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Culminating
Experience
Thesis:
Reflective
Paper
Operational
Project
“The
A69s”
Daniel
Omphroy
Global
Entertainment
and
Music
Business
Master
of
Arts
July
2014
1
The
original
idea
for
my
culminating
experience
was
to
manage,
brand
and
market
a
band
to
successfully
obtain
consistent
gigs
by
networking
with
clients,
promoters
and
venues
both
in
Spain
and
internationally.
The
goal
was
to
assess
the
demand
and
market
potential
for
a
live
performance
band
and
to
measure
the
success
of
a
multinational
group
in
an
international
market.
I
also
hoped
that
the
band
would
increase
the
exposure
of
Berklee
College
of
Music
and
its
musicians
in
Valencia,
throughout
Spain
and
abroad.
The
outcome
was
a
band
named
“The
A69s”.
Comprised
of
an
international
line-‐up
of
Berklee
musicians
in
the
Master's
program
we
became
a
group
dedicated
to
funk,
blues
and
having
a
good
time.
My
strategy
was
to
have
the
band
perform
a
variety
of
popular
and
danceable
songs
in
various
styles
so
that
any
audience
can
enjoy
our
high-‐energy
shows.
Initially
it
was
my
idea
to
form
a
band
as
a
side
project
while
in
school
to
help
me
to
continue
to
build
my
performance
skills
and
managerial
experience.
I
came
to
the
conclusion,
however,
that
the
band
would
be
best
suited
as
my
Culminating
Experience
for
a
Master’s
in
Global
Entertainment
and
Music
Business
from
Berklee
College
of
Music,
Valencia
Campus
because
the
project
includes:
Marketing,
Branding,
Live
Performance,
Promotion,
Production
and
many
other
important
facets
that
can
directly
be
applied
to
my
studies.
In
order
to
first
facilitate
the
creation
of
a
general
business
band,
I
began
reaching
out
to
other
members
of
the
business
program
in
hopes
of
finding
musicians
who
were
interested
in
participating
in
a
band.
I
proposed
my
idea
while
2
introducing
myself
to
other
business
students
in
the
first
week
of
classes
and
I
outlined
my
experience
in
the
entertainment
field
and
my
background
as
a
performer.
By
the
end
of
the
week
I
was
able
to
find
a
full
roster
of
musicians
interested
in
participating.
The
final
line-‐up
included:
Vocalists-‐Mikaela
Allen,
Ankie
Titular
and
myself.
Guitars-‐Felix
Mayr-‐Melnhof,
Jad
El
Alam.
Drums-‐Carl
Pires.
Percussion-‐Rozelle
Mc
Barnette.
Flute-‐Mikaela
Allen
and
Bass-‐Daniel
Toledo.
Most
of
these
musicians
already
had
extensive
performance
experience,
while
others
had
never
played
in
a
cover
band
before
but
were
intrigued
with
the
idea
of
performing
with
one
in
Valencia.
In
our
preliminary
rehearsal
I
explained
that
the
ultimate
goal
of
establishing
this
band
was
to
obtain
credible
performance
experience
and
that
any
voluntary
time
spent
for
the
band
would,
hopefully,
be
reciprocated
monetarily
in
the
near
future.
I
knew
that
the
importance
of
consistent
weekly
rehearsals
was
crucial
to
the
success
of
a
band
and
coordinating
member
schedules
was
often
the
most
difficult
aspect
of
managing
The
A69s.
Each
member
of
the
band
had
different
priorities
and
obligations
and
finding
times
that
suited
everyone’s
schedule
proved
to
be
a
big
challenge.
In
order
to
alleviate
conflict
of
schedule
or
double
booking,
verbal
communication
became
the
most
effective
way
of
determining
the
best
times
for
future
rehearsals.
This
was
often
done
during
rehearsals
or
I
would
personally
contact
individual
members
electronically
for
their
availability.
Once
a
rehearsal
time
was
decided
on,
I
created
a
Calendar
event
and
invited
all
members
so
it
was
shown
on
their
personal
calendars.
I
also
made
sure
that
there
was
rehearsal
3
space
available
for
our
use.
This
was
done
via
the
Berklee
Intranet
where
I
was
able
to
access
the
availability
information
for
Berklee’s
ensemble
rooms.
Another
essential
aspect
of
a
successfully
functioning
business
band
is
an
easily
accessible
demo.
