So even though I have a Full Sail education I still haven’t quite figured Tumblr out yet, especially the whole “inbox” part?  I’ll work on that later.

2011 is ending quickly and I realized the other day that I have seen a TON of amazing shows this year.  I was very lucky that every single one of my favorite artists were on tour at some point this year…Brit, Gaga, Katy, Taylor, Rihanna, etc., and I’ve taken so many memories with me from those nights.  From four-hour road trips to Miami in the rain to stages catching on fire and building evacuations…if you were any way a part of these experiences with me, thank you, and I hope we can do it again sometime.

I graduated from college this year.  I received my Bachelor’s degree in Entertainment Business at a very young age, and I can’t believe my Full Sail experience has already come and gone.  At this time two years ago, I was packing up to leave for Orlando in less than a week.  I was in my room a few days ago (at home) and unpacking boxes from Orlando, realizing I was doing the opposite just two years ago.

This past January was when we jumped into our entertainment core classes—intellectual property, artist management, media distribution, television business, and so on…it was a fresh way to start a fresh year.  It just blows my mind that all of that has come and gone, and I do miss that place daily.

I also took landed my dream internship at my dream company, Big Machine Records.  I work in the Creative department, which oversees all aesthetic/visual content for the label…music videos, album packaging, photoshoots, and anything else creative.  Big Machine is home to one of my favorite artists, Taylor Swift, and one of the biggest highlights was designed the interior cover for the December issue of Billboard magazine.  I was also able to jump in to some great design projects (single cover for Rascal Flatts) and some great video projects too.  The real-world approach at Full Sail really prepared me for this amazing, real-world internship.

I do enjoy being in Nashville and hope to be there a while longer.  I can’t wait to see what’s next.  My internship is about to end, and it feels like it just started.  Kind of crazy.

In 2012 I hope to tackle some projects that I have been putting of for years.  Some are related to music, some are related to health, and some are things that very few people know about.  Before I moved out of Orlando I was finally hitting a nice stride on some of these projects.  I was working out with my trainer daily, eating well, blowing my school work out of the water and focusing heavily on my side projects.  Life has changed a lot since I moved to Nashville, especially since I don’t have my gym anymore!  Darn you LA Fitness.  Not that things have changed as in being “worse,” just very very different.  I look forward to making changes in 2012 and trying to get into my groove again.

I can’t say where I’ll be living in a year from now (or six month from now) but I know there’s a plan on the way.  I wish everyone the best as we all move forward!

Lately I’ve been posed a lot with this question:  “Alyssa, what do you want to do with your life?”

Some of it has been literally asked to me, and some of it has been hypothetical.  Like, I’ll be in the middle of something and realize that a.) I either really like what I’m doing or b.) I either really don’t like what I’m doing.

You know when I started my Bachelor’s tenure at Full Sail University almost two years ago (wow), I went in wanting to be an artist manager.  Then I got there and quickly realized that every other person in the Entertainment Business and Music Business degree programs wanted to the exact same thing.  I guess it kind of became the underlying stereotype.  So in the beginning, we were advised to really open our minds and see what else is out there.  So, I listened, and I did.

Back in May I finally got to take the official “Artist Management” course…even after taking that course, it still remained that this is something that I wanted to do for the rest of my life.  Not to mention, the instructor was awesome and the class ended up being my favorite class of the entire degree.  My teacher also took me aside one day and said I had a real knack for it, and that my industry knowledge/organization and “people skills” were top notch…I’m not patting myself on the back, but that’s always nice to hear.  It’s always good to have someone point out something positive about you every once in a while.

Even in the midst of my amazing internship with the Creative team at Big Machine, management keeps coming up.  Obviously not within the company, but in my own side projects…it’s like a recurring thing, and I definitely think it’s there for a reason.  I love people, and I love relationships, so why not make that a part of my path?

