Funny story... the other reporters put me on the spot to ask Frankie a question because we're both from Michigan and...well...I knew he was from Battle Creek -- the cereal city -- so I asked him what his favorite cereal was. So in case you're wondering what Frankie Ballard's favorite cereal is... it's corn flakes.
The event took place at a somewhat quaint little restaurant, and it was pretty crazy to sit down next to some of Nashville's most celebrated songwriters and producers like Craig Wiseman and Scott Hendricks. I even met the guys who wrote "Need You Now" for Lady Antebellum, "Before He Cheats" for Carrie Underwood, and a bunch of others. Talk about developing contacts!
It's actually kind of sad that the songwriters get such little attention. They wrote the #1 song for Frankie, but the reporters are barely interested in talking to them. I was really interested in talking to them, however, so that's what I spent most of the party doing -- even though it wasn't for business purposes. I was shadowing our company's main music reporter, so there wasn't too much work involved -- just mingling and observing.
It's actually kind of sad that the songwriters get such little attention. They wrote the #1 song for Frankie, but the reporters are barely interested in talking to them. I was really interested in talking to them, however, so that's what I spent most of the party doing -- even though it wasn't for business purposes. I was shadowing our company's main music reporter, so there wasn't too much work involved -- just mingling and observing.
Today I set up an interview with Capital Cities to talk about them opening for Katy Perry at Bridgestone Arena on the 25th. The interview is set to take place next week. I'm getting a lot better with contacting PR people and setting up interviews. I'll keep y'all posted about that!
- Greg
(Music reporting intern at The Tennessean)
Hey Greg,
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a really awesome time! I always thought it was kind of strange that there are people writing songs for these famous bands and singer-songwriters. I'm really happy that you recognize the hard work the writers put into their music and took an interest in talking to them - I'm sure they appreciated it. Do you do the actual interviews or do you just listen in on them?
Best of luck!
Hey Isabelle!
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to bigger artist interviews, I usually help my reporter ask questions and whatnot, but I don't do the actual write-up. I do a lot of write-ups for smaller artists and any event coverage though, such as shows at the Opry and the Ryman.
Thanks for asking!
This sounds like such an interesting internship! As I sit at my computer all day long, I'm humming along to every song on the radio and probably driving everyone nuts. I'm dying to so some writing or singing right now. You're experience sounds surreal! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete