Nashville Berklee News Online

Sunday, January 11, 2004

• Message from Niel Dierks
• Community News
• Calendar of Events
• Alumni Gigs
• Musician Connection
• Alumni Services
• Classified Listings
• Industry Showcase Events
• Concerts
• Songwriter and Open Mic Nights

2004: A Year of Opportunity in the Music Industry for Berklee Alums

The music industry is changing dramatically: companies are restructuring; old business models are falling; new business models are emerging. These changes and challenges bring new opportunities. Downloading offers not only huge opportunities for the way music is distributed, but is also changing the way recording projects are approached.

While some may view this as a “tough time” for the music industry, I believe right now is the best time to be pursuing a career in music. Right now there are great opportunities for positive changes, new methods for approaching a career in music, and new ways of doing business. All of the new opportunities allow for new music and new people to make an impact in the industry.

The Nashville Alumni Chapter can be an integral part of the success of one’s career. There is much untapped potential within our Berklee community here in Nashville. Our talent pool is deep and diverse. We are all at different stages in our careers. We all have individual dreams, aspirations and talents, thus we all have different needs.

The purpose of the Nashville Alumni Chapter is to help advance your career in music. Working together, Berklee alums can be catalysts for change and lead a wave of new music and success in the industry. In this changing environment it is important that we continue to grow and develop new methods to achieve this goal.

My vision for 2004 is to lead the chapter in creating new programs and activities that are of value to our diverse groups of alums at all levels of their careers. To begin this process there will be an alumni chapter meeting on:

Tuesday, January 20th; 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Warner Bros. Conference Room
20 Music Square East; Nashville, TN 37203

At the start of the meeting there will be a brief overview of chapter goals and a discussion of “global” issues facing all alums pursuing careers in music. We will then break up into small “focus groups” for alums interested in areas such as:

* Music Production & Engineering
* Studio / Road musicians
* Artists
* Songwriting
* Music Business
* Community Relations (alumni events & volunteer events)
Each group will have a facilitator for the evening who will direct the group in a brainstorming session to accomplish the following:

* Identify the needs for advancing the careers of alums at all levels (those new to town and those more established in their careers)
* Come up with ideas for programs and activities that will meet the needs.
* Develop a plan for implementing the ideas.
* Select a coordinator or co-coordinators for each group who will be responsible for continuing to organize and develop each group.
Following the “focus group” meetings, we will all gather so each coordinator can present what the group has come up with. At this point we will be able identify “universal” needs that can be addressed on broad level as well as coordinate the new programs for each focus group so that they can function in consort and each group can benefit from the other.

I encourage all alums to attend and contribute to this meeting. It is your opportunity to be a part of the development, growth and creation of new programs for your chapter that will benefit your career and those of your fellow alums. I look forward to seeing you on the 20th.

Sincerely,

Neil Diercks

<< BACK TO TOP >>

To post information, e-mail Neil Diercks: ndiercks@comcast.net

UPDATES ON DREW & JENNIFER WALEN’S SON GEORGE

(From e-mail sent by Drew 01-03-2004)

Dear Alums,

My family and I want to thank you for your kind thoughts, gestures and prayers for our son George. We ask once again for your prayers, karma and good vibes this week. We are taking George to St. Louis Children's Hospital for a lung transplant evaluation. While we know this trip will be difficult on all of us, we are mostly hoping that George is found to be a candidate for a transplant, while also praying his condition never worsens to the point where we have to face such a drastic surgical intervention.

We hope and pray that this year bears fruit for the health, personal development and love of our friends, their loved ones and all those who have helped us in our difficult year.

Thanks again,

Drew Walen

(From e-mail sent by Drew 01-07-2004)

Hey there everyone,

We wanted you all to know about George's results from his lung transplant evaluation at St. Louis Children's Hospital. First I'll start with the good news. They believe George is a long way off from needing a transplant! The other news is it looks like his pulmonary hypertension is being well managed by medication and he may be able to start weaning off oxygen this year.

Now the bad news. George's lungs are both small, show a number of problems, and the rest of his cardio-thorasic anatomy is abnormal which contributes to his problems. Getting into the specifics would take too long on all that, but suffice it to say they believe George may very well need a double lung transplant some day. For that reason, they are putting George on the UNOS list as needing donor lungs. However, we will not accept them until George is absolutely in dire need.

When that will be is up to anybody's guess. They've seen kids like George do great well into their teens. They've also seen kids whose heart has given out suddenly and died before donor lungs are available. The truth is, if George ever needs a transplant, it will only buy him a few years. The survival rate at one year is 85 percent, 55 percent for five years, and next to zero at 10 and beyond. We were told in no uncertain terms that if George were to get a lung transplant as a child, we could not realistically expect to see him make it to college, get married, have kids or do any of the things that mark adult life. He simply was going to die; it was just a matter of time. Needless to say this was like a freight train running over us when this bombshell was dropped.

