Get to know our fall music promotion (801 Sessions) apprentices! These students have spent the past 4 months deep in the local music scene: hosting and documenting live concerts, making music videos, and creating promotional material. Check out the 801 Sessions Instagram and YouTube!
Click a name to jump to a particular student’s Q&A:
- Amelia Weyerstell
- Carmella Yearley
- Tinsley Smith
- Wren Babcock
- Torie Romano
- Alex Czop
- Gilbert Tobler-Wrathall
- Hunter Bingham
AMELIA WEYERSTELL
Filming and photographing bands is really interesting to me and 801 Sessions helped me start to explore this passion and interest. I really enjoy being able to work with all these amazing people and incredible bands.
WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU LEARNED FROM THIS EXPERIENCE?
It helped me remember that communication is key so that we could get the correct shots for the videos, along with making sure we are having fun with talking and interacting with bands.
WHY LOCAL MUSIC?
I really like local music because it allows me to discover new bands and new music that is easier to access than some really big bands or artists. It’s also nice because you can make new friends with some really cool people. Local music is really important for growing our city’s culture and supporting our community.
CARMELLA YEARLEY
My name is Carmella, I am 18 and am an avid enjoyer of music and art. I was classically trained for about 7 years to play the cello, and I play guitar for my own personal enjoyment. I like to write songs and watch TV in my free time.
WHY LOCAL MUSIC?
I think local music is very important because it provides community for people who don’t feel connected to others. Utah can be specifically isolating for queer youth because of the religious values many people hold. It’s difficult to find a sense of belonging outside of the Mormon church for some people, and music is one of the few things that can bring us together.
HOW DO YOU CAPTURE THE MOMENT WHEN RECORDING BANDS LIVE?
I think the best way to capture the moment can be to simply observe and to film things that make you have a reaction. A lot of basic human interactions can capture emotion in a way that not many other things can. Filming people’s excitement can be very easy if you are looking for it because it’s not hard to find. As for spontaneity, you kind of just have to be observing and be consistently ready to point your camera at something.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE PART OF BEING A MUSIC PROMOTION APPRENTICE?
The most fun thing about 801 sessions has been the shows. For most of my life, I’ve been a very shy and socially anxious person, but being out of school and having a job as a host has changed that a lot for me. Now, I kind of enjoy introducing myself and talking to people about random things. Sometimes I get overly conscious afterwards, but I make an effort not to overthink things. It’s also really fun to witness people’s joy and excitement. Live music has the ability to connect every single person in a room like nothing else, and it’s very fun to capture that.
TINSLEY SMITH
Hi! My name is Tinsley 🙂 This is my third year taking classes at Spy Hop.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE PART OF BEING A MUSIC PROMOTION APPRENTICE?
My favorite thing about taking 801 Sessions has been getting to meet new people and interacting with local bands.
WHY LOCAL MUSIC?
I believe that local music is important because it brings communities together and showcases artists in your local area. For me personally, the local music scene has had a major impact on my life. I have been able to share my love of music with so many amazing people and admire the creations of others.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES OF MAKING MUSIC VIDEOS?
Some of the challenges I have come across while filming and editing music videos have been being able to properly capture the overall feel of the song. I find it very tempting to add humorous elements in my videos, but it is important to create visuals that represent the artist.
WORKING AS AN APPRENTICE IS SUPER COLLABORATIVE. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THAT?
The best thing about working in a highly collaborative environment is seeing everyone’s take on the same project. Specifically, all the posters we made have had so much personality and are really fun to look at.
WREN BABCOCK
Hi! My name is Wren.
WHY DID YOU JOIN THE MUSIC PROMOTION APPRENTICESHIP?
One of the main reasons I found 801 Sessions interesting is because music and film have always been really interesting topics to me. I’ve had a lot of fun in the class, and though staying motivated has been tough at times, the environment is really positive, and we do things that I really enjoy, which have been extremely helpful in keeping me up for the task.
WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU ENCOUNTER IN THE FILMING/EDITING PROCESS?
Most of the difficulties that come with filming and editing that don’t come from a technical point have come from communication. Mainly during filming, communication is always difficult, making sure we know what shots we’re getting, and that all the cameras have the right settings, it can be messy.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE PART OF 801 SESSIONS?
Honestly, I’ve enjoyed pretty much every aspect of the class, from filming to creating flyers for the shows, I’d say that this class has been one of the most enjoyable things I’ve done this year. But if I had to choose one thing that I enjoyed the most it would be filming the bands, not just because the shows are the big events of the class but because I enjoy getting to see the bands play and expand on my music taste. Overall, I definitely don’t regret taking the class, I’ve met a lot of great people and had many cool experiences that I wouldn’t have gotten to have before.
