by Matt Baamonde.

Matt Baamonde

A lot of the fuel for my focus has come from a very unexpected source. I was never originally a fan of John Mayer, but when he came back to Berklee (Fall ’97, Spring ’98,) his clinic surprised and impressed me.

What he spoke about, both in terms of Berklee and music in general, was spot-on to what many of us needed to hear. His clinic was entitled, “Inspiration Information,” explaining that Berklee gave him, and should give us the information necessary to comprehend where we might fit best in the music industry. He expressed the importance of being completely honest with oneself and finding what your true niche is, and purpose in the music industry. He gave a very valuable speech and it gave me a new view on my last few semesters here at Berklee.

Classes have been exciting. My CWP major classes are giving me the opportunity to write music for visual and commercial purposes and I’ve discovered that much of my true talent is hidden there. It really took these last two semesters for me to discover that I am a writer more than anything else, and if I focus on maximizing that, to the best of my ability, then many positive events can help bring about the successful (and lucrative) future I’m looking towards.

I’ve also gotten together a project band and we are preparing for a Third Eye Blind cover “Caf Show,” (a student run concert performed in the Berklee cafeteria.) Third Eye Blind is one of the biggest reasons that I do music and one of the main influences on my desire to go to music school. It will be a great honor and a tremendous amount of fun for me to play their music. (Caf Shows don’t have to be cover bands, but they often attract more people and are easier to promote if they are.)

These shows have fully made me understand the lack of actual rehearsal space at Berklee. It's unfortunate, but one of Berklee’s major flaws is that there simply aren’t enough ensemble rooms available, and in order to a get room to practice with your band you have to wake up at 7 AM in order to wait in line in front of the Enesmble office until 8:30, when it opens to book your room. Get there later than 8 and you’ll be lucky to get wait-listed.

Still working with Jessica Mellott…I’ve recorded a few songs in the Berklee Studios that took a great amount of time and energy, considering we had to write and perform multiple takes, and then record overdubs. Once we get final versions from the mixing engineer I’ll upload them to Myspace, if you’d like to give them a listen.

One of my biggest focuses this year has been on starting my own freelance music writing business. Discussing this idea with my teachers, they’ve given me plenty of direction and tons of great information that will help get me ahead of my competition, of which, unfortunately, there is a lot. Once my website gets up and running I’ll pass the link along. I’ve had to register with ASCAP, and that has made this seem even more eminent.

One aspect of Berklee I’d yet to dive into was the BIRN, the Berklee Internet Radio Network, which features five main channels of news and music broadcasting. Two of my close friends, Mike Kindel and Mark Kilianski ran a late night show on the BIRN and I discussed with Mike and Mark some of the important points of this major and interesting aspect of Berklee life.

Interview with BIRN Hosts Mike Kindel and Mark Kilianski

Tell us a little about the BIRN and the opportunities available to current students.

Mike: There is a song by Tom Petty called “Last DJ,” depicting the end of the era in which DJs played what they felt like playing. The BIRN is unique in that iit s a no commercial/ independent Internet radio. Students that are interested in the BIRN attend weekly meetings and go through a training process of both equipment and on-air formalities.

Students can also submit their own music to DJs on the BIRN but ultimately the DJs retain full control of what’s played.

Mark: The experience of being a real live DJ is really cool, but the BIRN experience goes much further than just that. Like any radio station, there is a whole crew of people that aren't on the air and are just as seminal in the success of the station. Students interested in promotion and administration get a chance to get involved with that as well, so you can get every angle of the radio station thing with the BIRN.

What kind of positions are available to interested students?

Mike: Generally students come in hopes of getting a slot on the air. However, the BIRN is also a great place for people who are interested in radio and technology to gain experience. They learn to keep the equipment functional, organize training schedules, interview musicians and celebrities and learn promotion.

What was your radio show about and what kind of music did you play?

Mike: I sought out the BIRN because of the withdrawal from a local classic rock radio station from back home. Being a guitar player at Berklee, I was focused on improving my jazz chops, I lost touch with the classic rock roots I grew up with. I had met a fellow rocker along the way and ended up asking him if he would be interested in getting a classic rock and blues radio show together for the BIRN. It was a late night show and with the bar-style music that we played, the most fitting name was, “Last Call.” Towards the end of the semester we had built up quite a fan base and having the show online, friends from around the country were able to tune in to a little piece of home.

