Greetings from the Bolt Bus. As if I didn’t spend enough time on the Internet, they have wifi on the bus now. I played at the Bitter End last night in Manhattan, and before my slot, some youngsters played a set. The first was this mini Tori Amos-esque pixie named Jen, who had just turned 16, and after her was a supposed 15-year-old Jason Mraz-in-training who didn’t look a day over 12. At any rate—they were both exceptional. Nice chord changes, emotive voices, interesting lyrics, and solid time—and they haven’t even been to a prom yet. Could you imagine if you had all your songwriting credentials under your belt during those pimpled and awkward years of your life? You’d have a whole John Hughes soundtrack on your hands!

A poster in the john. Why not.

I love New York City. I would love to live there—but I’m speculating as to whether or not it would be a good move right out of the gate. On one hand—opportunity abounds and the pizza rules, but on the other—it’s full of thousands of mediocre bands that think they’re the next Kings of Leon (and have the denim, hair, and swagger to prove it). Also—rent is not terribly musician-friendly, which makes me lean towards somewhere like Nashville. Do you want to move somewhere you can live, and then focus on your career—or do you want to go somewhere to focus on your career, and just figure out a way to scrape by when you get there? Heads, Nashville. Tails, New York…

Thoughts like these make midterms seem trivial in a way—but then again, this is what we signed up for. Figuring out how to study for that exam in between rehearsals and gigs will soon become figuring out how to pay rent after you just splurged on those new speakers. But let’s face it: you needed those speakers, and the landlord’s a pushover anyway

Good luck, study hard, and bundle up.

Zac Taylor
Managing Editor

By Jehad Choate
Contributing Writer

Jehad is a second semester guitar principal.

How many of you made your life decision as an artist with no support? How many of you had to scrap every cent of milk money you had as a kid to buy your first guitar? How many of you had a girlfriend who was fed up with your late night gigs, or a mother who constantly thought you were on drugs (even on days when you weren’t) and ruining your life with art? I’ve been there before. The life of a true artist is walked shoeless on rough terrain. No matter how much you want to protect yourself from getting injured your constantly baring your self to critique, hoping for a knowing glance or a tapping toe for assurance. Read the full story

Happy October, chums. Settling into new classes? Practicing your Phrygian chops? Getting your winter wardrobe ready? Keeping away from the unruly Red Sox fans? Cool. Me, too.

You know what’s funny? Berklee bands tend to invite mainly/only other Berklee folks to their shows. Not to say that you shouldn’t invite your Harmony class—but it’s important to remember that Berklee kids are NOT the norm, but rather a snarky little subculture Read the full story

By Rebecca Perkins
Contributing Writer

When you graduate from Berklee, how are you going to get health insurance? This is a question I have asked myself since I started school here 6 semesters ago. I had been out of college for nearly 2 years and had been living without medical insurance, paying for prescriptions out of pocket, and relying on extended refills to avoid doctor visits. I had been afraid to go snowboarding with my girlfriend’s family in Australia because I knew if I were injured it could ruin my financial future. In fact, I thought about it every time I got in my car or rode my bike to the store.

Read the full story

Yet again, our media and politicians have fixated on a meaningless sound-bite as a way of marginalizing health-care as an important debate in this country. Two words, shouted by Republican Rep. Joe Wilson at President Obama during a speech to a joint session of congress, have become a touchstone in the national fight over healthcare: “You lie.” The outburst was sparked by Obama’s affirmation that his reforms would not apply to illegal immigrants. Wilson, who appeared to disagree with this, voiced his opinion and has taken over the news cycle for the past week. First he apologized to Obama and his chief of staff, Rahm Emmanuel, and then he refused to apologize on the house floor, after which he was officially “disapproved of” in a resolution voted on by the House.

Read the full story

Welcome back to school, my fellow music snobs. You may notice you’re reading this on a screen, as opposed to out of a newsstand, or off the restroom floor at the 1140 building—pretty neat, huh? Over the summer, we held some focus groups with students, faculty, and other people in the music/journalism realm, yielding hundreds of interviews to get some insight into what The Groove should be, and how we can be both relevant and vital to mainly the student body, but also the entire Berklee community. We couldn’t really do that with a biweekly print publication…

That’s where you come in. We’ve got this cool site now, so the vehicle is in place. We’re uploading the past several years onto our archive (The Groove was established in 1997, it’s going to take a while…), so you can scroll through old articles, leave comments, search for your band’s name, etc.

And as usual, we’re always reviewing shows, interviewing visiting artists and touring acts, and aggregating everything Berklee—but we need you to hip us to what’s going in your life, and your career. Bring us your CD so we can publish a review and you can post the link on your website. Tell us about your shows so we can add them to our calendar. We’d be happy to cover your endeavors, but if you want to buy an ad space, or know someone who does, click on the Advertising tab at the top of this page. Like I said—pretty neat.

