What did you learn from your first week at your internship? Did anything surprise you? Who did you meet and what did they do? Did you engage in any code switching?
From my first week at 7th Circle I learned how to use the sound board and what all the different buttons do and how when the bands are playing you can change the volume for each mic (Kick drum,snare,bass etc.) according to how well you can hear each thing and how it mixes with the other instruments or vocals. I also learned how to work door and the protocol for counting the money and putting wristbands on people who are over 21.
Something that surprised me during my first week was how laid back everybody was. Such as my boss Aaron Saye going in I thought I would talk to him more like a boss but he was really cool and I can talk to him more like I would talk to a friend. Also while talking to people attending the show I thought I would talk to them like customers and I would have to use my customer service voice but most of the people I would talk to normally and some people I even had full conversations with.
During my first week on my first day Aaron wasn’t there so I first met Jacob who was working door with me that day. On my second day Aaron was there so I worked sound with him and I also met Alex who was on door for that day. On my third day I met Perry and Paul who were on door with me that day. All of the people I have met so far have been incredibly welcoming and I love the conversations we have while on door we really get to know each other.
During my first week I did somewhat engaged code switching because like I said earlier the whole venue is very laid back and you can talk to them more like friends rather than co-workers. Also while talking to people attending the show I could chat with them like I would with friends.
Blog 2:
What is the best thing that happened this week at your internship? How did it makes you feel? What else makes you excited about your internship?
The best thing that happened to me this week was working sound with Aaron because the show I was working sound for was really unique. I had never heard anything like it before. It was kind of like electronic but once again it was really unique. At one point during the show one of they guys brought out some angel food cake for the crowd to eat. Not only was the music unique but the whole stage presence and the act they had was unique.
This made me feel really inspired because I would also really like to make music that has an electronic feel and seeing a group as unique as them makes me feel like I can make some really cool unique stuff too. It also makes me feel excited because I would like to be really experimental with my music so I can introduce the world to music they’ve never heard before.
Something else that makes me excited about my internship is how many connections I’ve started to create. I’ve met so many people that are just as passionate about music as I am. The other day I was working door with a guy named Josh and he was telling me about how he really wants to be a rapper and he showed me a bunch of beats that he made. Right there is a great connection to have because later on I might need someone to collab on a beat with it’s also a great connection to have because like I said earlier it’s cool to talk to people who are just as passionate about music as I am because I would never be able to talk to any of my friends about how each beat fits together or how wavy or sick a beat is.
Blog 3:
How do your actions affect your workplace? Do you contribute positively? How do your co-workers actions affect your internship? Which co-workers are you connecting with?
My actions affect my workplace because at 7th there is BYOB which means that people can bring their own alcohol. Since people are bringing alcohol I have to make sure I wristband people who are older than 21 and put X’s on people younger than 21. It’s really important that I do this because if there were to be underage drinking the whole venue could get in a lot of trouble.
I think that I do contribute positively because every time I’m in the house on door I play music and each time I do people always say that I play the perfect house music. I think this is a good thing because good music always brings positive vibes.
My co-workers are also volunteers like me because 7th is run on volunteers so their actions affect my internship just like mine because they do all the same things that I do such as IDing people.
The co-workers that I’m connecting with are any of the people I’m on door with for the night. While working on door there isn’t a lot to do when people aren’t there to be wristbanded , so it gives me a lot of time to talk to and connect with my co-workers. I think that it’s really fun to be on door with new people because each person I’ve been on door with has showed me some really cool new music.
Blog 4:
What are you responsible for at your workplace? What do you think is your main contribution to your worksite? What do your day to day duties look like?
I am responsible for making sure people who are over 21 get wristbands and people younger than 21 get X’s. I am also responsible for opening the gate so the bands can load in all their gear and then I have to stand there so no body sneaks through there because everyone had to go inside the house to get wristbands or X’s. While working sound I’m responsible for setting up mics and I’m still working on working the sound board by myself.
I think that my main contribution to my work site is working the door because that’s the thing I’ve done the most while I’ve been interning there. But while working sound I think that my main contribution would be setting up the mics.
Some of my day to day activities include counting the bank because the bank is always supposed to have $100 and then I write which bands are performing on the white board. I also choose the wristband colors for the night. Then throughout the night I collect donations and check ID’s as well as opening the gate so bands can load in and out. At the end of the need I usually help clean up the courtyard and inside the house.
Blog 5:
How do you feel your internship is going so far? What are the highlights and “lowlights”? Do you feel like you are making connections with your co-workers? What can you do to improve your experience?
I feel like my internship is going really well so far. Some highlights would be my co-workers because all the people that work there are really down to earth and super into music and it’s really easy to vibe with all of them. Another highlight would be working sound, I love to work sound because it’s really cool to see all of the different bands that play there all the way from punk to rap. Some lowlights would be that even though I am meeting a bunch of cool people while I’m on door sometimes it can be boring because there isn’t a lot to do when there aren’t people waiting to donate or when the gate needs to be opened for bands to load in.
