Berklee....

[SkankedDrummer]

Hey Guys,

Im interested in going to Berklee this upcoming year as soon as i graduate...does anyone here have any experience with the school or know anything about how difficult scholarships are to get ? Any help would be appreciated...

 

Thanks

[srsfallriver]

I attended Berklee from '89 - '91. My advise to anyone going there today would be to make connections and jam with everyone you can. It would be great if you lived there as opposed to commuting. The cost is outrageous but there are scholarships (I never received any from there so I can't help in that dept.).

 

There are tons of talented musicians at Berklee (and some not-so-talented). Some of them are going to be in great positions to help you out in the future if you need it. (I attended with Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines and New York studio drummer Abe Laborial Jr.) My mistake as I see it is I didn't make many connections (as I commuted from an hour's drive away and the residents didn't usually hang out with the commuters). Unfortunately in the real world, where you went to college and how much you know don't matter nearly as much as who you know.

 

Also check out every clinic that you can. They bring in some great talent. I saw Joe Pass, Biily Sheehan, Stu Hamm, Will Calhoon, Steve Smith, and many others. Most clinics were free back then with a college ID.

[Scafeets]

I have to agree with srsfallriver: Make sure you stay in town. I went to another school in Boston and made a lot of friends and contacts with Berklee players, as well as NE Conservatory and non-student working musicians.

[cnegrad]

I lived in Berklee's dorm at 150 Mass Ave. and it was a mixed blessing:

 

On the positive side, I made tons of friends, and jammed with lots of players now considered to be very famous. I probably got as much from that environment as I did from the school itself. It was great being available 24 hours a day to hang and play with all those up and coming musicians.

 

On the negative side, that building is a dump. Tons of cockroaches and mice, and the food sucked too. Lots of break-ins in our rooms too.

 

One indispensable feature of that area (Back Bay) was the proliferation of used record stores. (I don't know if they're still there.) Man, those were my real textbooks. Back then, you could buy any album used for $2 or $3, and I devoured them. And there were lots of clubs you could go to a play live. It rarely paid much, but the experience was invaluable.

[Scafeets]

 

Originally posted by cnegrad I lived in Berklee's dorm at 150 Mass Ave. and it was a mixed blessing: On the positive side, I made tons of friends, and jammed with lots of players now considered to be very famous. I probably got as much from that environment as I did from the school itself. It was great being available 24 hours a day to hang and play with all those up and coming musicians. On the negative side, that building is a dump. Tons of cockroaches and mice, and the food sucked too. Lots of break-ins in our rooms too. One indispensable feature of that area (Back Bay) was the proliferation of used record stores. (I don't know if they're still there.) Man, those were my real textbooks. Back then, you could buy any album used for $2 or $3, and I devoured them. And there were lots of clubs you could go to a play live. It rarely paid much, but the experience was invaluable.

 

 

 

 

Oh man -- Boston's student ghetto! From what I recall, Berklee's dorm situation is worse than most, but anything within walking distance of the campus is either going to be super-expensive or a real dump. If I had to do it over, I'd find something both affordable and commutable by public transit, since parking is also outta control near the school.

[srsfallriver]

 

Originally posted by Scafeets Oh man -- Boston's student ghetto! From what I recall, Berklee's dorm situation is worse than most, but anything within walking distance of the campus is either going to be super-expensive or a real dump. If I had to do it over, I'd find something both affordable and commutable by public transit, since parking is also outta control near the school.

 

 

Yeah, well, that was the small plus side to commuting. I lived in a nice suburb with mom & dad. It was cheap and clean but there were no greats to jam with. I heard plenty of horror stories from the residents but I still envied them. Suck up the unpleasantries and you'll have experiences that others dream of!

[Scafeets]

 

Originally posted by srsfallriver I heard plenty of horror stories from the residents but I still envied them. Suck up the unpleasantries and you'll have experiences that others dream of!

