Brian J. Casey

This last week Mr. Brian J. Casey came into the class to discuss his company called "In The Groove". The company is known for making music for ads that have to do with alcohol, sports, movies and internet websites. Brain has earn a degree in music composition at St. Thomas and is one of my writers at the company. He says he likes his job because he says it allows him to think outside the box and make music for sorts of different situations.

$$$$$Money Matters

Money matters to everyone in the world; and people all have something in common with money. That common thing is the need for money. We need money to eat, sleep, to put clothing on our backs and we need it as musicians to enhanced our creative needs as well. I feel that as i have gotten older and more mature i will spend my money more wisely and think about how i choose to spend it.

Kareem's internet

Kareem taught me so much on how to use the internet and why it is so important for a musician to to know that there is so much available out there as far getting exposer for your music. Kareem has basically made a living out of using the internet for social media uses; he has helped many other people start business and works with companies that need guidance in getting their businesses on the internet. Kareem also talked about how important Google is and how much use you can get out of one website. Google has many options to choose from; Kareem liked how you have the ability to save your information in the sites "documents" application and how many product it has for people to stay in contact with you.

Johnny Bunko and Art & Fear

  After reading Johnny Bunko i looked forward to the class discussion about the book or you could say comic book. Many of my fellow classmates agreed that the book touch on a lot of subjects that we as musicians often talk about; for instances how can we balance having a creative lifestyle but still understanding that we have day jobs and we need that money to support our creative lifestyle. Art & Fear was also an interesting read and discussion. The book asked you really good questions to ask yourself and when you self assessed them i found that i have asked my self these questions before and have'd wonder if i will ever make as a musician and fearing that my art will not be liked. The book also talked about how to get through those stages of thought and how you become a better person by letting go of those negative thoughts.

Dessa's Words of wisdom

This last week I had the honor of having one of my favorite artist of all time come in to my CALM class to discuss had to get yourself or your band media attention. She give my class great advice as to where to start with the media and how you go about it . She first talked about how press release kits should be shot always at shoulder height because if the picture needs to be smaller the viewer will still see the band. Next, she discuss how to get people to come to your shows and figuring out what to offer the person you want to help you. Lastly, she discuss how knowing what the publisher's and newspapers main writers are key because they can determine if your music should be put in the article and why the people should come see your act.

Sean McPherson Discussion

Hey Everybody,
Last week Sean McPherson the bassist for Heiruspecs and band leader of Dessa; drop by to give my class some insight on the music business and shared some valuable experience's that have had happen to him in his career. Sean talked about how valuable networking is and why we should go to shows. Sean says," that the more you network and tell people about your musical projects and gaining information on other musician will help you get work. He discuss a great deal on how contracts work and why you should have somebody that you can trust to handle your business; Sean says that it is really easy to have your music fall into the wrong hands which can lead to many bad business relationships some where down the road. Sean also said to figure out your weak points when networking because the weak points could become a bad part of you networking system.