TORIE ROMANO
Hey! My name is Torie, and over the past few months I have been able to work with the local music scene through photography, videography, and designing, and it has been such a rewarding experience.
WHY DID YOU JOIN THE MUSIC PROMOTION APPRENTICESHIP? WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE PART?
I have been involved with the local music scene for a couple years now, yet it has become such a big part of my life, which is really what drew me to 801 Sessions in the first place. Being able to do all these creative things for bands and being able to see more of the behind-the-scenes work has been the highlight for me.
WHY LOCAL MUSIC?
Local music is so important, not just to me but to many people and especially younger people, because of the sense of community it provides and 801 Sessions has been an amazing way to showcase that togetherness that keeps this scene alive. It’s also why I feel I’ve succeeded in this class. I am not typically a fan of group and collaborative work but the environment is so welcoming because of the shared interest in music and specifically our local music scene.
ALEX CZOP
WHY LOCAL MUSIC?
Local music is extremely important because it gives voice to people with unique experiences that might not usually have that voice. It’s also usually separate from the exploitative music industry that so often strips the creativity and unique voice from artists. The local music scene in Salt Lake specifically is incredibly tight-knit yet is simultaneously warm and welcoming. The artists here are all open-minded and shows are often played with music ranging across countless genres between artists. Every local artist I’ve worked with in this program has been endlessly kind, open-minded, and just genuinely fun to work with. I think that’s one of the things that gets lost when names become big, and the music industry takes artists’ names and music away from them – the artist behind the music. While there are definitely big names that make great music, it’s so easy to lose the real person behind the “personality” of the artist put on by the industry. Local musicians are intimately tied to their music, which transforms the listening and concert experience into something far more personal and, to me, far more impactful.
HOW DO YOU CAPTURE THE MOMENT WHEN RECORDING BANDS LIVE?
The best way I’ve found to capture spontaneity is to simply always be filming. It’s worth the extra bit of time it takes to sort through extra clips that end up being useless to get that one perfect moment of people just being their genuine selves. Getting to the point of closeness where real excitement shows is the other main challenge which I’ve found can be overcome by being genuine with people first. Just talking to them, getting to know them, and being yourself is always the quickest, easiest, and usually least awkward way to get real interactions and to see their personalities shine through.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE PART OF 801 SESSIONS?
The most fun part of the class for me is getting to know everyone taking the class with me. It’s been really interesting seeing them open up through the duration of the session. At the beginning of the class, everyone was pretty quiet and awkward, but we all shared a love for music, which made us warm up to one another pretty quickly. As the class went on, everyone really came out of their shells, and we all openly talked with one another, whether in group contexts or one-on-one. Learning more about everyone in the class has been so rewarding as I’ve built social skills, made friends, and improved my skills in music promotion.
GILBERT TOBLER-WRATHALL
THIS CLASS REQUIRES A TON OF TEAMWORK — HOW WAS THAT EXPERIENCE?
I like working in a highly collaborative environment. It’s cool because, say, you missed an angle while filming or something with your camera goes wrong during a show. Because you are working on it with multiple different people all filming the same thing, it’s not that big of a deal because someone else probably got the shot. It’s also super fun to edit a video with someone else and get lots of input and new ideas that way.
WHY LOCAL MUSIC?
I think local music is super important because it generates a community that shares a common interest in cool new local bands, and in that community, you can meet people and make friends. Local music is also an accessible way for people in the local community to do new things and join bands and make music.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES OF MAKING MUSIC VIDEOS?
Some challenges filming bands are making everyone’s camera set to the same settings so the shots don’t have any discontinuities in the exposure or anything like that. Another challenge would be making sure the mics are hooked up properly to get audio. We started just taking audio from the venue so that hasn’t really been much of an issue. A challenge with making a video is going through all the footage and choosing the best ones. It takes forever.
HUNTER BINGHAM
WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS?
Black Midi, Hella, Death Grips, “bad music” basically!
WHAT WAS THE BEST CONCERT YOU’VE SEEN?
Death Grips might be one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. Black midi had a 3 hour marathon show which was crazy. I didn’t know they were doing that and when I got there i was like uhhhh… standing there with my face getting melted off for 3 hours was kinda crazy.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF 801 SESSIONS?
I liked messing around while doing B-roll, cause I feel like B-roll was where I could be the most unhinged.
