White Stripes, Weezer, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Killers. They are just a few of my closest friends.
Over the last few years, I have met these awesome musicians and many more as a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine.
During college I never would have imagined that I would be going to parties with Cake and Hot Hot Heat.
Never in my wildest dreams could I have foreseen hanging out with bands like the Offspring, System of a Down and Green Day for the weekend.
Well, I did see it in my dreams. That is of course until I woke up from that deep slumber.
True, those were only dreams, but lately I’ve been thinking about how much fun it would be to have a circle of friends in the music industry and incorporate those friendships into my line of work.
Thanks to my senior project, I think I have found my journalistic calling. At least, I hope I have.
I have joined forces with another journalism major to produce a 32 page zine about emerging rock bands in the surrounding cities.
Through this project I have met some people that I would have never otherwise known of or had the opportunity to befriend.
Interviewing and photographing students, full time musicians, waitresses and even guitar hobbyists has opened my eyes to personalities who don’t get much coverage.
After freaking out about having no direction in which to go after graduation, I began to think about what would keep me entertained for the first two years of my professional life.
After thinking about how much fun I had interviewing the band “Angel City Sound” last week and spending some time talking to a guitarist I think that I have finally found my path.
Picture this: Meeting people your own age, anywhere between 18 and 24, who have interesting stories to tell and who are so laid back and fun to talk to that you can’t wait to wake up and go to work everyday.
Isn’t this what everyone strives for in a working environment?
Well, this is exactly what I want do to in my future career.
I’ve thought about continuing the zine after I graduate, but that would require a lot of money that I just don’t have.
So, I suppose I have to think of the alternative.
I could enterprise my own stories writing about more local bands.
I could even have a regular column or series in the features or arts section of some newspaper.
Now, that would be great. I would write the stories in my own time, being sure to follow the deadlines, of course. To mix it up a little, I could go watch shows and review them. Plus, I could even profile venues.
This is pretty much what I am doing for my senior project, but this way I would be getting paid for it.
I know this is a far cry from being a writer for Rolling Stone and meeting famous bands, but a girl can dream, can’t she?
I figure that if I can at least cover similar content in the future, then I can continue to dream and continue to enjoy the work that I do.
Gloria Diaz, a senior journalism major, is photography editor for the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at gdiaz1@ulv.edu.
