By Cherise Moulden
Formed during the summer of 2011, the Music Industry Club began to place ideas and thoughts together to create a club where students from the Daytona State Music Program and non-Music Program students could come together and learn about the industry.
Every Tuesday at the News JournalCenter, the MIC members eagerly wait
for the meeting to begin at 5:30pm. With boxes of pizza and sodas laid out for
the members, they grab their snacks, have a seat at the tables and listen to the
President of the club, Jackie Randall and Vice President, Max Cleland discuss future
events. They discuss who will do what, where the events will be held and who will
promote the events.
Not only do members learn about the industry but they also get involved with open MIC nights where the members can sign up to showcase their hard work. They also hold performance where they have three sets of performances and three different bands performing.
One of the most important activities the club gets involved with is running concession stands at various venues like the Daytona Blues Festival. While running these stands, the members get a chance to play their own music in hopes of receiving monetary donations to help raise money for the club. All of the donations they acquire will help them get to their biggest goal which is being able to perform at the Daytona Flea Market.
With a total of 17 members, ranging from ages 17 to 50, they are willing to do whatever they can to make the club well known at DSC, as well as outside of the College.
Aside from the music program, what the members learn is vital to what they will come up against in the future when working in the music industry. They are learning all
of the details on how to promote shows, coordinate shows and put themselves
out there to become better musicians and industry workers.
“We want our members to walk away with real hands on experience, because
you can only learn so much when in the classroom,” says Vice President, Cleland. “We want them to be able to take what they’ve learned here and use it in real world situations.”
Club member, Jessie Sweeny says, “I heard women are minorities in the industry, so I took that as a challenge and decided I wanted to be a part of it.” She wants to be able to do it all, including designing her own studio where she can write and record her own music.
As both a member of the club and music program, Brandon Avila says, “Being in this club has opened my eyes to how hard it may be to get your music out to the public and what measures you must take to get people to hear it”. He says the club is fun and the members get to focus on what they love.
Luka Cutrone hopes that when he leaves the club he will have gained an appreciation for different artists and genres of music. He also desires to grow in his experiences with the club.
Anyone interested in becoming a part of the club – which is based at the News Journal Center 221 N. Beach St., Daytona Beach, can contact Adviser Glenn Spinner at spinneg@daytonastate.edu or President of the club, Jackie Randall at mic.dsc.president@gmail.com. Go to DaytonaStateInMotion.com for a video on the MIC Club.