I guess if I had to narrow down a broad career goal, it would probably be to take on clients with similar interests as myself and represent them relentlessly (in case you haven’t noticed, I am quite relentless).  What I mean by similar interests is this:  I am not a singer, or a dancer, or an actress, or anything like that…but if you have read my blog for any short time you’ll catch on that this is what I study and this is what I know.  Yeah, I might not know all the technicalities of the art itself, but my energies go in to studying the network of people who make these arts a business.  Not just the people, but the business itself.  For instance, I’m not a dancer, but due to something I am working on now I can tell you the top five dance studios in Nashville and how they are different from their other 45 competitors.  Boom.

Since college ended, it’s been an amazing few months.  A whirlwind, actually, but it’s actually been kind of tough sometimes.  I have the tendency to overextended, and the stress has been getting to me…example, forgetting to eat until 5pm, or getting pulled over for going fast in midtown because you were too preoccupied thinking about your clients.  Don’t worry, I got away with a warning.  But still, I need to focus ;)

Once I find “that” client, I know it’ll be a fun ride.  So if any of my future clients are reading this, or if a client reads this in the future, just know that if we decide to make a team that you will be getting my 400% at all times.  I will do everything in power power to make you succeed, 25 hours a day/8 days a week.  And we’re gonna have a heck of a time doing it.

Time to wrap this up.  Let me know your thoughts.  Serious clients only.

Also, if the man of my dreams is reading this, please substitute the word “client” with “husband.” :)

I designed the inside cover for the December issue of Billboard magazine.

This is real.  Please pick up your copy, it will be on newsstands December 10th :)

Night four…and it’s the end!

What a whirlwind week…BMI Awards, CMA Awards, afterparties and jetsetting.  I’m tired.

So nice of 13 Management to gift me with front row comp tickets and meet and greet before the show.  Got some great networking done, which is the name of the game right?  As I’ve mentioned in my previous three Speak Now posts, this show is amazing.  Out of all four, this was definitely my favorite of all.  The mix was awesome (not to mention there was a half a stack in my face all night) and it was great having that face-to-face interaction.  And in case you were wondering, the catering was fantastic.

Definitely a nice way to end this tour experience…especially going from back of the floor on opening week to front of the floor closing night.  Plus, it was nice to be back in Orlando for the weekend.  Tampa’s only an hour and a half away, so it was an easy drive.  I really realize how much I Orlando and it was such a great feeling driving down 426 and passing my alma mater, Full Sail University, on the left.  I couldn’t help but think that just two-and-a-half years ago I passed that same sight kind of fearfully, because I didn’t know what to expect.  Now I’ve conquered that chapter (with a bang) and I can’t help but feel so proud every time I think of that place.

PS, current Full Sailors—take advantage of your time there.  It’s such a special environment that you won’t find anywhere else.  Whether you’re in your first month, your fourth month of finishing your entire program in your 21st month, embrace it and try your best until the very end.

Overall:  10/10, thanks to the team at 13 and everyone else who made this weekend possible.  Time for bed.

Did you see Taylor’s tour?  What about the DVD?  What are your thoughts?

It’s weeks like these that make every single late night and early morning worth it!  After I left the label offices Tuesday night, I was on sight for the BMI Awards red carpet and got to see some of the biggest stars in country music as they arrived.  I was pretty tired and had to get something to eat before picking up a buddy at the airport so I only stayed for 20 minutes.  Naturally, I missed Carrie Underwood.  This is becoming a trend, but I think I’m actually okay this it.  I returned later but didn’t see anything.

Wednesday night…the big night.  The CMA Awards!  My first Nashville award show, and it was a great night for everyone at Big Machine.  Even as an intern, they really went out of the way to make us feel a “part of the group” this week.  If I hadn’t have had tickets, I would have attended the company viewing party.  However, after the awards, I stopped by the Big Machine afterparty downtown…and that was awesome.  And that’s also all I’m going to say.

I just got in from the Nashville Sparkle & Twang event.  A little bit of background, my supervisor is a fashion designer and asked me to create a big “sizzle reel” of some of her biggest fashion pieces for Reba, Taylor and others.  My other intern (who designed the logo and other imagery) and I got to attend the event (on the label’s bill) and see our work in her display.  So cool to see our hard work come to life.

