Welcome To Crunch Time

With only three weeks left in the semester, it seems that everyone I know (including people that don't go to Berklee) is feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and unprepared. Emotionally, mentally, and physically. I know I definitely fall into a few of those categories. I usually have everything all together, and while nothing is out of control, I'm on the brink of losing all control.

All of my friends feel the same way, too. None of us wanted to go back to school. We wanted to skip over Thanksgiving and have it be Christmas (just like the department stores). Where did our drive go? More specifically, where did my drive go? I can't remember ever being this lackadaisical. My MO is to be on the ball, and my energy level is typically off the scale. At the moment I am no where near the ball and my energy level is low. My low is probably normal for some people, and if that is the case, then I don't know how they function. I'm struggling with this, and I still have a thousand words left to write for my article.

Speaking of my article...The amount of work I have to do within the next 18 days makes me exhausted just thinking about it. It came out of no where. Well, not really. It just seems like it did. I had this grandiose idea that I would get nearly all of it done either before or during my all but too brief Thanksgiving break. That didn't happen. So now I have no choice but to do it all now, and avoid death in the process.

So it's back to work for me and for everyone else for the next three weeks. Then we can go home and relax for a bit until the whole cycle starts all over again.

Wish us luck!

Canary (My New Band)

I'm very excited and pleased to announce that I have a new band (!):

Canary is a new Boston/Berklee based rock/pop and blues band that falls sonically somewhere between Coldplay and the Who with a touch of Eric Clapton.

Driven by Ellis and Amy's in-your-face guitars, Isaac's pounding drums, and Drew's production chops, Canary is looking forward to making a mark in the New England music scene and beyond.

For more information, please contact us at canarytheband[at]gmail[dot]com

The widgets on the right side of the page are an email list you can sign up for as well as a music player featuring two songs. Please check them out and sign up for the email list if you like what you hear! We'll be playing shows (potentially) near you in the new year. What with the end of the semester coming (studying for finals, practicing hard), no full-time bassist, and limited rehearsal time (due to finals), suffice to say that the odds of a show before the end of the year are not in our favor.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I can't wait to really kick it into high gear with Canary.

Seventeen

365 days ago I wrote a post entitled "Seventeen" because I was going to be home in seventeen days. Well, I decided to do it again.

In seventeen days, I will once again be home for Thanksgiving break. With the exception of Ear Training (I have a test the Monday after break), I want to be work-free. I've been a bit of a slacker lately, and I have more work now than I did at this time last year I think. Well, it's a different kind of work. I like the work I have now much more than I did last year. A lot more. Even the stuff I really don't like to do isn't that bad. It's just boring.

I have the privilege of registering for class a week before everyone else because I'm a Peer Advisor. I have a great schedule, too. No classes on Monday and no classes before 11. My Thursday's intense: class 11-1 and then 2-8 with no break. My last class of the day is with Jay Fialkov, so it's all good. Most importantly, I have Paul Stiller for Ear Training 4. I based my schedule around his class. I'm potentially taking a harmony course on the Beatles. I have to test out of Harmony 4 to do so. Or I can try for a waiver. I'll have to investigate.

I need to get on a better schedule. These next 17 days can kick my ass into gear. The best thing is, at the end of the 17 days, I get to go home and see all my friends that I haven't seen in a while. Including the one and only Bob Thompson.

Berklee Music Business Club Fall 2009 New York Trip

This post is to provide a schedule and necessary information for all members of Berklee's Music Business Club (MEISA) who are going on the New York Trip. This post is also intended to inform other members of the Berklee Community about MEISA and the New York trips that happen every semester.

To club members going on the trip, if you find these links do not provide much information (head's up: a few don't), then try researching the company online. There are many interviews floating around the web.

For those of you that stumbled upon this, welcome! MEISA/Berklee's Music Business Club is a group of students that are interested in the current state of the music industry. We meet once a week to discuss hot topics going on, have the occasional guest speaker, and to plan trips such as this. Recently we helped organize Berklee's Music Business/Management Department's Autumn Affair. If you would like to keep up with us, check out our Netvibes page to see what we're discussing, and feel free to email us at berkleemuiscbusinessclub [at] gmail [dot] com.

Thursday, November 12th

ASCAP (10.00AM)
Try to become familiar with their "about us" page as well as the rest of the site. ASCAP is a performing rights organization, often referred to as a "PRO."

Sirius Radio (10.00AM)
Browse their "about us" page. Upper-semester members, if you are interested working or interning for them, there is a "working at Sirius" page you should take a look at.

Nettwerk (12.00PM)
Some of you might remember that Terry McBride came to Berklee last semester. Nettwerk is a management company, a label, and beyond. Essentially, it's an all-inclusive media group. Check out their "about us" page and just browse the site a bit.

Remember that if you go to Crush Management, then you are also going to Shapiro Publishing. If you are going to Sony, then you are also going to Orchard.

Crush Management (2.00PM)
A management company that is home to Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, and Cobra Starship to name a few.

Sony Music (3.00PM)
We will be meeting with the Vice President of of Media Development. Sony is the parent company to many labels including Columbia, J Records, and RCA. Look around the sites to learn more about Sony and their labels.

Shapiro, Bernstein and Co. Publishing (4.00PM)
Shapiro Bernstein is one of the oldest publishing companies in America. They publish some of the biggest names in music. You can read about the history of them here.

The Orchard (5.00PM)
The Orchard is the leading distributor of digital music. Check out their site. Orchard distributes over one million songs all over the globe.

Live Nation (7.00PM)
The world's leader in putting on shows. Their mission is "to maximize the live concert experience."


Friday, November 13th:

Warner Chappell (Time 10.00)
Check out their site. They're one of the largest publishing companies in the world.

Platinum Rye Entertainment (11.30AM)
The world's "largest broker of celebrity talent." There really isn't much else on the site except for that.

Remember, if you go to Paradigm, then you cannot go to SESAC.

Paradigm Talent Agency (12.00PM) A leading entertainment talent agency in nearly every arena.

SESAC (1.00PM) Known as "the other" performing rights organization. Their membership is by invitation only, and their roster is about five percent of ASCAP's.

Fahrenheit Media Group (3.00PM)
Look at their site. This visit is not yet confirmed.

Cornerstone Promotion (3.00PM)
There's a link to a recent article about them. If you are going to Cornerstone, be sure to check it out.

Sterling Sound (5.00PM)
Sterling is the world's largest mastering studio. Take a look at the CDs they've mastered. Very impressive!