Every week we had prepared a “Top 6,” where we rated whatever we felt the theme of the week to be. We also tried to educate listeners about the bands, artists and songs that they were listening to. We played what we called a “double shot” of Led Zeppelin where we played two Zep tunes back-to-back somewhere within the two hour show.

Mark: Led Zeppelin is the best band ever, so we decided we needed to give the people a double-dose each week. One of my favorite things about the show was playing more obscure songs. As much as I love hearing the old favorites on classic rock radio, I think it's a real shame that they always play the same songs. I mean, I can't blame people for not liking Zep when all they ever hear is "Rock n' Roll" and "Black Dog" every time they turn on the radio. It was really awesome to show people sides of bands that they may have not heard before; I loved setting up a hard rockin' Zeppelin standby with one of their more folky or laid back songs that they don't play on the radio. You can tell I love Led Zeppelin. The best part of the job was listening to them.

Has the experience taught you anything valuable?

Mike: Everyone at the BIRN is typically extraverted and friendly. I think it’s got to do with being on the air every week and developing the ‘radio voice’. One of the worst things to have in radio is dead air and my time on the BIRN definitely helped me eliminate that as much as possible. The BIRN taught me public speaking skills and polished my vocabulary to keep people listening and entertained. You have to be quick on your feet and know how to improvise since there is no “script.”

Mark: Having to think on the fly was crucial, and made it a lot of fun. Sometimes, I would just start talking and as I was going, I would get more and more excited, and by the time I introduced the next song, I was saying ridiculous things and just about ready to jump through the ceiling. It goes to show you that you can feed off your own energy, and you get out of something at least as much as you put into it.

Did preparing and working on the show demand a lot of your time and energy?

Mike: Getting ready for each episode was pretty time consuming, however the research we did for the show and planning the Top 6 was all fun. A lot of our friends that tuned in really enjoyed what we gave to them, and hearing positive feedback during and after the shows was a good motivator to keep coming up with new material for them. We learned a lot ourselves from it as well.

Mark: It did take a lot of time and energy to make sure we had enough material for the show. That's the main reason I decided to put it down. Despite the fact that I loved doing it, I realized that I would have less and less time in coming semesters, and if I wanted to keep up with school and my own music, I couldn't spend the hours every week getting ready for the show. But, then again, I'm not fantastic at time management, so if you're good at that, or if you see yourself working in a situation like that after college, then it's an awesome thing to do. If not, in can be a fun extra thing for a couple semesters.

Overall do you recommend the BIRN to incoming students?

Mike: Yes. Not only does it look good on a resume that you worked in radio, but you also develop a strong and articulate voice and in this industry that is really invaluable. The people at the BIRN are great to work with and the new studios are amazing. It’s a great place to get the music you like and even your own music heard.

Mark: It was an absolutely fantastic experience. I am definitely going to look back on it as one of the highlights of my time at Berklee. It was so awesome to just go in and play sweet tunes and shoot the breeze with my buddy Mike every week. It was like a Wednesday night party that made the week ten times cooler. And like Mike said, it's a great thing to put on a resume or just to tell anyone to impress them. Like if you meet a girl and you're like "Hey, I'm Mark. I play guitar and have my own radio show," you're gonna get some right there on the spot, every time, without fail. If you have any interest in doing it, I say pursue it, and definitely do it with a friend because it makes it ten times as fun. Mike n' Mark Last Call!!!

Thanks to Mark and Mike for this information. To find out more about the Berklee Internet Radio Stations, please visit HERE. There are 5 BIRN Channels that focus on student recordings, alumni recordings, and a lot more. Check it out for yourself!

Bio:

Mike Kindel is a fourth semester student at Berklee majoring in Music Business and Guitar Performance. His favorite artists include Led Zeppelin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Eric Johnson.

Mark Kilianski is a guitar player, composer, and songwriter currently based in Boston, MA (with occasional stints in the NY/NJ area). He plays and writes music that spans many genres, including classic and contemporary Rock, Jazz, Pop, Bluegrass, Irish, Old-Time, Singer-songwriter, Funk, Texas Swing, Metal, and any possible combination of those and other genres. He is available to write or play music for any type of ensemble, and also has considerable experience playing bass, piano, harmonica, and ukelele.

All the best,

Matt Baamonde