowl- Minneapolis
This week at Soup Bowl it was pretty boring. I'm still working on finishing up the Now, Now Every Children tour and it's completely down to the wire.
I did try something new this week. I wrote out a blog e-mail. Basically what it is is an e-mail Soup Bowl sends out to various online webzines and websites about what's going on with the label and if there are any new releases or anything they contain MP3s. The blog I wrote was about some media attention that The Z-Mo Trio has been getting in local newspapers in Minneapolis including Rift Magazine and City Pages.
To be completely honest, I'm not a huge fan of The Z-Mo Trio which made it really hard to write an e-mail saying how good they are. I eventually got it after a few red bulls. So I wrote up this e-mail and then had to send it to all these e-mails on a database of them. It was so tedious but really easy.
This week I think it will be more booking. Hopefully I will be able to do something new again. I was so proud of myself after I had written that e-mail.
That's it for now
Peace,
Langen
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Nick Garrison - Alan Ett Music Group - Los Angeles
It has once again been an interesting week at Alan Ett.
The big project I am still making progress on is the registering and renaming of their Audio Horizons catalog, but what I wanted to mention in this blog was something I got to do that I thought was really interesting.
They have a meeting with a company on Wednesday (I just say "company" because I'm not sure if I'm allowed to openly talk about deals they are working on), which I was able to help with researching. Today I wrote up a one-sheet with different types of information I found on this company they didn't know too much about.
Research like this is something that easily applies to things you do and new adventures you are about to take. You want to make sure you know who you are dealing with before you start signing the papers. There was something about helping them with that I really enjoyed.
Tomorrow I get to spend more time with one of their composers. Those are always good days.
Take care,
Nick
The big project I am still making progress on is the registering and renaming of their Audio Horizons catalog, but what I wanted to mention in this blog was something I got to do that I thought was really interesting.
They have a meeting with a company on Wednesday (I just say "company" because I'm not sure if I'm allowed to openly talk about deals they are working on), which I was able to help with researching. Today I wrote up a one-sheet with different types of information I found on this company they didn't know too much about.
Research like this is something that easily applies to things you do and new adventures you are about to take. You want to make sure you know who you are dealing with before you start signing the papers. There was something about helping them with that I really enjoyed.
Tomorrow I get to spend more time with one of their composers. Those are always good days.
Take care,
Nick
Monday, July 7, 2008
Jon Johnson - The Firm - Beverly Hills
It's been way too long since my last post, so I'll try and catch you all up to what I've been doing the past few weeks.
For a week and a couple of days I continued to cover the desk for Snoop Dogg's manager's, assistant, until her intern, Kenny started. I trained him in a little bit, and had him take over for me. Covering her desk was fun while it lasted, I was able to learn a lot about the business, hopefully that won't be my last stint covering a desk. Afterwards, I asked Snoop's manager if she would give me a review of my work. She gave me a good review, I then asked if I could sit in one day and just absorb knowledge from her, she told me I could! I would just have to wait a couple of weeks, I have been just ecstatic, waiting for the past week for my opportunity to sit in with her.
During my weekends I've been working with McNally alum Tim Bjorkman, on a business that we are planning on starting. I will give out some more info on a later blog. This past weekend him, fellow intern Munya, and I took an impromptu trip to Malibu during one of our business meetings. This was the first time that I had ever even seen the Pacific Ocean, which looked amazing.
I feel like I am in a great position right now, and I feel blessed to be living in LA. I am in control of my own path, and only I can ensure my own success.
For a week and a couple of days I continued to cover the desk for Snoop Dogg's manager's, assistant, until her intern, Kenny started. I trained him in a little bit, and had him take over for me. Covering her desk was fun while it lasted, I was able to learn a lot about the business, hopefully that won't be my last stint covering a desk. Afterwards, I asked Snoop's manager if she would give me a review of my work. She gave me a good review, I then asked if I could sit in one day and just absorb knowledge from her, she told me I could! I would just have to wait a couple of weeks, I have been just ecstatic, waiting for the past week for my opportunity to sit in with her.
During my weekends I've been working with McNally alum Tim Bjorkman, on a business that we are planning on starting. I will give out some more info on a later blog. This past weekend him, fellow intern Munya, and I took an impromptu trip to Malibu during one of our business meetings. This was the first time that I had ever even seen the Pacific Ocean, which looked amazing.
I feel like I am in a great position right now, and I feel blessed to be living in LA. I am in control of my own path, and only I can ensure my own success.
This Week.....
I'll start off by saying that THIS WEEEEK.....
Anyway, I went in Monday and everything was all good. Regular day at the studio and what not. On Tuesday the exact same. It wasn't until Wednesday that I got a little action. So Wednesday comes and I'm going on my food run.... now USUUAAALLLYY, they ALWAYS get Taco Bell but for some reason this time, they wanted to change it up and get pizza; altering my route. So, to make a long story short, when I was on my way back from getting the pizza,I got in a car accident. A guy hit me head on and totaled my car!!!