Creating
a
demo
became
an
imperative
for
me
after
speaking
with
the
owner
of
a
live
performance
club
“The
Black
Note”.
He
explained
to
me
that
the
best
way
to
get
booked
by
his
venue
or
any
other
was
to
give
them
a
physical
demo
with
a
bands
recorded
material.
I
knew
then
that
I
had
to
immediately
begin
working
on
The
A69s
first
recording
project.
After
speaking
with
a
number
of
Music
Technology
and
Innovation
students,
I
met
with
Corey
Ashe-‐Bradford
who
expressed
his
interest
in
helping
to
record
our
first
track
for
our
demo.
The
band
unanimously
chose
“Let’s
Stay
Together”
by
Al
Greene
to
record
first.
Initially
we
reserved
3
studios
in
hopes
to
record
the
entire
band
at
once
but
we
unfortunately
ran
into
technical
difficulties
and
were
only
able
to
record
bass
and
drums.
So
as
not
to
waste
the
entire
bands
time,
I
began
reserving
studio
time
for
one
section
at
a
time.
This
made
the
recording
process
take
more
time
than
I
would
have
hoped
but
eventually
we
got
all
of
the
recorded
material
we
needed.
I
then
scheduled
mixing
and
mastering
sessions
with
Corey
and
gave
my
input
on
the
overall
sound.
In
the
end
I
was
pleased
with
the
outcome
and
I
was
able
to
then
create
a
SoundCloud
and
upload
our
first
sample
of
music
onto
the
internet.
https://soundcloud.com/the-‐
a69s
4
After
seeing
how
long
of
a
process
recording
one
song
would
take
in
the
studios
with
such
a
large
band,
I
sought
other
means
to
expedite
the
process.
I
contacted
Liz
Teutsch,
associate
professor
of
technology,
and
requested
a
session
on
Berklee’s
scoring
stage.
She
agreed
and
offered
to
have
the
recording
session
as
an
advanced
MTI
class.
I
also
spoke
with
Stephen
Webber,
program
director
of
Music
Technology
and
Innovation,
who
suggested
that
as
a
cover
band
we
should
include
a
medley
into
our
demo.
We
chose
record
a
medley
of
the
songs
“Give
me
one
reason”
by
Tracy
Chapman,
“Ain’t
No
Sunshine”
by
Bill
Withers
and
“Mercy”
by
Duffy
as
well
as
our
own
version
of
“Baby
I’m
Yours”
by
Breakbot.
Despite
the
fact
that
it
took
the
MTI
students
longer
than
expected
to
set
up
for
us,
we
were
able
to
record
everything
in
one
hour.
Unfortunately
during
a
mixing
session
with
Ian
Kagey
we
discovered
some
issues
with
the
tempo
and
decided
not
to
upload
the
recording.
Later
in
the
semester
we
were
given
the
opportunity
to
record
on
the
scoring
stage
again
with
Patrice
Rushen
and
chose
to
re-‐record
“Baby
I’m
Yours”
by
Breakbot
to
a
click
track
and
“Le
Freak”
by
Chic.
We
had
a
phenomenal
session
and
we
were
able
to
record
quality
material.
After
both
sessions
I
worked
closely
with
Ian
Kagy
to
listen
to
the
tracks
we
recorded
and
choose
the
best
takes.
Unfortunately,
despite
all
of
our
hard
work,
I
was
unable
to
find
anyone
with
the
time
to
mix
and
master
these
tracks
and
they
never
made
it
onto
our
soundcloud
page.
One
of
the
biggest
hurdles
we
faced
as
a
band
of
international
students
was
finding
equipment.
Berklee
provides
all
the
equipment
that
we
need
on
campus
but
we
could
not
expect
every
venue
we
planned
to
perform
at
to
have
all
the
5
equipment
we
required.
I
initially
looked
into
a
local
music
rental
shop
in
Valencia
“Call
and
Play”.
I
went
their
office
to
receive
a
quote
for
the
equipment
we
would
need
which
totaled
to
377.70€.
This
proved
that
we
simply
would
not
be
able
to
afford
renting
equipment
for
every
gig.
I
then
spoke
with
a
number
of
faculty
members
at
Berklee
who
directed
me
to
Gael
Hedding
a
staff
member
here
at
Berklee.