The good news is George, for right now, is doing fine and showing improvement. As he grows, so will his lungs until he's about eight years old, and hopefully his hypertension will ease to near normal levels. And during the next several years who knows what new drugs and other therapies may become available increasing his life expectancy. We broached the question of stem cell research on developing new lungs made from his own cells, and they said such a thing is decades away. But, if we can keep him going for a couple decades, we may just have that option down the road. Again, who knows?

We'll continue to go up to St. Louis Children's Hospital every six months to update George's case to keep him on the recipient list. Thankfully, we've already made some friends there. We met with Rabbi Susan Talve, head rabbi at the Central Reform Congregation. She has a daughter, 17, who has had multiple heart repairs at the hospital over the years and is also buying time to stave off a heart transplant. Susan also has a couple other kids, both in college. We met them all, along with her husband (who is also a rabbi at another congregation), and George fell in love with them and they with George. We shared tea, stories, laughs and several rounds of "catch" at their house and they offered to put us up next time we come to town for evaluations. They also offered to search for a family we could stay with should we ever need to go up for transplant surgery (we could be in St. Louis for anywhere from three to nine months while George waits for lungs and then recovers). Susan also heads up a support group for families and their kids going through major surgery at Children's Hospital. We'll be well taken care of it seems.

But for right now, we're glad to be home. George is already asleep in his crib, cuddling his long lost stuffed animals, and we're going through all the stuff that we've had to put off through the holidays and this trip.

Thanks again for all your support and prayers.

Drew & Jenn Walen

JOHN MATTICK NOMINATED FOR GRAMMY

Alum songwriter/producer/musician John Mattick was recently nominated for a Grammy for Best Polka Album of the Year as a member of the Polka band Jerry Darlak and the Touch. Early this year the band asked John to write a waltz for their new CD which became the single for their album. The waltz is titled "Still Waltzing With You". John also played piano on the tracks. On December 4th their album "Polkas in Black and White" was nominated for the Grammy by NARAS.

<< BACK TO TOP >>

Chapter Meeting
Tuesday, January 20th; 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Warner Bros. Conference Room
20 Music Square East; Nashville, TN 37203

TIN ROOF THURSDAYS
Networking/Social Event
Every Thursday; 6 PM – 8 PM
The Tin Roof,1516 Demonbreun St Nashville TN
FREE appetizers for Berklee Alums. This weekly event is an opportunity to network in a casual environment with fellow alums as well as others working in the music industry.

<< BACK TO TOP >>

Please update ads for the new year.

To post information, e-mail Neil Diercks: ndiercks@comcast.net

a.k.a: Rudie featuring John Pavlovsky
Hosts the "Monsters of Ska" tour featuring:
King Django (NYC); Dr. Ring Ding (Germany); Eastern Standard Time (D.C.); a.k.a: Rudie (Nashville)
Monday, Jan. 12th - 9pm; $10 cover
Windows on the Cumberland; 112 2nd Avenue, Nashville, TN

MAUREEN MURPHY
Tuesday, January 20TH; 7:30 pm
3rd & Lindsley Bar & Grill; 818 3rd Ave S., Nashville, TN 37210; (615) 259-9891

Stan SwinIarksi
w/ Sue Fabisch, Jackie DiPillo, , Steve Christopher, & David Rivers in th round;
Thursday January 22nd; 6:30 pm
Bluebird Café’; 4104 Hillsboro Rd., Nashville, TN; 615-383-1461

Blackberry featuring JOHn pavlovsky
1970's tribute band
Friday, Feb. 20th; 9:30pm; No Cover
The 5 Spot; 1006 Forrest Ave., Nashville, TN; 615-650-9333

WEEKLY GIGS:

KAMI LYLE & THE SUGARBEATS
Every Monday, 6:30 PM
F. Scott's, 2210 Crestmoor Rd Nashville TN (615) 269-5861

KITT LOUGH featuring alum DAN SERAFINI
Jazz/Standards
Every Wednesday; 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM
F. Scott's, 2210 Crestmoor Rd Nashville TN (615) 269-5861

ALAN POWELL
Classical Guitar
Every Thursday, 12 PM – 1 PM
Wild Oats Natural Marketplace, 3909 Hillsboro Pike, Nashville TN (615) 463-0164

MONTHLY GIGS:

ABSTRACT BLUES featuring Alum JOHN PAVLOVSKY
John performs his brand of original rock 'n' roll music; combining influences like Springsteen, Tom Petty, Neil Young and the blues to create a distinct sound & style.
Last Friday of Every month; 8:30 p.m.
Bean Central, 2817 W End Ave Nashville TN
Contact John at 297-3316 to get on his guest list for the evening.

<< BACK TO TOP >>