She
stood on stage in Levi’s with a tan leather Stetson pulled
low over her eyes. Her cowboy boots were tapping to the beat,
a six-string slung over her shoulder. Suddenly, the lights began
flashing in synchronized chaos and the drums beat out a pulsating
rhythm.
Terri Clark is a country music superstar. In
2001 her fourth album “Just the Same” went platinum
and in April 2003 her single “Pain to Kill” topped
the Country Radio and Records Chart. That same month Clark headlined
Ferris’ Women Rock concert, a sold-out show produced by
the Music Industry Management Association.
MIMA is a registered student organization at
Ferris comprised of about 40 highly motivated students. Their
main activities include booking and setting up campus concerts
and participating in career development opportunities such as
the NAMM, the International Music Products Association, show each
year.
Rock
Around the Clock
“One reason we put on large concerts such
as Women Rock and the fall semester rock show, Autumn aLive, is
to allow students hands-on professional development,” says
MIMA president Rachel Wells. “The members are given budgets
to work with throughout the semester. They do their own legwork
to promote the show locally and regionally, deal with the contracts
and hospitality, and from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. on the day of the show
MIMA members are the labor for setup, teardown and everything
in between.”
The price of bringing a top music act to Ferris
is considerable. The total cost for the Women Rock concert was
$33,000. In order to produce the concerts MIMA members must write
a proposal and apply for funding from the Student Affairs Programming
Committee and the Student Activities Fund Allocation Committee.
“Students prepare a proposal, coached
by Teresa Langworthy (from the Office of Student Activities),”
says Daniel Cronk, professor of music and MIMA advisor.
MIMA members produce one big show each semester,
so once all the labor is finished for one concert they start the
process all over again. They also work through the summer in order
to find out which acts are available for the fall show. Whenever
the group isn’t planning or executing their own concerts,
they’re assisting other groups with events such as Ferris
Fest and January Jams. Another prospect for the group in the not-too-distant
future is the creation of a record label on campus to represent
established performers and talented artists in the region.
Shining
Star
The purpose of the association is to function
as an on-campus production company. Students are responsible for
obtaining the funds, finding an act that fits the venue and the
price, reserving the location, hiring professional sound and lighting
crews and advertising. By doing this, members of MIMA become what
Cronk calls, “semi-professionals.” And they also begin
to develop a network of contacts within the music business.
“MIMA is a great opportunity for students
at Ferris. It not only gives you a better perspective of how the
music industry works, but it helps give students a chance to be
a part of something. It promotes teamwork, time management and
leadership,” says former member Katy Henry.
The majority of students involved in the association
are Music Industry Management students, a program that is fairly
new to college campuses. In fact, Ferris is the only college in
Michigan that offers the degree. The focus of MIM and MIMA is
to prepare students for careers in the music industry—a
$20 billion business that sells music, image, bands and songs.
For this reason the MIM degree is a joint effort between the College
of Business and the Music department. The main focuses of the
program are sales, promotion and advertising. It’s one of
the few programs that require two internships and can boast a
100 percent job placement rate. However, being a MIM major is
not a requirement to be in the association.
“Even if you are not a MIM student, there’s
a place for you somewhere in the association, whether it be talking
in front of a panel, promotion, sound, lights, music technology,
government, charity work or artist relations,” says Henry.
Something
to Talk About
MIMA was founded in 1997, a year after Ferris
introduced the Music Industry Management degree. The association
started small with mid-day concerts in the Rankin Center Art Gallery.
The concerts featured up-and-coming regional artists who were
fixtures on the college campus circuit.
“Slowly every year, more and more people
heard about MIMA and started coming to the meetings,” says
Henry. “In 2001, we had to move the meetings to a larger
room to accommodate everybody.”
Cronk became the advisor in 1999 and reorganized
the association into its current form. That fall MIMA members
proved their production chops with their first major concert.
The headliner was Train, a fairly new band that had been receiving
steady radio play after one of their songs was featured on the
former Fox hit “Party of Five.” Their song “Meet
Virginia” had been released just before the concert and
quickly climbed the charts. Two years after the Ferris concert
Train won their first Grammy.
The concert made the association an instant
hit with Ferris students. Not everyone at the University was excited
at the prospect of a big show, however.
“It was the first concert in Wink Arena
and people were wringing their hands over their new basketball
court,” said Cronk. Nonetheless, the concert came off without
a hitch. Since the original Train concert MIMA has produced shows
featuring other big names. Dishwalla and Nine Days rocked Ferris’
campus at MIMA’s 2002 Autumn aLive concert.
Dishwalla had just released their album “Opaline,”
the band’s first release since 1998’s hit “And
You Think You Know What Life’s About.” The band also
contributed songs to the soundtracks of such hit movies as “Stir
of Echoes” and “American Pie.”
It was also a great year for Dishwalla’s
opening act, Nine Days. That year the band performed for President
George W. Bush, had a number one single with “Absolutely
(Story of a Girl)” and sold more than a million copies of
their debut album, “The Madding Crowd.”
The two bands caused quite a stir at Ferris
by throwing in surprise jam sessions, songs made famous by Diana
Ross, Third Eye Blind, Lynard Skynard and Bob Dylan and a drum
duet featuring the drummers of both bands.
Go
Your Own Way
Possibilities abound for this student-driven
association. MIMA not only prepares students for their futures,
but also increases their opportunities. Former student Katy Henry
just completed her second internship with Yamaha in Grand Rapids,
and former MIMA president Matthew Turner spent his summer interning
with Sony in New York.
Besides the job skills and employment opportunities,
all the hard work pays off in another way as well: by developing
strong bonds between members and to the University.
“Every past member of the organization
is either checking in in-person or via email,” said Cronk.
While big name bands pack Ferris’ small
town venues, concert goers should keep one thing in mind. Backstage,
crawling through cables, catering to artists and cleaning after
the last roadie has gone are the dedicated students of Ferris’
unique association, a group of 18-, 19- and 20-somethings with
a passion for business, music and good vibrations.