He
was
able
to
give
me
helpful
advice
on
the
best
possible
way
to
transport
equipment
and
how
that
can
impact
who
will
be
interested
in
hiring
us.
He
also
indicated
that
the
school
would
allow
us
to
borrow
materials
in
order
to
perform
at
city
venues.
I
worked
with
Gael
to
find
the
best
options
for
the
equipment
needed
and
successfully
completed
Berklee’s
Off
Campus
Equipment
Request
forms
for
all
of
our
gigs.
The
equipment
requested
and
used:
Bass
Amplifier,
2
Guitar
amps,
2
foot
switches,
2
guitar
chords,
2
congas,
bongos,
drum
kit.
Another
essential
aspect
of
transporting
equipment
was
Alejandra
Menendez
Gonzalez
who
offered
to
transport
equipment
and
was
invaluable
to
the
success
of
our
first
two
gigs
in
Valencia.
For
future
gigs
we
used
taxi
services
for
our
Valencia
gigs
and
a
car
rental
service
for
our
gig
in
Barcelona.
was
our
main
form
of
outreach
for
prospective
clients
and
interested
parties.
Our
page
has
our
demo
material,
photos,
videos
and
information
regarding
our
upcoming
performances
and
events.
Currently
our
has
254
likes.
Each
member
has
administrative
access
to
the
page
to
help
further
increase
social
media
impact
and
reach.
An
internal
page
was
also
created
for
the
band
to
help
with
song
selection,
set
lists
and
any
other
pertinent
6
information
that
needs
to
be
circulated
internally
within
the
band.
References
for
songs
via
YouTube
and
song
suggestions
are
also
posted
and
chosen
by
band
vote
and
overall
popularity
with
the
public.
https://www.facebook.com/Thea69s
We
also
created
a
account
to
further
extend
our
social
media
reach.
(https://twitter.com/thea69s)
Photo
and
video
documentation
of
the
band
are
critical
to
the
distribution
of
our
brand
and
generating
a
following.
Aishwary
Narolia,
Gabby
Banks,
Jasmine
Shepard,
Aalap
Deboor
and
Jane
Kim,
all
business
students,
offered
to
take
photos
and
videos
of
The
A69s
at
gigs
and
on
campus
for
our
social
media
channels.
We
have
so
far
had
seven
successful
public
gigs
where
we
have
obtained
photos
and
videos
and
distributed
social
media
information
to
gain
followers.
Our
4th
official
gig
and
1st
paid
performance
at
“El
Club
Loco”
we
worked
with
a
local
Valencian
promoter,
Alejandro
Canuto,
who
created
his
promotion
company
“Livexmusic”
(https://www.facebook.com/livexmusicpromotion)
to
gain
greater
visibility
in
the
city
of
Valencia.
The
gig
was
featured
in
three
magazines,
“Las
Provincias”
(http://www.lasprovincias.es/20140115/ocio/agenda/a69s-‐berklee-‐
concierto-‐lococlub-‐201401151222.html)
“Levante”
(http://musica.levante-‐
emv.com/a69s-‐berklee-‐muestra-‐musculo-‐sobre-‐el-‐escenario)
and
“Atomica”
(http://www.redaccionatomica.com/noticias/2883/the-‐a69s-‐berklee-‐muestra-‐
musculo-‐sobre-‐el-‐escenario/).
For
this
gig
we
were
given
200
tickets
to
distribute
and
were
able
to
successfully
have
88
tickets
return
to
the
gig.
7
Our
second
paid
gig
I
was
at
Café
Belgrado
in
Barcelona.
For
this
gig
we
worked
with
the
Latin
Grammy
award-‐winning
percussionist
Max
Wright.
This
gig
was
one
of
our
greatest
accomplishments
because
we
had
no
established
fan
base
in
the
city,
and
the
gig
turned
out
to
be
extremely
successful.
Our
third
paid
gig
again
took
place
at
Club
Loco.
Once
again
we
worked
with
Alejandro
Canuto
for
the
promotion
of
the
event.
For
this
gig
we
had
57
guests
arrive
on
our
guest
list
and
collected
3euro
for
each
guest,
which
became
an
added
revenue
stream
on
top
of
our
fixed
rate.
For
each
paid
gig
I
was
able
to
keep
a
portion
of
the
funds
generated
as
retained
earnings.
