Volunteer and fun? Extra post- September

Above is a picture of Touche Amore playing at Bridgetown DIY for their secret record release show.

-It's pretty neat working at a venue. For fun and what not, I go to a lot of shows. Sometimes in Pomona, or even in Anehiem. The cool thing is that the venue I'm doing my mentorship hours at, is right down the street from my house. How convenient right? Anyways, I get to get hours by coming in early, setting up to sell entrance to the show, stamp peoples hands and clean the venue up before the show. When there's a big show, we usually have a tap of people, that being 100. So once I finish getting in that many people, I count the money, store it in a private place and get to join in with the crowd. I've been able to see some really great bands, and meet most of them and help them out with setting up and getting situated before the show. In the picture above, we have a band named Touche Amore playing. This was a really secret show that wasn't announced until two hours before the actual show! We had tons of people come to the venue, unfortunately we had a tap and had to turn down many, MANY, people. All in all, it was a fun show, and the experience of working in a venue has been fun so far. I cant imagine it getting boring.

Second Interview Questions

The purpose of the second interview is justify your mentor as an expert in the field.  Thus, you will be asking at least 5 questions about their background and/or the background of the organization or company where they work.

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?
-My mentor is Kevin Lopez. He works at Bridgetown DIY, the venue that I'm going to be doing my senior project at.

2.  What five questions will you ask them about their background?-What things made you want to work at a venue?
-Would or have you considered opening a DIY(Do it yourself) venue on your own?
-How long have you been working with venues?
-What or who influenced you to work with music?
-Have you always been interested in the music business? If not, when did you become interested and why?

Blog 5 Project Reflection and Working EQ

The Pentagon: 
(1) Positive Statement: What positive thing happen as a result of what you have completed so far?
- Some positive things that I have gotten from the project so far are some new friendships and a lot of knowledge and understanding of what my project deals with. Since I'm doing my mentorship hours at a venue, I get the inside scope of what happens behind the scenes. Example, what needs to be done to book a show. I've also met a lot of people who like all of the things that I like. Example, music and venues.

(2) EQ Content:  Pick a piece of research or your interview.  How has it helped you improve your understanding of your topic? An article I read a few weeks ago for a research check, named "How to Start a Coffeehouse". It gave me a lot of information about picking PA systems for the venue, tips on tickets and marketing/advertisement ideas.

(3) What has worked for you so far in the senior project?
- The trip to the library has opened a lot of "doors" for me. I now know where to go to find research for business plans, and research for anything that has to do with marketing and owning any type of business. 
- Spending time at the venue and going to meetings there have helped me a lot. I've gained a lot of knowledge by just being there for a few hours. 

(4) What hasn't worked so far?
- I don't think there's anything that has led me down a wrong path so far. Everything that we've done in the senior project has someone helped me.
(5) Finding Value:  

•  What is a potential question you would like to study this year?  (working EQ)

         - What does a person need to do in order to successfully open and manage a live music venue?

•  What do you plan to do for mentorship?  If you haven't found a mentor yet, then discuss where you are currently looking and who you are talking to to find it.  

         -For my mentorship, I'll be working at a venue. My duties will include running the door, selling tickets,    attending collective meetings, booking and running 4 shows on my own.

Blog 4: Interview Preparation

1. Who do you plan to interview? Why?
- For the first interview of the senior Project, I plan to interview my mentor, Kevin Lopez. That's because I feel like he can be the one who helps me start off. He'll be able to point me into the direction of other people. People who'll be able to help me learn/gain more knowledge in the future, when I interview them as well. He's the key to more people who will help me succeed in my senior project.

2. Additional Questions:
- What brought you into the side of business in music?
- What are the most important things one has to consider when managing/owning a venue?
- What inspires you to give back to the community by running local shows in a venue?

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Semester 1 ESLR Goals

1. Topic: 
Music Business- Managing/running a venue.

2. ESLRS:
- I believe that in order to see my growth in the ESLRS I must participate in certain activities during the school year. I'll be able to play a part by donating during our food can drive; or help out during any other school functions, like a "garage sale". I'll also be able to help out through yearbook(I am the yearbook photo editor).
-To see my improvement as an effective learner, I'll be able to look up my grades online and see what I'm doing well in and what I need to work better on. I'll be sure to ask for help whenever I'm struggling in any class subject in order to assure I'm learning as I should be.
-In the near future I'll be able to look at my blog posts and see the difference in language and post content itself. As time passes I'll use blogger to improve on how I record things, how I post things, and when/if I post things on time. I'll be able to improve by presentations in the future and learning to organize things using a computer and internet.
-I have noticed that senior year will consist of things that will force me to communicate with many people. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but I know that in the end I will know how to talk to people effectively. Whether they be strangers, my mentor or teachers.

All in all, this whole project seems like it is going to shape us, and push us more into the adult world.

Blog 2: Summer Mentorship

1. Mentorship Log 

2. What is the contact name & number of where you volunteered?

- Kevin Lopez (626) 478-4958

3. What questions were raised because of the 10 hours of experience?

- What does it take to open a venue?

- What legal codes must be met/kept in order for the venue to be “up to code”?

- How much money is needed to open a venue?

- How much money is needed to keep the venue running monthly?

- Where should the money come from?

- How should the weekly/monthly income of the venue be handled?

- What needs to be done in order to keep the venue a safe environment for all ages (drug free)?

- What type of insurance policy should the venue have?

- What is a suitable location for a venue?

- How does one go about dealing with noise complaints?

4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

- I believe the most important thing I’ve gained from this experience are the managing skills I’ve been taught. It’s the most important thing because I actually want to own and manage my own venue in the future. When volunteering, I was placed in the position to manage the money coming from ticket sales. I had to make sure everything was accounted for in the end. Including ticket to money ratio, water sold and donations.

5. How did what you did help you choose a topic?

- I have always been fond of going to shows (concerts). It has become one of my goals to work in the music industry even though I do understand that it is competitive and a difficult industry to succeed in. I figured that since I want to eventually own/manage my own venue, I might as well gain experience by volunteering at one and basing my senior project off of this. What I did this summer showed me, more or less, what happens behind the scenes at a venue. For example, what needs to be done to book bands, how to promote events, running the door and how to handle the income of a certain event.

2013 2-Hour Presentation Reflections

1.These are the presentations I saw:
Jorge - Electronic Dance Music
Jessica - Making an Album
Marilyn - OBGYN
Dominic - All Star Cheer
Nicholas - Automotive Repair
Alyssa - Yoga
Arianna- Macine Programing
Emma - Yearbook
Danny- Car Audio
Absent thursday and friday

2. Questions about the senior project?
-I don't have any questions about the senior project itself. All the questions I had before have been answered.

3. What has the most important part of the senior project based on what you are seeing in the 2-hour presentations?
-After seeing all of those senior presentations, I think that the most important part of the senior project would be the essential question. All of the projects are based off that question, and all of the presentations are based on answering it in three ways.

4. What topic are you considering doing and why?
The topic that I am considering in doing is a form of business. That being music venues and how to run a successful venue. Why? I want that as my topic because once I graduate and begin college, I want to major in business and eventually open my own venues. Shows/concerts are my favorite things and I actually want to work in the music/business industry.