2013 was a big year for me. I knew it at the time, but looking back it is even clearer. That was the year I experienced music in a whole new way – from behind the stage.
I was in college and had joined a club called Maverick Productions at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. As an organization, MavPro was in charge of a large budget of student fees, and we used that money to host events for students. These events ranged from free food, tie-dye events, homecoming week, and more, but most notably, live music events. The first concert I helped plan was Andy Grammer and Parachute. Both were on tour together and we found a time for them to stop through Omaha and perform at a local venue for our college.
While Andy Grammer was here, he had booked a few stops at our local radio stations. I should mention that MavPro had a new advisor that year, important factor in this experience. So Andy had these radio station gigs, and we were to provide transportation for him. We also would be providing transportation for the band Parachute, as their hotel was a little bit away from the school. So we booked these rented vehicles for the day. Our new advisor apparently didn’t realize you have to be 25 to rent a car and college students are typically not 25 yet. She didn’t notice until we went to pick up the vehicles. I think only one person was 25 in our organization. So, what was plan B? We were going to drive them in our personal cars. We scrambled to figure out what we would do. Once we decided to drive them ourselves, it was quickly decided that I would be one of the drivers. My car was clean and I knew my way well around town, so I got to drive Andy and his manager to the radio interviews and to the airport (for his manager). They were both incredibly nice and I learned a lot from driving them around town and chatting with them. The first radio station we went to was Q98.5, where he did a small show for some radio listeners. I remember the feeling I had so well. I don’t think I had ever been in a radio station before, and I remember walking the halls and taking in everything I saw. I met so many new people and I was interested in all of them and what role they played. They all seemed to have jobs I thought I would enjoy doing someday. I was quick to write all their names down so I could email them later. I loved the adrenaline I felt that day. We also stopped at iHeartMedia 96.1 KISS FM, where I would later intern and work as a promotions assistant. Andy met everyone there and sang just a song or two. I can’t remember exactly because I was again caught up getting everyone’s names. Montez was a host there then and we became quick friends. I also met Heath, who would later become my boss.
The planning for this show was something I thoroughly enjoyed. I love planning the logistics and I love solving problems, which we ran into many head on. I love the little errands and tasks we had to complete before the day of the show. I ran the errand to pick up everything we needed for the artist’s riders. We even bought couches and lamps to upgrade the green room in the venue. One of my best friends made the flier and I helped work on the marketing plan with him. Over time, I learned so much about InDesign and Photoshop through him. I also did physical work for this show, loading in and loading out, both things we needed for the venue and green room, and both act’s equipment, too. It’s always such a cool feeling when time flies even though you’re doing hard labor, but the post-show high gives you extra strength. We were pushing huge and heavy equipment outside in the harsh Nebraska winter, but that didn’t even bother us. I felt a sense of extreme enjoyment that whole day (and probably the whole day after, too).
This show sparked something in me, and I was hooked into music even more. I quickly had emails out to everyone I met, thinking I should work in radio. One host, Smalls, invited me to come tour and job shadow him one afternoon, after I emailed him. He later got me a job at that station as a boardroom operator. As the college semester changed, I reached out to Health to be an intern. He interviewed me and hired me. After my internship was over, I went on to become a radio promotions assistant, but we’ll go into my radio experiences in a later post. As I look back on this day, this is really where my love for live shows stemmed from. I’ve worked behind the scenes for other artists, other venues, other festivals, and we’ll get into all of it, but this is where and how it all started. I have never forgotten the adrenaline I felt on this day, and I doubt I ever will. I hope to continue working behind the scenes in some capacity and use my passion for music to help make live shows amazing and run smoothly.
Writing this post makes me so excited to start writing about the other experiences I’ve had, but I am going to work them in with my music posts, because I like a well-rounded blog. To be continued… !
The Hub Hayley 