This
will
be
used
in
the
future
for
endeavors
such
as
a
band
dinner,
or
to
help
cover
unforeseen
expenses.
Currently
we
have
generated
1,020.00€
and
have
100.00€
in
retained
earnings.
Initially
our
budget
was
funded
by
the
goodwill
of
those
participating.
The
budget
relies
on
members
volunteering
their
time
and
collectively
contributing
to
band
transportation
fees.
I
was
able
to
avoid
equipment
expenses
by
borrowing
from
Berklee
and
rehearsal/studio
fees
because
of
Berklee
facilities.
With
the
help
of
Berklee
students
and
faculty
I
avoided
photographer/videographer
costs,
demo
engineering
fees
and
equipment
transportation
costs.
With
the
use
of
free
internet
services
such
as
Facebook,
Soundcloud
and
I
avoided
fees
associated
with
web
design
and
website
creation
and
marketing.
I
was
also
able
to
directly
apply
what
I
learned
in
my
accounting
class
to
the
budgeting
of
this
project.
8
For
the
final
month
of
July
we
will
have
3
more
gigs
here
in
Valencia:
A
4th
of
July
concert
for
the
Palau
de
Les
Artes
as
well
as
a
performance
at
Radio
City
the
same
night,
and
a
final
show
at
the
Berklee
Graduation
concert.
When
the
U.S.
Ambassador
visited
Berklee
in
November,
I
was
able
to
speak
with
him
and
mention
The
A69s.
He
said
he
was
hoping
to
integrate
more
music
at
the
embassy
and
I
attempted
to
further
establish
a
relationship
with
the
U.S.
embassy
and
Berklee
Valencia
but
my
efforts
proved
unsuccessful.
The
A69s
have
often
been
frustrating
to
manage
but
ultimately
turned
out
to
be
an
exciting
and
meaningful
experience.
The
biggest
challenges
I
faced
was
mediating
internal
band
politics.
It
was
extremely
difficult
to
get
each
member
of
the
band
to
achieve
a
unified
commitment
to
the
band
and
this
was
reflected
in
unproductive
rehearsals,
minor
conflicts
between
members
and
members
leaving
the
band.
However
the
overall
outcome
of
the
project
aligned
with
my
expectations.
We
consistently
performed
throughout
the
year
and
built
a
fan
base
in
our
hometown
of
Valencia.
Although
we
were
unable
to
travel
outside
of
Spain
we
were
still
able
to
perform
in
Barcelona,
Spain’s
second
largest
city.
The
A69s
helped
me
to
grow
as
a
performer
but
more
importantly
as
a
manager.
The
band
solidified
in
my
mind
the
importance
of
communication
in
a
group
and
the
necessity
to
remain
objective
by
outlining
clear
goals
for
members.
It
helped
me
to
further
understand
the
workings
of
live
entertainment
and
the
marketing
and
promotion
of
an
event.
It
also
helped
me
to
better
understand
how
9
branding
plays
an
important
role
in
gaining
a
fan
base
as
well
as
the
essentials
of
budgeting
a
project.
This
experience
has
helped
my
career
by
giving
me
valuable
expertise
in
numerous
aspects
of
the
entertainment
industry.
I
was
able
to
gain
a
new
perspective
on
live
entertainment
from
the
eyes
of
a
performer
and
manager.
In
the
future
I
will
use
these
skills
when
I
return
to
the
U.S.
and
rejoin
with
my
band
back
home.
My
U.S.
based
band
is
hoping
to
expand
our
performance
network
from
the
Greater
Boston
and
New
England
area
to
include
the
New
York
City
region.
I
will
use
all
of
the
experience
I
have
gained
managing
The
A69s
to
help
facilitate
this
expansion.
Unfortunately
after
the
end
of
our
final
semester
here
the
band
will
disperse
to
seven
different
countries
all
over
the
world.
Thus,
sadly
The
A69s
will
no
longer
be
able
to
perform
together.
I
am
truly
grateful
for
all
of
the
help
I
received
from
my
classmates
and
from
Berklee
College
of
Music,
but
most
importantly
I
am
grateful
for
the
participation
of
the
other
members
of
the
band.
I
know
that
given
the
time
the
band
would
be
able
to
achieve
even
greater
success
and
our
accomplishments
would
surely
reach
new
heights!
10