Initially, I was like WHOA.... MY CAR!! And then I thought ... hold on..... WHOA.... MY LIFE! The car was so jacked that the only thing that allowed me to walk away from that accident was G-D. I had 2 little scratches on my arm and THAT"S IT!!!
This past weekend alone, 19 people were called due to car accidents and I think, I could have easily been killed too.
Buuuuuut anyway, (don't really want to dwell on that too much because I AM PERFECTLY OK)
SO due to the accident, I haven't really been able to report to the studio which SUCKS. But they told me they'll help me pay and that I can come back whenever I'm ready; THAT ALONE WAS ALL I NEEDED TO HEAR!!
Evan Gundlach, Music Buisness, Universal, Music Business
Hello again, well with the holiday weekend it was a pretty short work week at universal. On Tuesday we kept updating the album tracking database. I also did a lot more work in the mail room this week so I got to know more people and see what people actually do day-to-day there. Thursday was a short day and I was only there for three hours. I worked on the current week of album tracking, delivered the mail, and headed out. Since Friday was the fourth no one worked and I hope everyone had a great day. Until next time hope you all have a good week.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Traci @ Key Club, LA-- Music Business: "...I thought I'd be a big star by today, but I've been sleepin' in a warehouse in West LA..."
Hey all!
So the latter of that lyrical snack is false, but I thought it was just too fitting (bonus points if anyone can name the song it came from).
This week was a very short one for work. The offices at Key Club were closed Thursday and Friday to allow for a nice relaxing holiday weekend, so you know what that means.... (and if you are thinking "party" you are so wrong) Networking!! I got out a couple nights and met some great people in the most unlikely places, 2 songwriters and one manager. From these chance encounters, I can now honestly say this from experience: anywhere you go out here, if you are outgoing and will just talk to people, you can make a contact. Maybe they are just starting out, maybe you can do more for them than they can for you, maybe they are the key piece to the puzzle, who knows? But there's only one way to find out. You have to meet them!! Get off your butt, get your heads out of the clouds, quit whining and put yourself out there. People will NEVER know who you are if you don't. Opportunities won't knock if you don't provide a door (ooh, I just came up with that... I like it).
Consider that a bit of motivation for the week, and if you don't buy into it, ask yourself how badly you really want whatever it is you are after.
Now, that little babble and my uber-long walk/talk/eat amazing food with Charley at the Marina has me exhausted in an "I feel accomplished and I don't really know how much more I can do today" way that I am going to call it an early night and go to sleep at a record time for me.
What's that? Pictures? Yeah right, I was meeting people! I didn't have time for pictures! Maybe next week...
Peace (speaking of, don't forget to go out at 12 noon tomorrow to hail a peace sign for Ringo's Birthday!!)
Traci
Omaha is not a friend of indie bands
Hey there! Langen from Soup Bowl Records here. This past week was filled with more of the same booking and what not.
Deadlines keep on getting closer and closer for the Now, Now Every Children tour that I have been working on booking. It's getting closer to dates that we still don't have venues for so currently we are looking for ANYTHING including house shows. I thought that it might make it a little easier to book but it's just as hard to find some house shows and what not.
I have been trying to find some indie bands in the Omaha area to play a show with them at Box Awesome in Omaha but have had no luck. It seems like there are NO indie bands there that are popular at all which is kind of sad. I thought that Omaha would have a bigger scene than that.
I'm thinking this week will be some more last minute dates for Now, Now Every Children. I have also started looking for venues in California for a future tour so that will probably continue.
I wish we could go back to making posters haha. Not that I don't enjoy this, but it's getting very exhausting and frustrating. Welcome to the biz I guess.
Peace,
Langen
Christina here,
This week has been crazy in the world of Soup Bowl Records. Well first off, Ryan was gone for both of the days that we have our internship so we didn't get to work with him. Brian, his partner, was our boss for Tuesday and Wednesday,which was great. I loved working with Brian and not Ryan for a change. It was great to see how he handled everything compared to Ryan.
On Tuesday I had to go through Afternoon Records press page on their website to see if they had blogs that Soup Bowl didn't, of course there were tons that we didn't have that they did. So I had to update the blog list all day on Tuesday, there were tons of blogs to go through. Some of them were in different languages. I had one in Chinese, so that was exciting. That was really all I did on Tuesday.
On Wednesday I had to do the same thing though I didn't have much more to go through this time so I got done pretty early, I was just finishing up what I had started on Tuesday, although I had gotten a lot done the day before. Brian didn't have anything else for me to do, so I got to leave early that day.
That was pretty much the extent of my internship this week, it was quite fun and we didn't really do much but I know this week we will be doing a ton more since Ryan is back in town. But it was fun while it lasted but I'm actually looking forward to getting some work done. Later,
Christina
This week has been crazy in the world of Soup Bowl Records. Well first off, Ryan was gone for both of the days that we have our internship so we didn't get to work with him. Brian, his partner, was our boss for Tuesday and Wednesday,which was great. I loved working with Brian and not Ryan for a change. It was great to see how he handled everything compared to Ryan.
On Tuesday I had to go through Afternoon Records press page on their website to see if they had blogs that Soup Bowl didn't, of course there were tons that we didn't have that they did. So I had to update the blog list all day on Tuesday, there were tons of blogs to go through. Some of them were in different languages. I had one in Chinese, so that was exciting. That was really all I did on Tuesday.
On Wednesday I had to do the same thing though I didn't have much more to go through this time so I got done pretty early, I was just finishing up what I had started on Tuesday, although I had gotten a lot done the day before. Brian didn't have anything else for me to do, so I got to leave early that day.
That was pretty much the extent of my internship this week, it was quite fun and we didn't really do much but I know this week we will be doing a ton more since Ryan is back in town. But it was fun while it lasted but I'm actually looking forward to getting some work done. Later,
Christina
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Cole Hendricks - Recording Technology - Studio Atlantis - Los Angeles
Hey everyone,
Sorry it has been a while since my last post. I have been crazy busy between my internship at Studio Atlantis and my job at House of Blues. I just recently also got my car and let me tell you, a car in LA makes things way better.
My internship at Studio Atlantis is going along. I have been sticking to my daily routines and getting to know the staff a bit more.
House of Blues is going along great as usual. This job has turned out to be such a huge benefit to me, with me learning everything there is to learn about live sound and production behind high profile shows. One thing I have really built upon for my skills is dealing with musicians and clients. Live Sound really tests your skills when under heavy pressure and when the time is ticking. Having to get the opening bands gear setup, the microphones in place, and the lines checked within 10 minutes to the doors opening is really an adrenaline rush and when mistakes can't be made. This job has allowed me to network and open many other doors as well. I am very happy to be at House of Blues.
I look forward to getting out golfing this weekend out here since I have the weekend off of work and my internship. The courses are mad busy out here and the rounds take a while because of that but you get to meet alot of people becuase you usually get paired up with other people.
I will keep everyone updated on my progress out here.
Cole Hendricks
Audio Engineer
Sorry it has been a while since my last post. I have been crazy busy between my internship at Studio Atlantis and my job at House of Blues. I just recently also got my car and let me tell you, a car in LA makes things way better.
My internship at Studio Atlantis is going along. I have been sticking to my daily routines and getting to know the staff a bit more.
House of Blues is going along great as usual. This job has turned out to be such a huge benefit to me, with me learning everything there is to learn about live sound and production behind high profile shows. One thing I have really built upon for my skills is dealing with musicians and clients. Live Sound really tests your skills when under heavy pressure and when the time is ticking. Having to get the opening bands gear setup, the microphones in place, and the lines checked within 10 minutes to the doors opening is really an adrenaline rush and when mistakes can't be made. This job has allowed me to network and open many other doors as well. I am very happy to be at House of Blues.
I look forward to getting out golfing this weekend out here since I have the weekend off of work and my internship. The courses are mad busy out here and the rounds take a while because of that but you get to meet alot of people becuase you usually get paired up with other people.
I will keep everyone updated on my progress out here.
Cole Hendricks
Audio Engineer
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Traci @ Key Club, LA-- Music Business: OMG! No post last week?!?!
Hey all,
Sorry for my lack of attendance last week. I've been super busy trying to get my business in line. I am desperately seeking new songs in the hopes of trying to record a few new demos and/or stockpile material for an inevitable album. I actually have initiated a deal with Charley to have at least one new song recorded that I am happy with to be able to pass out at the summer "wrap party" as I know there will be A LOT of contacts there. Just thought I would drop a line and let you know why I was MIA this week. Also, if you write or know people that do, get in touch, I would love to have a listen.
Peace
Traci
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Nick - A.E.M.G. - Los Angeles
In the moment, you don't realize everything you've learned. It's when you take a step back and look at things that you begin to realize the big picture.
It was a good week last week. I was given an unexpected two days off from work, which was great to just relax. At Alan Ett, I have been working on renaming the Opus 1 cues for a publishing deal they now have with 44 Blue Productions. I have been doing a lot of computer work, but I had a good time last wednesday as I asked questions and learned about the process of registering songs and publishing deals.
Last weekend, I finally was able to spend time at the beach in Santa Monica. It was incredible.
-Nick
It was a good week last week. I was given an unexpected two days off from work, which was great to just relax. At Alan Ett, I have been working on renaming the Opus 1 cues for a publishing deal they now have with 44 Blue Productions. I have been doing a lot of computer work, but I had a good time last wednesday as I asked questions and learned about the process of registering songs and publishing deals.
Last weekend, I finally was able to spend time at the beach in Santa Monica. It was incredible.
-Nick
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