First off, sorry for the delay.
I didn't have a lot of computer access on the road trip home, and i'm just trying to get my life back in order here in St. Paul. I also had a short period of freaking out, seeing as how my bank account was in the negative by the time i reached my hometown in Illinois. Luckily i have great parents who had no problem helping me out and working a little extra to put this behind us. (thanks again!)
After talking to friends that have been around here all summer, i realize that i really have a lot more knowledge about the music business. I feel like because of my experience in Los Angeles that i am now one step ahead of the game. I know names and companies that none of my friends have heard of, but should know!
Being in that situation, in the tall office building in Beverly Hills, made me rethink my direction. But only slightly. I have had a plan for awhile, and it's still my plan. I just didn't know that it might involve moving to California (Which now seems like a definite possibility). Talking with Debbie and especially Charley (who was nice enough to have lunch with me one lovely day in Culver City) has really made me think about what i need to do to get where i want to be. Now, i've always said i don't want to work for a large corporation. That's not really my style. But after this experience i'm thinking that getting a job at one to stay within the industry might not be such a bad idea.
I want to have my own artist management agency. That's the goal. But until then, working at the Embassy Suites isn't going to get me any closer. I've been doing alright on my own, helping out The Ballet and Julie Moffitt.. and there's even another band that wants my help here in st. paul. So i'm not slacking. In fact, i feel like i don't put enough effort into those guys. I haven't in the last few weeks anyway, but that's because i was traveling and unpacking and whatnot. I should have more time now.
It is terrifying and so exciting, graduating from college in only one semester. I like the twin cities, i'd like to stay around for awhile but if there's nothing here for me, then it looks like California, here i come. I'm in such turmoil about where i'm going to be in a year.. because i have no idea. I'm just hoping The Ballet or Julie Moffitt gets famous so i can just manage them and be successful :) but unfortunately, the chances of that happening are very slim. It is hard for any band to get past a certain level of stardom anymore.
I'm torn between being independent or going to work for a large company. I'm the independent type. But i'm also realistic and down-to-earth, and realize that i might want a little job security. I know Debbie and Charley are always thinking on the large scale and are hoping i get a job with one of those large companies. That would be great, but i don't want to feel like i'm selling out my own morals and values. After working at The Firm, i feel that maybe i could work for one of those companies and have time on the side to keep working on my own projects like i'm doing now (therefore, not selling out).
maybe i need a job at one of these large companies to be successful financially. actually, i know that i do, unless something amazing happens and am able to make it on my own as an independent business. maybe one day. but until then, having a job within the industry is important. i need to keep all of the connections that i have made because in this industry, its all about who you know. when you have all of the right connections you can get your bands places. that's where i need to be.
sorry, i realize that this is one huge brainstorm. but, that's how i feel after spending my summer in Beverly Hills.
thanks for all your support
i love you
amanda
(ps. if i think of anything else i'll add it in within the next week. otherwise, thanks for reading! peace)
Friday, August 31, 2007
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
on the road again
i'm in fabulous las vegas at the hampton inn with glen. we just ate breakfast (and brought some extra food for lunch) and now we're packing up and getting ready to head to our next destination, the grand canyon.
when i get a chance i'll post some of my las vegas pictures, probably with some grand canyon ones later.
the beatles LOVE cirque de soleil was phenominal!
before we even went in we were in beatle mania heaven.
(trust me here- you'll see the pictures)
we were so excited and it just turned out to be so great
we didnt get back to the hotel until about 2am
i should go though, finish packing so we can get to the grand canyon and then to the hotel, i need to get some swimming time in! i miss the ocean already.
take care,
more updates soon.
love, amanda
when i get a chance i'll post some of my las vegas pictures, probably with some grand canyon ones later.
the beatles LOVE cirque de soleil was phenominal!
before we even went in we were in beatle mania heaven.
(trust me here- you'll see the pictures)
we were so excited and it just turned out to be so great
we didnt get back to the hotel until about 2am
i should go though, finish packing so we can get to the grand canyon and then to the hotel, i need to get some swimming time in! i miss the ocean already.
take care,
more updates soon.
love, amanda
Saturday, August 4, 2007
SHRED SCHOOL
i had to get up and do a panel. but it was sweet, people told me i did a good job. and i might have discovered another band to manage.
