Berklee's aspiring music pros go on their annual pilgrimage to Music City.

By Sarah Godcher Murphy
(April 18, 2001)

	Songwriter Mike Reid ended his clinicat ASCAP by quoting a passage from T.S. Eliot's "Four Quartets."
	Photo by S. Godcher

As students began the final day of their Music City marathon, Professor Pat Pattison showed little sympathy for any fatigue. He, along with Professor Stephen Webber, had organized the trip. This exhaustion was part of the plan. In bombarding students with a near overwhelming amount of activity, Pattison hoped they would return to Berklee feeling inspired and replenished in spirit -- if not well rested.

"The idea is to exhaust you with good stuff," he told them. "For some of you, the experience you just had will take you to another place."

For the 13th year in a row, Berklee's Nashville Spring Break brought students face to face with the many of the best artists, songwriters, and producers in the business. Wynonna Judd, Kathy Mattea, and Janis Ian were perhaps the best-known participants in this year's trip. Other notables included songwriters Marcus Hummon, Annie Roboff, and Mike Reid, who have written hits for the Dixie Chicks, Faith Hill, and Bonnie Raitt, respectively; and producers Josh Leo, Kyle Lehning, Dino Elefante, and Chuck Ainlay.

Each shared stories of their ascent to the top of the music industry and the challenges they managed to overcome. The students learned that all of the clinicians, even superstars like Wynonna Judd and Kathy Mattea, were once like them -- struggling to get that first big break.

Hearing so many success stories from such a wide variety of sources had a powerful impact on students. Many left Nashville with renewed commitment to their music careers.

	Artist Kathy Mattea performed for students and offered career advice during a clinic at ASCAP.
	Photo by S. Godcher

Graetzer said he was particularly inspired by Kathy Mattea's clinic at ASCAP. The singer gave up a successful and secure academic career to move to Nashville with a boyfriend. He gave up within a year, but she stuck it out, alone in a strange town.

"I could have gone back to school and been a success. No one would ever have to know that I chickened out," Mattea said. Instead she gave herself a deadline of five years to make it in Nashville. The decision was the biggest turning point in her life.

"Suddenly it was all on the line," Mattea said. "That's the most difficult part. But that's what life is about. You get out of it only as much as you're willing to put on the line."

Mattea said her first single was released five years to the day after she moved to Nashville. But she and other clinicians found that the challenges did not stop once they had "made it." Music Row is perpetually dealing with reversals of fortune, they said. Record sales fluctuate. Artists are dumped from one label, then picked up by another. Songwriters may go years between hit records. Surviving these ups and downs requires a real and lasting commitment to music, first and foremost.

"We're all trying to be successful. We're all trying to get a gig," Wynonna Judd told students during her clinic at ASCAP. "But the bottom line is passion. I have a heart and a passion for it that will not stop. I will sing until they come get me with a straitjacket."

Despite many number one hits and millions of records sold, Wynonna said she still occasionally feels insecure about her career. Her most recent record, for instance, did not sell as well as she had hoped. But Wynonna finds creative ways to weather the tough times. Seeking a quick pick-me-up, she recently traveled to San Francisco to watch a concert by Tina Turner, one of her idols.

"She's survived it all," Wynonna said. "I want to be a survivor."

While many students were thrilled to meet with high-profile artists like Wynonna, they were equally inspired by the stars' behind-the-scenes colleagues.

"We heard from people in all aspects of the music business: studio musicians, writers, producers, managers, and publishers. It was cool to see that you can have a successful career in music and not be a megastar," said Songwriting major T.J. Hatfield.

	During her ASCAP clinic, singer Wynonna Judd encouraged students to be passionate about their work.
	Photo by J.Russell

The accomplishments of recent Berklee alumni in Nashville show that it can, in fact, be done. Over 300 alums currently live in the Music City. About 100 arrived within the past five years, according to trustee Pamela Roller '95, head of the Nashville Berklee Alumni Chapter. Many have said that their decision to settle in Nashville was due directly to their spring break experience as students.

This was the case for Michael Bransfield '92.

"I met [hit songwriter] Mike Reid the first night I was here on spring break, and I knew instantly that was what I wanted to do."

Bransfield was one of dozens of alumni who participated in the trip, speaking on panels, leading tours, and meeting students at the annual alumni reception. Like many other alums, he enthusiastically encouraged students to take a chance on the Music City after graduation.

Bransfield himself did this. It was not easy at first, he said. But he is now a staff songwriter for a song publishing company. Although it took some time to land such a good job, the dues paying was an important part of his musical development.

"To be able to wake up in Nashville and write another song should be your goal," he said. "It's just constant inspiration in this town."