 

Good point

[gtrwiz]

 

Originally posted by srsfallriver There are tons of talented musicians at Berklee (and some not-so-talented). Some of them are going to be in great positions to help you out in the future if you need it. (I attended with Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines and New York studio drummer Abe Laborial Jr.)

 

 

 

I'm smellin' a rat here, Natilie only went to Berklee for one semester, Spring '95. I know because I've done sessions with her dad and ex-husband, plus her roomate is still a good friend of mine. If I would have stayed at Berklee one more semester she would have been my next door neighbor. And Abe lives in LA...

 

 

 

Originally posted by Scafeets Oh man -- Boston's student ghetto! From what I recall, Berklee's dorm situation is worse than most, but anything within walking distance of the campus is either going to be super-expensive or a real dump. If I had to do it over, I'd find something both affordable and commutable by public transit, since parking is also outta control near the school.

 

 

 

If you go you absolutely live in the dorms, yes they suck, but so do all of the apartments that are close. Boston is a bitch to schlep gear in, esp in the winter. If you commute then you won't be getting the most out of the school. Either way the school is expensive, so you may as well stay there and make as many connections as possible.

 

Skank, I just got back in town, PM me and I'll call you tomorrow.

[srsfallriver]

Originally posted by gtrwiz I'm smellin' a rat here, Natilie only went to Berklee for one semester, Spring '95. I know because I've done sessions with her dad and ex-husband, plus her roomate is still a good friend of mine. If I would have stayed at Berklee one more semester she would have been my next door neighbor. And Abe lives in LA

 

I was in a class with Natalie in the Spring of '91. There weren't too many short blonde girls there with Southern accents and a dad that the professors knew! You may want to crossexamine her old roommate! I thought Abe and his dad were out of New York back then but I could be mistaken. But who cares anyway? My point was that if one goes to Berklee then one ought to make many connections because there will be several people in any given class that will make it into leading parts of the music biz!!!!!

[gtrwiz]

Originally posted by srsfallriver I was in a class with Natalie in the Spring of '91. There weren't too many short blonde girls there with Southern accents and a dad that the professors knew! You may want to crossexamine her old roommate! I thought Abe and his dad were out of New York back then but I could be mistaken. But who cares anyway? My point was that if one goes to Berklee then one ought to make many connections because there will be several people in any given class that will make it into leading parts of the music biz!!!!!

 

Nat's dad and ex are friends, she was there one semester... Spring '95

 

Check her Bio:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0537732/bio

 

http://www.berklee.edu/opi/2004/1207.html

[srsfallriver]

 

Originally posted by gtrwiz Nat's dad and ex are friends, she was there one semester... Spring '95 Check her Bio: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0537732/bio http://www.berklee.edu/opi/2004/1207.html

 

 

Ok that must have been another Natalie Maines from Texas with a well-known guitar playing dad in my class. Her bio only says "attended in the 1990's" and I'd be careful what I read from the Berklee Alumni notes. There is a Berklee Alumni running for a political office around here that is suing Berklee because they lost all records of him even being there.

 

But again you missed the main point!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gtrwiz]

No, I didn't... and her Bio says that she graduated high school in'92...

[srsfallriver]

 

Originally posted by gtrwiz No, I didn't... and her Bio says that she graduated high school in'92...

 

 

Well, then I'm mistaken. There was a girl from Texas in one of my spring '91 classes that looked very much like her. One day the instructor, in front of the class mentioned that he knew her dad who was a studio guitarist and I thought he used the name Maines. When the Chix first became popular I really thought that was her even before learning that Natalie had in fact attended Berklee. I'm sorry. But please don't imply that I didn't attend. I was there from Autumn '89 to the Spring of '91.

 

My point still stands. I obviously didn't fratenise much with the residents. Most commuters took the early classes to beat the aweful evening traffic. Most residents jammed late and took later classes. As a result I stayed in touch with very few after I left, which I think was a mistake that Skanked ought to avoid!