The singer-songwriter “side job”

Ashley Monroe went to Nashville to sing songs that she loved, and she thought that meant being an artist. The students in the Entertainment in LA class met with Ashley while she was in town to co-write with Michelle Branch and Tyler Hilton.

Monroe used songwriting to cope with the loss of her father when she was a teenager, and after a year of knocking on doors in Nashville she landed a publishing deal. A record deal with Colombia Records soon followed, but Ashley parted ways with the label before a record was released after the challenges of working singles at country radio and being turned into a glossy dolled-up brand. She went back to her “side job” of writing songs, not sure where it would take her.

Monroe has since had cuts by Norah Jones and Carrie Underwood, and as she met with the class, her co-write with Brett James, “The Truth,” is the Billboard number 1 single for Jason Aldean. Recently she collaborated with The Raconteurs’ Brendan Benson and Ricky Skaggs on the single “Old Enough.”

Ashley reminded the students that songwriting is like any project work requiring patience and persistence – you have to plant a lot of seeds before you can see any fruit from your labor. “Everyday I write and everyday I probably write a crappy song,” admitted Monroe, “but I don’t do it to be famous, I do it to sing songs I love.”

She hinted that she is close to a deal with an LA label that will let her “do her own thing” allowing her to experiment across genres.

Belmont West students with singer-songwriter Ashley Monroe (back, center) and Entertainment in LA instructor Chad Greer.

Being The Diversifying, Collaborating, Lucky, Networking, Creative Genius

“The harder I work, the luckier I get,” exclaimed actor and host Tava Smiley. Tava was joined by musician Kay Hanley in the Entertainment in LA class, offering advice on how to “fail upwards” in LA.

Smiley, known for her work in General Hospital, Good Luck Chuck and numerous hosting gigs at Extra, TLC and HGTV, shared her experiences working on student films to get any experience when she first came to LA. After all, “work creates opportunities, not the other way around.”

Hanley, a singer and musician has a diverse career in both music and film. Citing collaboration as key, she encouraged the students to take on projects anywhere they can, even if that means sharing the credit on something they are creating. “Half of 100% is better than 100% of nothing,” said Hanley, vocalist of the band Letters to Cleo, appeared the in film 10 Things I Hate About You and was the vocalist for Rachael Leigh Cook’s character in the movie Josie and the Pussycats.

Tava Smiley, Entertainment in LA instructor Chad Greer and Kay Hanley

This was the first class meeting following GRAMMY week, where the students volunteered at multiple events, culminating with escorting talent down the red carpet for the 52^nd Annual GRAMMY Awards. Many of the students had collected business cards and contact info of people they worked with during the week. How should the students turn one casual contact into a valuable connection? Both Tava and Kay agreed to send a short email with your contact information, but not to ask too much of your contact before you have developed some rapport.

Tava, now primarily hosting, and Kay, now developing children’s TV programming, are doing work that was never part of their original goals when they were new to LA. “Start diversifying your creativity,” and make it known that you are willing to go after any work. Eventually, you will get your lucky break, but you have to be willing to “ride the horse in the direction it’s going.”

The GRAMMY Awards

Belmont West students had the opportunity to be talent escorts on the red carpet for the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards at the Staples Center on Sunday, January 31. Volunteering for the PR firm that handles the awards, students ran talent down the carpet with more than 200 media outlets.

Select talent the Belmont West students escorted down the carpet included:

• Akon
• Bon Jovi
• Chick Corea
• Clive Davis
• Dierks Bentley
• Elvis Costello
• India Arie
• Jeff Bridges
• Jennifer Hudson
• John Primer
• Katy Perry & Russell Brand
• Liz Rose
• Melanie Fiona
• Miley Cyrus
• Pleasure P & Bria Murphy
• Roberta Armani
• Trey Songz
• Zac Brown Band

Aside from working the arrivals for the telecast, students volunteered at multiple events during GRAMMY Week. GRAMMY Career Day, held on the USC Campus, had GRAMMY Award-winning talent such as Justin Timberlake hold workshops for Los Angeles area high school students.

Students also volunteered to work on the production of The GRAMMY Foundation’s Annual Music Preservation concert. Performers included GRAMMY-winning legend Solomon Burke, GRAMMY-winning artists Colbie Caillat and Jason Mraz, R&B vocalist Melanie Fiona, pop/rock band the Fray, and Latin GRAMMY winner Jorge Moreno.

Jorge Moreno is escorted down the red carpet by Belmont West student Angelica Placido during the GRAMMY Foundation's Music Preservation Concert.

L.A. pop radio station, KIIS-FM, held a gifting suite during GRAMMY rehearsals where students worked. Some of the brands at the gifting suite included C&C Clothing, Ed Hardy, Erge and Too-Faced makeup. Seen hanging out in the suite were Justin Beiber, Jessica Sutta (Pussycat Dolls), Ludacris, Jason Derulo and Trey Songz.

These GRAMMY experiences are made available to Belmont students thanks to alumni and supporters working on many of the events during the week.

The L.A. Assistant

Entertainment in LA instructor Chad Greer brought in a panel of assistants to meet with the class and offer advice on landing and handling that entry-level job in Los Angeles.

Robyn Booker from Paramount, Oliver Marler from Wikked TV, Hayley Dickson from Reveille, and Mallori Kirchenschlager (Belmont ‘07) from Creative Artists Agency, shared how they got their foot in the door and how they have been climbing up the ladder through hard work, luck and networking. The panel agreed that everybody has their own path to success, whether through an internship or relentlessly marketing yourself.

To get a recruiter’s attention, “put something catchy in the subject line of the email to differentiate your resume, rather than just listing the job title you are applying for,” offered Dickson, a Vanderbilt University alum. Other practical tips included getting the weekly UTA job list and paying attention to rumors in order to hear about jobs before they are officially put online.

And the work doesn’t end once you land that first job. Don’t expect to be immune from the daily minutiae of entry-level work just because you have a degree and internship experience. “Your boss wants to see you can handle the details before giving you more responsibility,” and in some company cultures, like CAA, their aspiring agents go through training which includes doing time in the mailroom. But keep your head up and take advantage of every opportunity because, “you aren’t really going to know what you like, or what you’re good at, until you have those experiences.”

A warm welcome in LA

Students participating in the Belmont West program were welcomed in Los Angeles by local alumni, adjunct faculty and The Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business staff. Many young alumni and former Belmont West participants were in attendance and offered advice on careers and life in Los Angeles. Belmont West Advisor Val Vanderwest and The Recording Academy's Daniel Mendoza hosted the group at their home on January 9.

Twelve local alumni showed up to welcome the group. Celeb sightings included Dean Wes Bulla on a stopover from Hawaii, Strategic Programs Director Sarah Cates with her husband, Chad Cates, and Legal Issues professor Tom Cavanaugh of 20th Century Fox.

L-R: Sarah Cates, Mallori Kirchenschlager ('07),

Janeal Bernhart ('07), Kelsey Dewald ('07) and

Belmont West student Madison Ciccone

L-R: Belmont West students Kyle Shearer, Melissa Cardwell,

Angelica Placido with Josh Eddy ('07) and Lisa Klingensmith ('09)

L-R, Back: Val Vanderwest ('01), Belmont West student Melissa Carwell,

Lisa Klingensmith ('09), Dan Smith ('84), Belmont West student Latrice Newsome,

Taylor Begert ('08), Sarah Cates

L-R, front: Belmont West students Angelica Placido, Allie White, Kristin Adams

L-R: Belmont West students Kyle Shearer, Adam Sample, Madison Ciccone and Noel Pipkin