I feel like I am making connections with my co-workers because I have already met a lot of people that make beats which is something I want to do, so it’s cool because I can talk to them about music in a more complex way then I would do with other people that don’t really know a lot about music or beats.
Something I can do to improve my internship experience is to take more initiative while I’m working sound because I still don’t really have the hang of it but I think that’s because I’m kind of scared to like mess up a show. But something I can do to resolve this is to take more risks and to put myself out there more while I’m working sound.
Blog 6:
How do people at work treat you? How does it make you feel? If you have an intern one day will you treat them the same? What have you learned so far from your co-workers and sponsor?
People at work treat me like every other volunteer. When we’re on door together we talk about music or other random things but sometimes I’ll be in door with someone who doesn’t really talk to me so it kind of boring sometimes because I just sit there sometimes but I also get to listen to music so it’s okay.
People at work make me feel like I can really do something within the music industry because I see them doing so many great things and all of them are just like me so it gives me hope that I’ll be able to do it one day too. They also make me feel like I belong because they are all really welcoming and none of them are the slightest bit judgmental.
If I have an intern one day I would treat them the same because Aaron is really good about letting me choose the things I want to do because he says that he wants me to get out as much as I want from the internship and I would want the same for my intern, I would want them to learn the things that they wanted to learn.
So far I have learned from Aaron and from my co-workers that to have a successful venue and to be able to book shows you need to have connections. One day I was on door with Becca and she was talking about how people were upset because they couldn’t get some bands to play a show but when Aaron asked them they were down to play. This is because Aaron had those connections with the band. This really made me realize that communication with people and making good connections and just being nice to people is one of the best ways you can make it in the industry because if you are nice people are going to be willing to play a show for you or help you to produce some music and even if you make connections outside of the music industry they may be able to help you with something like a logo for your own band.
Blog 7:
What is the difference between working on personal art projects and working in a creative business? What have you learned about working in a creative business?
The difference between working on personal art projects and working in a creative business is that when you’re working on personal art projects you can do whatever you want and you don’t have to really need to listen to other people’s opinions even though you should listen to feedback so you can improve your art but if you don’t it doesn’t matter because it’s your own art and not a group project. While when you work in a creative business you have to collaborate with other people on and you have to listen to the opinions of other people even if you don’t necessarily agree with their opinion of the art work or with their ideas
While working in the creative business I have learned that to be successful you need to collaborate with others because if you don’t then things start to fall apart. For example for 7th circle we have a Facebook group for the people that volunteer there and sometime not enough people sign up for shows so when that happens people work together to try and figure out how we are going to get the show to work out. Something else that I have learned is that you have to have good connections with people in order to get further in the business because in the industry everyone is connected in some way so if you burn bridges you may not be able to make it further in the industry.
Blog 8:
How is your internship project going? Describe the progress of your project. How did the conversation about your project go with your sponsor? Did they have good insight into how to improve or expand the project? How does your project bridge what you do at your internship and you like to create for yourself? Has your relationship with your sponsor evolved as you have engaged in a dialogue about your project? Are there any challenges you are experiencing planning or doing your project?
My internship project is going good because I feel like I have learned a lot more about working the sound board because first going in I had absolutely no clue how to work it but I have come to find out it’s not super hard to do.
The conversation with my sponsor went good. He did have good insight because he told me how I can work sound whenever as long a feel comfortable doing it and that I shouldn’t have to work sound in a high pressure environment so I feel like that eased some of my worries I had about doing my project. But he also just told me that I should do what I want to do for my project so that gave me a lot of room to make it really personalized
What I did for my project and what I do at my internship went hand in hand because at 7th one of the main roles is to work sound for shows so what I did for my project of running sound by myself pretty much aligned with what I do there.
I feel like my relationship with my sponsor has somewhat evolved because since thee beginning it has always been super easy to talk to him because he’s literally the nicest guy ever so while working on my project it has only made me more comfortable with sharing my creative ideas with him and with just being able to talk to him as a friend and colleague.
The only challenge I’ve really had during my project is the fact that I don’t want to mess up show because that would be embarrassing but after talking with my sponsor Aaron a lot of the anxieties have gone away. Also I’ve had a challenge with managing my time with it because of school and all the other things I have going on but I have been able to complete my project anyhow.
Blog 9:
What have you seen or experienced in your internship that has inspired you the most on your own artistic journey? Has this experience changed your artistic ambitions?How?
Something that I have experienced that has inspired me the most on my artistic journey is being around other people who are just as passionate if not more passionate than I am about music. Also seeing people who are successful in the music industry has inspired me. This has inspired me because the fact that people who are passionate about music have actually made an income from having a career in the music industry shows that it really is possible to make a career out of music.
I feel like this experience has somewhat changed my artistic ambitions because I now I feel like I have a better idea as to what I want to do in the music industry whereas before I had no idea what I wanted to do.
Blog 10: