A Couple of Pics from the Island

These are some pictures from the bus tour we took.  This is from Aquinna, one of the five sections on the island.  I live in West Tisbury.

Interesting fact: In the picture below, the "rock" at the point of the beach is actually an old barricade used during WWII (or something like that).  Either way, the beach is eroding very fast, so no one besides the original Indians who settled here can use any of the clay.

The First Reaction

We had the first performance in which all the artists performed two songs last night and it was really fun.  In the program, there are artists and executives, the latter including myself.  Classes are very interesting as well.  In my first class we talked about how the church tries to compete with the movie we saw the night before and how it is not working.  He used an example of how he went to one of the arena churches and how their church actually was amazing.  It was phenomenal musicians, production, preaching.  Then the preacher brought out an elephant onto stage and he couldn't help but sit there and think "how the heck did they get an elephant? How much did they pay for that elephant? How do you ship an elephant? Does it crap everywhere?".  He said everyone else would be returning for the next 51 weeks, but that he was bothered that the mission of the church was to be just as sensory overloaded as the media we watch/see/listen to.  This all happened after he opened class with an intense, suspense short film with guns shooting at cars and suspense built up to the high heavens.  He incorporated this into a short book that he is sending us by way of an electronic copy.  Its neat though, because there is no teachers making you do your homework, grade your assignments, etc.  Learning is all done if you desire too.  As my teacher said, "Frankly, we've removed the bullsh**".  Welp, I like it and I'm learning more than ever before.

Anyways, the rest of the morning was spent critiquing the artists performances from the night before.  We sat in the upstairs of the lodge (for exec's only) where there are 12 leather chairs, some beautiful wood grained tables, and some sweet lighting.  I liked a lot of the acts of the night, which is good news because our next big assignment as executives is to sign an artist.  This means that we have to convince the artists to actually sign a legal document that says we will be their manager for the next few months.  We will then do all the actual things that an artist's manager does: advise, administer, direct, handle, arrange, engineer, govern, regulate, guide, lead, mastermind, positively exploit, promote, and be their quarterback (words tweaked from our class handout).  For the first two weeks we spend an hour and a half every afternoon learning the different equipment, how to handle it, and how to use it. Everything.  And this stuff is SICK nasty. Yesterday was Studio A (the main studio) and ProTools while today was about speakers, cables, monitors, etc (more live stuff).  For the evening, we finally have some extra free time so I may try and play a little guitar, read, surf the internet, or jump in a studio with someone and start at it.

God is teaching me a lot through the other students here, through my profs, and connecting a lot of thoughts that Kelly has tried to communicate for a long time.  Hanging out with artists all day is definitely going to help me understand her little artsy butt.  I miss her, my family, and friends, but right now I'm definitely still loving living on the island.

Pictures/Video of the island and the campus to come soon.  Check out the article as a nice challenge for us followers of Christ.

http://leftofzen.com/quotes-atheism/2008/01/14

Getting Ready To Go...

So I've begun the packing process.  I said my goodbyes to Geneva and am ready to live on the island.  I am not really nervous about the experience or fitting in or any of those things, but mostly in how much "stock" I am putting into this school.  Just like every other graduate, I would like to have a job when I graduate.  Because of this, I am hoping/praying that the Contemporary Music Center will be able to provide opportunities for me that I would have never been able to get.

Everyone I talk to asks what I am going to do at the school.  I make up some nonsense about music production or music business stuff, but in reality, I do not even know what I am going to be doing.  I do know, however, that I am extremely excited to see what it is going to be like and find out what I am going to learn about.  The other cool thing is that even if I cannot get a job from the CMC, I still have a business degree with a concentration in marketing completed from Geneva, so I feel like I am leaving myself some good options.  I definitely have a peace about it all and I can honestly say that I think God is going to take care of all the details I have coming on my plate in the next few months.

Well that is it for now.  My next update will likely be from the island.  I plan to use this blog to let everyone know how I am doing, what I am learning, and if I am surviving the cold (which my mother is 10 times more concerned about than I am - come on I'm a Minnesota-born boy!).  See yah my peeps!