MAGICKY- “OF OR POSSESSING SOME ASPECT OF EXTRA ORDINARINESS. A STATE OF BEING OR HAVING A MAGICAL OR SPECIAL NATURE”

The semester ended not too long ago and I’m already working the third week of my internship in the Big Apple. My career path is by no means conventional for a Babson student. If asked what my career path would be many would guess accounting or finance. However, my passion in life is music and I want to work closely with it. I aspire to work in the music industry as an A&R (Artists and Repertoire). A&Rs are the people that help new talent spread their wings and prosper in this industry by working with them on their albums from the sound to the promotion. Since my career path is so unconventional, I searched for internships in unconventional ways. I found my current internship on Craigslist after a couple of days of surfing the site’s listings. I work as a marketing intern at Sounds of Brazil (S.O.B.s), a legendary live venue in downtown New York City. I implement various marketing techniques for promoting the various live shows at the club.

The work atmosphere is pretty relaxed. Located in the basement of the building adjacent to the club the office is a quaint, with music buzzing from everyone’s respective corners. From day one, I pretty much was into the full swing of things. I briefly met with my eccentric supervisor, Kozza and got right to work. In my first week I was already searching various blogs, magazines and other media tools I could use to promote various upcoming shows. For the past two weeks I’ve been working tirelessly to get these shows out into the public eye. I have been working with blogs and social websites to have them posted in their content, as well as doing ticket giveaways with radio stations. I also work with other interns, and from the small amount of time we have interacted because the work is very independent in nature, I know we all click really well. My next moves are going to be to come up with some innovative ideas for promoting these shows aside from the routine methods we have been using. I’m really looking forward to leaving my mark on S.O.B.s before I head back to Babson in the fall.

Kozza coined the term “magicky”, one of many quirky words/phrases he uses in his vocabulary. He was right when he told me this summer and working with S.O.B.s would be “magicky”. I had never been to a show at S.O.B.s before. I saw my first show at the club this past Wednesday. Every third Wednesday of the month S.O.B.s hosts a showcase for up and coming R&B/soul singers called Sol-Village, which is hosted by Eric Roberson, an established R&B artist. Quite honestly, I fell in love. I love the ambiance of the club, how it is small and intimate unlike large concert halls. I was a fan of Eric Roberson before, but now more than ever. His live performance was amazing. His voice is astonishingly beautiful and there is no excuse for why he is not a better known act. Knowing how the behind the scenes works and seeing it come to life on stage has me thinking about now working in live music as a manager of a club like S.O.B.s. I love the magic in live music and the euphoric vibe it creates in a room full of people. As a music fan I know the joy that I get from watching a live show, and I would love to continue creating that special magic for others.

But, this is just the beginning and I cannot wait for the summer to continue unfold. Undoubtedly, it is going to be magicky, just like Kozza said.