Dean DeLeo of the Stone Temple Pilots
Stephen Carpenter of the Deftones
John 5 from Marilyn Manson
Zacky Vengeance and Synyster Gates from Avenged Sevenfold
Herman Li of Dragonforce and Adam Jones from Tool
i'm really, really tired. i was there for more than 12 hours!
i made a lot of good new friends though
i met someone from GENESEO!
they will be very helpful in the future
i feel like i might be doing the right thing here.
this is what i was meant to do, and it'll work.
it has to, right?
lovelovelove
amanda
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
starting to feel a lot like summertime
i just returned from Manhattan Beach, the home of beach volleyball. But just because i'm done at the firm.. that doesn't mean i just go sit on the beach all day. i've been forcing myself to wake up early and go running every morning. i make a healthy breakfast and start working.. booking Julie Moffitt on the west coast. i'm getting a percentage of the shows i book depending on how big they are. there are a lot of dates to fill so i've been emailing like mad. most people prefer email these days so that's what i'm starting with. we'll start calling maybe next week. The Ballet's tour came together nicely and they head out next week! i've already told Padraig to call and confirm all the dates.
i'm still a little bit worried about what next year is going to bring. will i come back to LA? will i stay in minnesota for awhile and be able to get a job that pays well and is in the music industry? Good thing i've still got a little time, and Debbie to help me out with all this.
So i just found out some terribly interesting news. The 35W bridge near minneapolis over the mississippi river collapsed. luckily i dont think anyone i know regularly uses that bridge. 6 people are dead so far i guess. how often do bridges just collapse? its awful.
anyway... shred school with charley and debbie saturday
glen gets here tuesday :)
next wednesday is the McNally Smith wrap party at the house of blues
and i'll try to update you more.
ill put up pictures when i can
love you!
amanda
i'm still a little bit worried about what next year is going to bring. will i come back to LA? will i stay in minnesota for awhile and be able to get a job that pays well and is in the music industry? Good thing i've still got a little time, and Debbie to help me out with all this.
So i just found out some terribly interesting news. The 35W bridge near minneapolis over the mississippi river collapsed. luckily i dont think anyone i know regularly uses that bridge. 6 people are dead so far i guess. how often do bridges just collapse? its awful.
anyway... shred school with charley and debbie saturday
glen gets here tuesday :)
next wednesday is the McNally Smith wrap party at the house of blues
and i'll try to update you more.
ill put up pictures when i can
love you!
amanda
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
the final days
i'm in the second day of the last week of my internship.
it's ridiculous how fast this has all gone. it's hard to really explain what i've gathered from this experience. i obviously have a better understanding of how everything at a management agency is run, and who does what. i wish i would have been able to work with a specific manager in the music department to get an even better inside look. instead i've done a lot of things for many of the assistants and just tried to make myself useful. There being so many interns made it difficult to really stand out and get cool projects, especially ones related to what i want to get into. i've been in the dub room for a few days, and will be for the rest of the week. it's cool, i get to stay busy making copies of movies and cds and whatnot for everyone (..and myself). i've learned how to be someone's assistant.. which is what i'll probably do when i get out of here until i can get my management company on its feet (lets hope).
The ballet is finally kicking out some new recordings. www.myspace.com/theballet has a few new songs off of the live cd they got recorded at the Redstone Room in Davenport, IA. They are thinking about moving to the twin cities next year, and we're wanting to get a 5-bedroom house in minneapolis for all of us. that will be good for everyone. i think the ballet has what it takes to be a popular indie rock band. i think they are just realizing it too.
Julie Moffitt is great. she's organized and up until now has done SO much on her own. it's great being able to help her out with booking and promotion where i can. i'm currently helping her book 2 dates in winnipeg, and with some press for upcoming shows. maybe something more will come of this relationship in the future, but i don't know that she really needs a manager at this point because she's pretty steady on her feet. she's got a lot on her plate right now though, so maybe i'll be able to do more for her in the future. she has an EPK at www.sonicbids.com/juliemoffitt2.
i'm in the process of inviting people to our intern wrap party at the house of blues, which i'll be a part of helping put together. i'm getting together with charley tomorrow to discuss some of these things, as well as my future in the biz. she seems to know what's up so hopefully i can get some good advice and some more direction from her.
i'll give you another update later this week!
peace and love
amanda p.
it's ridiculous how fast this has all gone. it's hard to really explain what i've gathered from this experience. i obviously have a better understanding of how everything at a management agency is run, and who does what. i wish i would have been able to work with a specific manager in the music department to get an even better inside look. instead i've done a lot of things for many of the assistants and just tried to make myself useful. There being so many interns made it difficult to really stand out and get cool projects, especially ones related to what i want to get into. i've been in the dub room for a few days, and will be for the rest of the week. it's cool, i get to stay busy making copies of movies and cds and whatnot for everyone (..and myself). i've learned how to be someone's assistant.. which is what i'll probably do when i get out of here until i can get my management company on its feet (lets hope).
