Berklee Blogs

First-hand accounts of the Berklee experience

Tag: hip-hop/gospel

hip-hop/gospel

Schooled in Groove

To many musicians, the groove is the basis of all that we do. It’s the feel; the groove moves us. As we wrapped up the last day of the Berklee Groove School program at the new campus in Valencia, the groove was in full effect.

2012 groove school dance

George Russell, Jr. wants you to feel the groove. So, get up and dance!

I do not think the students had any idea what pianist, composer and professor of harmony at Berklee George Russell, Jr. had in mind when he asked the group to get up out of their chairs and start to get their bodies in motion. The result put the icing on the cake of this 4-day program by making the students do what they had been studying over the long weekend. Shake it, baby! 

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Manuel Urgiles: Take Advantage of Your Internship

Interning at an independent hip-hop record label has given me an understanding of the nuts and bolts of a music company. I had the opportunity to view its infrastructure and there was so much going on at a very fast pace. On a typical day I was working on a newsletter to email out to 400 people, emailing singles to a couple hundred blogs, writing press releases and acquiring new fans through the internet.

In the first few weeks I was introduced to numerous social media platforms that I had not heard of before, such as Mailchimp, Brandchirp and ArtistData, which seem to be essential for getting the word out. There was also a tremendous amount of interaction with people inside and outside of the label, which gave me the opportunity to meet new people in different fields. I met producers, graphic designers, computer programmers, singers, and so many more. So what does one do when presented with so much?

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Faith and gospel leads teen to Boston from Robert Johnson Blues Showcase

Crystal Springs is more then 200 miles south of Clarksdale.  It is 10 miles north of Hazlehurst, where Robert Johnson was born.  A grandson of the most legendary Delta blues musician is Steven Johnson.  He and his family make their home here.  Steven’s father, Claude, Robert Johnson’s son, and his mother live close by.  At one time, Steven was a teacher at the Crystal Springs High School, where he also attended.  He is now vice president of the Robert Johnson Blues Museum and Foundation.  The storefront museum is in the Crystal Springs historic district.  Among its items is an upright piano that a local resident donated after a family member admitted seeing Robert Johnson play it.

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