Our office is located in the Student Activities Center. Come by and say hello, and I hope this semester is a productive and inspiring one for you.

~Zac Taylor

Managing Editor

By Zac Taylor
Editor-in-Chief

There’s a pesky epidemic sweeping the mobile community. It’s called mass-texting. Musicians and other shameless self-promoters will often drop the mass-text the day before, of, or after a show in an effort to “get people out.” Sometimes it’s your friend. Maybe it’s the girl from Harmony class. Often, it will be a random number and you have to ask someone, ‘What the heck is the area code 513?’ After years of being a notorious mass-texter myself, I have realized certain rules—nay—guidelines, that validate a sense of courtesy, and in a sense, strategy, in the implementation of the mass-text:

1. You’re allowed (1) mass text message for a gig.
   Forget about the two days before, one day before, morning of, or the classic “Hey! We’re starting in a bit! Head on over.” People know the game, and are short on patience as it is. Send the solitary mass-text on the day of the show as a reminder, and end the madness.
2. Be Succinct.
   In the past semester, I got a handful of mass-texts that were three messages in length. My cell phone went nuts—ding, ding, ding— and I made the mistake of thinking I was popular and/or loved by three separate friends. Nope. I was not only being invited to Poetry Slam, but also given specific details, and an elaborate emotional reflection of how much it would mean to the texting party if I showed up, and of course, the “C U there” tagline. OMG, texters. Here’s the format: Event/venue/time/sign off. Keep it to one message’s length, or even one screen’s length if applicable.
3. No ‘Thanks for Coming!’ mass-texts.
   Under no circumstance should you ever send the “Hey everyone. Thanks for coming out. It was a blast.” There are ways to disguise it (e.g. using ‘man’ or ‘dude’ instead of ‘everyone’) that will fool a handful of naïve Nokia users, but it’s still not recommended (It’s also a notorious Facebook inbox clogger. Put it as your status, and move on with your life).
4. Erase the ‘FWD:’ prefix.
   The one that is automatically added to most mobile devices upon forwarding a mass-text after you’ve reached your 10-contact quota. It doesn’t take long, and seasoned mass-texters appreciate the courtesy.
5. Lose the emoticons.
   If your LCD reads “Come see my band at TT’s tonight. We’re on at 10 =P,” does the little tonguey smiley guy make you want to come show your support that much more? No sir. It’s irksome even without the emoticon, and has the potential to lose friends if superfluously implemented.

Most of these guidelines are applicable for Facebook messages, MySpace invites, and other ways we like to “keep in touch.” You want people to come see your band. Most of them won’t, but you simply can’t afford to alienate the few that might actually come.

Got some more guidelines? Let us know at thegroove@berklee.edu, or leave a comment below.

By Amber Woodhouse
Contributing Writer

… Restored your soul, showed you that black music matters and in this past school year, gave you jazz as a language and culture.

Did you get a chance to chill with Mint Condition at the Loft in February? How about listen to Esperanza Spalding’s remarkable concert and open forum? Did you feel the warm grooves from the Caribbean Jazz concert? What you may not know is that these concerts, as well as many others throughout the year, are sponsored and produced by Africana Studies Music Programming.

The Africana Studies/Black Music Programming here at Berklee is a unique enterprise. Housed within the Liberal Arts Department, its primary focus is on the role of black music in American culture.

Launched in 2006, the Africana program has brought in many artists to Berklee including Sweet Honey in the Rock and Cornell West (“Black Music Matters” ‘07), George Duke (“Restore Your Soul” ’08), Mint Condition (“Jazz As Condition” ’09). From these visits, presentations, and clinics, the students were able to focus on the connections between scholarship, performance, cultural criticism, and music industry practices.

Africana Studies Music Programming is also unque because it gets the students up close and personal with many of the artists we bring in. How often do you hear about students getting to eat pizza and hang out with groups like Mint Condition, or ask Esperanza Spalding what life after Berklee is like?
Now, as the 4th season comes to a close, we are going out with a bang. In the month of April, there will be a symposium with guest speaker Bernice Johnson Reagan (featuring student singers and musicians directed by Renese King and Terri Lynne Carrington), as well as a gospel music symposium the Seattle Pacific University Gospel Choir.

If you thought this season was awesome, just wait for the spectacular season coming next fall! Roots and Reason: A celebration of American Roots Music.
To view our services, visit berklee.edu/africanastudies
To contact us, e-mail Lena Serpa (Department Coordinator for the Liberal Arts) at mserpa@berklee.edu

Amber Woodhouse is a fourth semester Tenor Saxophone principal from Saint Paul, MN studying Music Business-Management.