My unofficial start as an Intern at ExploreMusic!

First off, happy 2010!

So, I'm relatively new to this blogging doo-dad. One thing I'd like to check off on my new years resolution list is "start a blog" - wait, scratch that - "keep my blog updated." This I thought I'd do with interesting music news, BUT I also need the "blog" or "personal opinion" element. I've always been scared to touch that bias-y kind of writing ... and who cares what I think anyway? Well I do (duh), so I've decided to blog - like, actually BLOG - about my internship with Explore Music. Hey, it's still music!

I believe I was the only one in my journalism class to start my free labo*cough* ... ahem...internship early. But for good reason: it was my TEENAGE DREAM to work with Explore. I know some people may say "music has always been a huge part of my life" or "I can't live without it." But for me, the truth is music was always just "okay." It wasn't until I started listening to Alan Cross and 102.1 The Edge during those late nights painting last-minute art pieces in high school that I actually started to give a sh*t about music at all. More specifically rock (punk/grunge/classic/indie etc.). One night I heard Alan do a show on the Sex Pistols - who I knew nothing about. I loved all the info and heroin-crazed stories of Sid and Nancy so much that now I'm a total fan of punk in general. It was a refreshing slap-in-the-face coming out of the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys generation.

Anyway, back to the internship. So I started in December, roughly three weeks early. I know crazy right? Working for free and giving up my holiday break -- what was I thinking?! Well I was SUPER PSYCHED and couldn't wait to dive in. And it was a good thing I did, or I would've missed out on being a part of an interview with Massive Attack and their controversial porno-music video; Jared Leto giving his latest news on 30 Seconds to Mars after a $30 million lawsuit with EMI; and, more importantly, asking George Pettit from Alexisonfire (ONE OF MY FAVOURITE BANDS!!!!!) about his now 14-day-old son Owen Edward - which I got to write about and post on the official Explore Music website. All this in the last three weeks, wow!

Band interviews are the everyday for the staff at Explore, and I think that attitude helps me keep my cool when I'm meeting my idols. The first time I met Alan Cross was a bit of a shocker. I was told he was on xmas vacation, so I wasn't expecting to see him. But as I was heading to the elevators to check-out The Edge studios (also majorly cool), I wasn't expecting him to walk out of one directly in front of me. My stomach dropped, I blabbered a "hullo," and that was it. I felt like I made a stupid shy-school-girl impression of myself. But I was redeemed when I helped prep his interview with Jared Leto. This was the feedback I got:

Alan: Did you do the stuff for 30 seconds to mars?

Me: uh..uh...ya, ya I did.

Alan: Wow that was REALLY good. Exactly what I needed. Thanks for that.

Me: *all smiles*

Boy was I ever high on life then.

Anyway, this is probably a good time to explain what I do. I'm the interview-prep gal, and I also help Andrew the content manager with social media stuff - like getting Explore's YouTube site up and running. It's really cool to see how it's growing, I guess my online media class paid off after all! Not only that, but we get to wear JEANS -- I was told "this is rock n' roll afterall." It just keeps getting better. Right now we're working on our Indie Giveaway, where we "give away" a different Indie band's song everyday. I get to research and listen to them all - talk about awesome homework. After a lot of prep-work, the first one was posted today: Jason Bajada's "Tired of Talking" - sorry I'm getting all music-nerdy right now.

I'm also getting the insider on how the music industry/journalism works and how private production companies survive (barely), which was lacking in J-school. The program is all about the CBC, and there isn't a lot about music or even entertainment, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to explore! It's REAL. As in the REAL ROCK WORLD. Nothing is sugar-coated and everyone works super hard to keep the shows running. This is what I wanted to learn, since my passion and interest lies in music journalism. I'm afraid of the rumours that there is a possible decline in rock criticism, as quality is being abandoned for quantity. Hopefully I'll have a better grasp when I'm done.

Anyway, that's my re-cap on the last three weeks. I'm LOVING it! I can't wait too see who's coming in next!!!!!

Here's a crazy in-studio performance by Down With Webster - and yes, the drummer is in his underwear!