Meet the Team @ the Red Room

Meet Josh Story, a member of the Red Room marketing and promotions team.

Javier Parra: What’s your position at the Red Room?

Josh Story: I work as a Promotions and Marketing Assistant at the Red Room @ Cafe 939. I am an intermediary between artist’s management and the Red Room for marketing purposes. I promote artist’s shows on Boston and Berklee based websites as well as work with Red Room street team members to get the word out about artists performing at the Red Room.

JP: What’s does live music mean to you?

JS: Live music is inspiring. Living in the dorms for my first two years of Berklee showed me some of the best musicians I had ever heard all practicing in the basement of a dormitory. It is always inspiring to hear people play music who care about what they do and fully put themselves into it. I have had my mind blown on a consistent basis hearing live music since coming to school here at Berklee. Every time I hear a great live performance it drives me to keep on learning and progressing as a musician. It is great to hear music and ideas I’ve never heard before so I always have a reminder that there is more to learn. Live music inspires me to keep learning.

JP: What’s your major at Berklee? Why did you choose it?

JS: I am dual majoring in Music Production and Engineering and Electronic Production and Design. I chose these two majors because I cannot get enough of the information I am learning about making music that matters to me and they both offer unique opportunities and experiences.

JP: How do you see the music industry from your perspective as a student?

JS: It seems that it is incredibly difficult to become a successful, lasting, and influential part of the music industry. There are seemingly endless opportunities for artist exposure with social media, the internet, and great marketing and promotions workers like myself to aid in marketing and promotion, but with so many ways to get music heard, listeners seem to get overwhelmed with so many choices, and it becomes difficult to get people to take notice. For years now I have been listening to panels of industry experts say that nobody knows what will happen with the music industry in the years to come. In business classes, I have heard many of the same thoughts. It comforts me that people love music and that good music prevails. As a student who has never been on his own or forced into surviving with music as career, I like to think I am on the right track. I have learned in the past two years at Berklee more than my entire public school education taught me. I never imagined I would be where I am today. I know continuing the hard work that has got me to where I am will continue to take me places in life and in the music industry.

JP: What have you been listening to recently?

JS: Recently I have been listening to Voodoo by D’Angelo, Kanye West’s new album, and Flying Lotus.

JP: Favorite artists…?

JS: Van Gogh; Pablo Picasso; not Rembrandt – he is cool, just not my favorite Kanye West; Old Crow Medicine Show; Regina Spektor; Flying Lotus; The Avett Brothers; The Bad Plus; The Beatles