The ballet is finally kicking out some new recordings. www.myspace.com/theballet has a few new songs off of the live cd they got recorded at the Redstone Room in Davenport, IA. They are thinking about moving to the twin cities next year, and we're wanting to get a 5-bedroom house in minneapolis for all of us. that will be good for everyone. i think the ballet has what it takes to be a popular indie rock band. i think they are just realizing it too.
Julie Moffitt is great. she's organized and up until now has done SO much on her own. it's great being able to help her out with booking and promotion where i can. i'm currently helping her book 2 dates in winnipeg, and with some press for upcoming shows. maybe something more will come of this relationship in the future, but i don't know that she really needs a manager at this point because she's pretty steady on her feet. she's got a lot on her plate right now though, so maybe i'll be able to do more for her in the future. she has an EPK at www.sonicbids.com/juliemoffitt2.
i'm in the process of inviting people to our intern wrap party at the house of blues, which i'll be a part of helping put together. i'm getting together with charley tomorrow to discuss some of these things, as well as my future in the biz. she seems to know what's up so hopefully i can get some good advice and some more direction from her.
i'll give you another update later this week!
peace and love
amanda p.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
sorry for the delay.
life has been a little crazy. i think i was depressed for awhile there. but, after something as simple as spending an afternoon with debbie sandridge and the other interns, i felt so much better.
debbie got in on thursday.
i didn't see her then, or on friday for that matter. i wanted really badly to go out on friday, but then ended up just staying at home by myself. being sad. it was the five finger death punch cd release party, and brian was going to go with me but then when he flaked, i decided it wasn't worth it. i should have gone.
saturday i got calls from Debbie and Charlie, the new LA rep for mcnally smith. after passing warner brothers studios (and seeing the famous WB water tower!) we met at ribs USA, and brian and i got there before everyone else. a minute later though, Charlie showed up and we got to talk to her for a good 20 minutes before everyone else arrived, which was nice. we like her. we all put on our "I (heart) ribs" bibs, but i crossed out the heart. i had a salad.
following our late lunch/early dinner, we drove up to the spot where everyone takes pictures in front of the hollywood sign. we would have gotten closer, but we didn't feel like hiking up the side of a mountain. we took a lot of fun pictures, some of which i will be posting...
after dropping brian off and heading home, i uploaded all of our pictures onto my computer and then went to debbie's hotel where i met up with her and the other interns (minus brian) and we picked out our favorite pictures. debbie decided it was then time to go shopping at sephora in the beverly center, but it was closed. so we went to macy's instead and debbie bought some new shoes, including a pair for me :)
sunday i worked in the morning.
i was scheduled from 9am-2pm, but ended up getting off at 1 since it was really slow and there were a lot of us there. so naturally, i went to the beach. i met up with my friend steffen and we headed out to venice, evenutally meeting up with ashley and her friend and going to the drum circle. we did some chilling though, laying out and swimming in the ocean. how was it? salty. a little chilly, but nice. then steffen came over when he dropped me off to tune my terribly out-of-tune guitar. woot.
yesterday, migraine city. my least favorite place to visit. it started right after i got to work, got bad, and i went home, aching and nauseous. i went back to bed for awhile, watched some episodes of the office, and that was about it. brian called me after he got off and we went to harry potter. it was really good.
today i'm still achey. my eyes still hurt and my stomach isn't quite back to normal but it'll fade.
maybe pinkberry will help.
<2amanda p.
debbie got in on thursday.
i didn't see her then, or on friday for that matter. i wanted really badly to go out on friday, but then ended up just staying at home by myself. being sad. it was the five finger death punch cd release party, and brian was going to go with me but then when he flaked, i decided it wasn't worth it. i should have gone.
saturday i got calls from Debbie and Charlie, the new LA rep for mcnally smith. after passing warner brothers studios (and seeing the famous WB water tower!) we met at ribs USA, and brian and i got there before everyone else. a minute later though, Charlie showed up and we got to talk to her for a good 20 minutes before everyone else arrived, which was nice. we like her. we all put on our "I (heart) ribs" bibs, but i crossed out the heart. i had a salad.
following our late lunch/early dinner, we drove up to the spot where everyone takes pictures in front of the hollywood sign. we would have gotten closer, but we didn't feel like hiking up the side of a mountain. we took a lot of fun pictures, some of which i will be posting...
after dropping brian off and heading home, i uploaded all of our pictures onto my computer and then went to debbie's hotel where i met up with her and the other interns (minus brian) and we picked out our favorite pictures. debbie decided it was then time to go shopping at sephora in the beverly center, but it was closed. so we went to macy's instead and debbie bought some new shoes, including a pair for me :)
sunday i worked in the morning.
i was scheduled from 9am-2pm, but ended up getting off at 1 since it was really slow and there were a lot of us there. so naturally, i went to the beach. i met up with my friend steffen and we headed out to venice, evenutally meeting up with ashley and her friend and going to the drum circle. we did some chilling though, laying out and swimming in the ocean. how was it? salty. a little chilly, but nice. then steffen came over when he dropped me off to tune my terribly out-of-tune guitar. woot.
yesterday, migraine city. my least favorite place to visit. it started right after i got to work, got bad, and i went home, aching and nauseous. i went back to bed for awhile, watched some episodes of the office, and that was about it. brian called me after he got off and we went to harry potter. it was really good.
today i'm still achey. my eyes still hurt and my stomach isn't quite back to normal but it'll fade.
maybe pinkberry will help.
<2amanda p.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
brainstorming
today i was assigned a project to brainstorm ideas for radio promotions for hawthorne heights. like... playing lazer tag with the band. i came up with a pretty decent list and sent it jaclyn's way (Nicki Loranger's assistant). She liked some of the ideas so hopefully they get used!
Also, the power went out today. luckily it was right around lunchtime so most people just went to lunch (that's what we did.. even though i didn't eat.. i brought lunch but took my break anyway).
I need music to function. Brian always tells me to turn it off. that makes me upset. he's like the mean brother i never had (i have a nice brother). well, that's not completely true, i love brian, he just gets on my nerves sometimes. i'm a little too chill for his super dramatic over-the-top ways.
I've been a little homesick i think. it's pretty lonely out here.. working all the time. i don't have time or a really good reason to make good friends. my roommates are great.. but i need some people around that like all the same things i do. i have my fingers crossed that my friend melanie will make it out here for a few days.. and i'm really, really glad that glen is coming out here to hang out with me. i'll be done with work and we can hang out and see the sights. i haven't seen my family in forever.. luckily they'll be home when i get there in august.
debbie is going to be here thursday! i'm excited to see her. we're all going out to eat and trekking up the hill to the hollywood sign (which i STILL haven't seen) with the new LA person for mcnally. luckily i don't have to work saturday. but, that just means i'll probably have to work all day sunday. my feet are dreading it. just 2 more weekends there!! phew. and only 2 1/2 more weeks here at the firm! weird.
brian is falling asleep at the desk next to me. we have barely an hour left and there's not much to do. oh nevermind, his head is up again. haha. ahh.
hopefully i have some more interesting stuff for you later this week.
peace out
amanda p.
Also, the power went out today. luckily it was right around lunchtime so most people just went to lunch (that's what we did.. even though i didn't eat.. i brought lunch but took my break anyway).
I need music to function. Brian always tells me to turn it off. that makes me upset. he's like the mean brother i never had (i have a nice brother). well, that's not completely true, i love brian, he just gets on my nerves sometimes. i'm a little too chill for his super dramatic over-the-top ways.
I've been a little homesick i think. it's pretty lonely out here.. working all the time. i don't have time or a really good reason to make good friends. my roommates are great.. but i need some people around that like all the same things i do. i have my fingers crossed that my friend melanie will make it out here for a few days.. and i'm really, really glad that glen is coming out here to hang out with me. i'll be done with work and we can hang out and see the sights. i haven't seen my family in forever.. luckily they'll be home when i get there in august.
debbie is going to be here thursday! i'm excited to see her. we're all going out to eat and trekking up the hill to the hollywood sign (which i STILL haven't seen) with the new LA person for mcnally. luckily i don't have to work saturday. but, that just means i'll probably have to work all day sunday. my feet are dreading it. just 2 more weekends there!! phew. and only 2 1/2 more weeks here at the firm! weird.
brian is falling asleep at the desk next to me. we have barely an hour left and there's not much to do. oh nevermind, his head is up again. haha. ahh.
hopefully i have some more interesting stuff for you later this week.
peace out
amanda p.
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