Meet the Team @ the Red Room

A key member of the Red Room @ Cafe 939 team is, Nicholas Susi who is in charge of passing the word out about our events. He is part of the Street Team and a dedicated MB/M major at Berklee

Javier Parra: Tell us a bit about yourself Nicholas…
Nicholas Susi: I am a Music Business/Management Major. It’s my 3rd semester here, although I spent a year at the University of Connecticut before Berklee. I’m studying trombone with Phil Wilson, and I am the Street Team Runner for the Red Room. As far as career goals, right now I’m trying to find a healthy balance between honing in on being business-minded, and exercising my creativity through playing the trombone and composing as well. I would definitely say Berklee is perfect for helping me develop these skills along the way, and I’m certainly enjoying my experience thus far.

JP: What aspect do you like most about the Red Room?
NS: Coming into Berklee, I thought I wanted to work for a record label.  Knowing what I know now and seeing the directions that the industry is taking, I’m steering away from this initial mindset and trying to get more exposure to other avenues of the industry. The Red Room has presented me with an incredible opportunity to see and experience the inner workings of marketing, promotion, booking, etc, and it has certainly showed me that the live music aspect of the business is something I might want to stick with in the future.

JP: Any particular challenges you have had at the Red Room?
NS: I wouldn’t necessarily say I’ve experienced any challenges in terms of struggles or boundaries I have had to overcome.  However, working for the Red Room has really challenged me to think outside the box when it comes to promoting a show, and how to try and draw attention to it over other shows at other venues.

JP: What was the last concert you attended?
NS: As far as the Red Room, I think it was Emily Elbert and Julia Easterlin, both of which I find to be incredibly inspiring Berklee singer/songwriters that I have so much respect for. And in general, I saw Sleigh Bells and LCD Soundsystem at the Orpheum. The music had everybody dancing, but the sound was way too loud.

JP: What advice would you give to those trying to step into the music industry these days?
NS: I don’t know if I’m really qualified to be giving advice to people trying to break into the music industry – haha – but I guess I would have to say at least for me, what has really helped me has been focusing on exactly what I want to achieve, but not necessarily focusing so hard on an idea to the point of becoming short-sighted or narrow-minded.  Considering how quickly the industry changes, I think you have to be very willing to adapt and not get overtly frustrated if you have to tweak your ideas to adhere to a market.

JP: What’s your last music purchase?
NS: Last music purchase? Probably something boring like guitar strings – hahaha!

Interview by Javier Parra
Editorial and Media Assistant

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