by Matt Baamonde.

Matt Baamonde

To start with, my band is preparing to play two new shows. One will be broadcast live on TV on Friday, April 4th, and the other, which still needs to be confirmed, will take place at the end of the month, where we should be opening for a very well known band at another college.

Preparing for the TV show and an arena gig is quite an experience. I’ve had to purchase equipment, (most of which is extremely expensive,) assemble frequent practice sessions, memorize and sync full songs with the other band members and even get new clothes to give the band a somewhat unified look.

My new rig and setup will include an Ibanez Jem guitar running into a Boss TU-2 chromatic tuner and into a Peavey JSX amplifier. But, I also have to remember things like earplugs, guitar cables, picks, a tool kit for emergency last minute repairs and all the other accessories and back-up gear in case something breaks beyond repair.

Needless to say, I’m very excited. I'm also a little nervous about these shows. These gigs are happening before we are really ready to market ourselves. We don’t have a website, any marketing materials (like a CD!), etc., and a lot of legal stuff may have to get worked out quickly. So, while this is all exciting, some stuff is stressful.

School has been very fulfilling. I made the Dean’s List again and was the recipient of a very prestigious Berklee Award, called the Peter Kaleta Award for Music Preparation, for 2008. This award involves rearranging a well-known song, writing out all the charts, including multiple horn parts and vocal harmonies. The competition is open to all students and I was stunned and deeply honored to be the winner, since I know how good my many of my fellow students are. It carries a one-time cash award that will certainly help pay some of my bills.

I am also hoping this will help me attain a Berklee Achievement Scholarship. With so many amazing guitarists at the school, it can be extremely difficult to get money. Other instruments definitely have it easier in this respect. I'm fortunate to have several strong advocates at the school who believe my body of work to be worthy, and whom have been mentoring me regarding my application. I need the money to offset some of the huge expenses that colleges require these days and because the scholarship money is recurring for as long I maintain my GPA above a minimum level. I might be able afford to pursue my goal of double-majoring.

New this year was the requirement for applicants to create a personal Berklee Music webpage at www.berkleemusic.com. I feel my application is strong, with letters of recommendation from two departmental Chairs, the Chair of the Guitar Department, the Chair of the Contemporary Writing and Production Department, plus several instructors and a world renowned guitarist and teacher. It was fun creating the website and I hope it is good enough. I could definitely use the money, would love to add this scholarship to my resume, and want to continue to take the classes that interest me in both majors. Fingers crossed…

Berklee had another good year at the Grammy Awards, with 13 awards won, 10 by alumni (including Quincy Jones’ 28th win!) and three by current faculty members. This was the 50th Grammy Award ceremony and Berklee alumni alone have accounted for 162 awards over the years.

Spring break was much needed this year. It was great to get home, touch base, get some home cooking, negotiate with the parents about some of the equipment I need for my upcoming gigs, see friends, relax a little, etc. I also sold some old gear and guitars on eBay to help with the finances.

I've been back at Berklee for a week now and it seems like I never left.

School has been keeping busy. Classes like Writing for Small Ensemble, Ear Training 4, and the Traditional classes have been taking up most of the spare time have left. I wouldn’t trade it for anything though! The sheer amount of fun and knowledge is so rewarding that I just know it’s hard to get better than this!

Next month I’ll give an update on how the shows went and I’ll return to my teacher reviews. If anyone out there has any questions about Berklee life please feel free to email me!

Hope everyone has a great April!

-Matt
(Baazar)