Local students to learn business side of music
Friday, January 19, 2007
As a teenager growing up in the Portland suburbs, Andrew McKeag knew he wanted to play in a band. But the "business" part of the music business was something he understood little about.
That's why McKeag, touring guitarist for The Presidents of the United States of America, the lively Seattle pop-rock group, will be speaking to students today about his other job: booking agent for the Tractor Tavern.
His presentation is part of a Grammy Career Day, a program designed to educate more than 1,000 high school students about various job opportunities in the music industry.
The event is at the Seattle Center for the first time. It previously was staged with half the number of students at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma.
"I love hearing what kids are up to," McKeag said. "It's the kind of thing I'd love to be at if I was their age."
The program features 14 workshops, each presented by a music industry professional, on everything from writing songs and producing records to scoring films and creating album artwork.
The opening panel includes McKeag's band mate, bassist Chris Ballew, and bassist Nick Harmer of Death Cab for Cutie, a Seattle band that recently received two Grammy Award nominations.
"Seattle has a strong, active band base and a lot of venues, a lot of recording studios, a lot of different areas that kids can get involved in," Harmer said.
Most young people "don't realize that if they love music and are not necessarily great musicians, that there are careers available without them being on stage," said Ben London, executive director of the Pacific Northwest chapter of The Recording Academy, the organization that produces the Grammy Awards.
"The more we can open the eyes of young people here and get them involved in the music business here, the better it is long term for our music community," he said. "They don't have to necessarily retreat to Los Angeles or New York or Nashville."
London's chapter organized the career day and offers other industry-related programs for young people, including taking students to sound checks before concerts by such performers as Kanye West and Aerosmith.
Costs for career day are underwritten by the Gibson Foundation, a Nashville, Tenn.-based organization that supports the arts, education and other causes.
Schools are not charged for attending the program, and special consideration is given to schools whose music budgets were cut.
Among the attendees will be Callum Dickson, 15, and Daniel Bacon, 18, current and former students, respectively, in Rock School, a non-profit program for aspiring musicians that is housed at BEST High School in Kirkland and Center High at the Seattle Center.
Dickson, who plays guitar and synthesizer in a progressive/alternative band called A Velvet Affinity, said that his knowledge about the music business so far has come "just from experience. Booking agents trick you into believing you're headlining, but you're playing at 10:45 at night.
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Bacon, a guitar, bass and keyboard player, said he learns best by working with other musicians.
Earlier in his career, Ballew said he gained insight from "punk rock shows where the feeling is, 'you can do this, too,' and not 'we're better than you.' "
The career day is intended to build on that theme.
Death Cab for Cutie "always has been about being the same people on stage and off stage," Harmer said. "I'm more than happy to pull the curtain back on Oz, so to speak, and get down to the mechanics of what it's like to be in a band day to day.
"I really like it when kids are curious.
Sometimes on the street, someone will come up and say, 'You're totally cool, you're lucky.' But there's a level of discipline and work."
Learn about Grammy Career Day by calling The Recording Academy's Pacific Northwest chapter at 206-834-1000.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Learn about Grammy Career Day by calling The Recording Academy's Pacific Northwest chapter at 206-834-1000.
Keywords: Career Day, Recording Academy, Pacific Northwest, Grammy Career Day, Grammy Career, High School, Seattle Center, Death Cab
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