And now I have a 5am flight to Orlando for my FINAL night of Taylor’s show…comp tickets from Taylor’s management team, and meet and greet backstage.  Hope the catering’s good.

Did you watch the CMA Awards?  What was your favorite highlight?  What do you like about award shows in general?  What do you dislike?

Didn’t see this one coming.

I thought my tenure on the “Speak Now” Tour was about done, but I was mistaken.  My buddies came up from Orlando and we took a (nice) trip north to Kentucky…it wasn’t til after two hours of getting lost did we realize we had crossed into the Eastern timezone, meaning it was actually 6pm and not 5pm like we had originally thought.  We were also staying 40 minutes south of the arena, meaning we were a tad late.

As I said in my Dallas, if you want details on the SHOW, please read my post from June. For more notes on the experience of the tour itself, please read on…

Never have I ever had to deal with bleacher seats on an arena tour.  Call me spoiled, but numbered bleacher seats is not the way to go—from a consumer perspective.  From a promoter perspective, let’s see how many bodies we can pack in one row without breaking the fire code.

Again, the show itself was good.  Obviously predictable, because I’ve seen it twice before, but Taylor’s energy was great.  The arena was nice and loud, just the way I like it.

I guess I really don’t have much more to say.  I know, I’m lame.  It was a great little roadtrip and it was quality entertainment.  Again.  The end.

This was a fun time.  I was a VIP at Taylor’s perfume release event in Nashville.  The initial party was in New York, then in Los Angeles, and concluded here.  It was pretty awesome getting to say hey to Taylor again, since we hadn’t spoken since June, and let her know where I’m interning.  Kind of cool.  I spoke with her mom for a while, whom I also had not seen since June.  I think people often wonder what the key to Taylor’s success is, and I would say 75% is her strong support system.  Speaking with her mom and dad, you really understand that they are the farthest thing from “stage parents.”  I’ve attached some pictures from the event itself…I want you to take a look at the intense branding they did.

And just for kicks, here’s some pics of me and Taylor catching up ;)

Good times.  Headed to Kentucky tomorrow for the show.  Random, right.

What do you think of Taylor’s brand extension?  Do you like the Wonderstruck fragrance?

Just got in from my 3842038024327th show of the year…okay, not really, but it’s starting to feel that way.  I mean that in the most positive way possible :)

Taylor Swift’s “Speak Now” Tour live at Cowboys Stadium.

This is the only semi-decent picture I got.  I kind of broke my iPhone camera and left my digital in Nashville.  Whoops.

If you want details on the show itself, please check out my post from June when I first attended the show.

For details about the stadium tour experience, please keep reading:

This girl puts on a SHOW.  However, I will say that this stadium is massive.  As if we already didn’t know that, right?  But really, I almost felt as if it were too big.  My group and I were at the front of the field and I could hardly hear anything.  Maybe that’s the millennialist in me coming out, but seriously, it was rough.  Not to mention it was hot.  Almost unbearable.  I’m usually freezing at these things.  The reason I mention that is because it felt as if the stadium staff was seemingly unprepared for an event this size.

Needless to say, Taylor played for a sold out crowd of 55,000.  I’d love to see the box score, I’m sure they made a nice piece off this show.  It was great to see the indoor pyro and see some subtle changes between now and opening week.  Definitely a solid 7/10.  Not for her lack of trying, but I felt like the stadium was more of a novelty.  I would have honestly rather seen a 4-night sweep at the American Airlines Center downtown than one night at Cowboys Stadium.  It’s more comfortable, more adaptable and—in my opinion—looks better on paper.  Plus, they would have saved money in pyro and advanced staging.

I had a great night with my favorite boys and it was nice to decompress after a whirlwind college graduation week.

Did you see Taylor on this tour?  Stadium or arena?  What were your thoughts?

Let me know.

Hello!  It’s been a whirlwind few weeks:  graduated from college, moved to Nashville and now I’m back in DFW until the 15th.

I’ll be attending a show this weekend, followed by the CMA Awards next month, so I’ll have some fun writings soon.

I will also have my video resume updated thanks to some great critique I just received.  Be on the lookout for that!