Summer Shot Discount

Brian Haines (MBP '03)

|    Jan 01, 2005

Originally from Aurora, Oregon, Brian Haines first came to LA to attend the Encore Program [MI’s customized ten-week option] in 2002. Unsure of what he wanted to do, he sampled bass, guitar, vocal and songwriting classes but found himself increasingly drawn to learning about the business side of the music industry. When MI’s new Music Business Program began to take shape, his own plans also came into focus. Brian continues in his own words:

“I decided to save my money and just hung out around Hollywood for the next six months waiting for the program to start. During that time I tried everything. I put ads out as a bass player for hire and picked up work now and then…I also joined a couple of original bands and got to play a lot of the clubs in the area. I even tried out for a working band that plays on cruise ships. When I started MBP I felt that I had a leg up on a lot of people because I had done the Encore Program and spent that extra six months in Hollywood. As soon as I enrolled, I found an internship with a small startup marketing company called Sage Music Distribution. The great part is that the owner used to be general manager of Ark21 Records and was running his business out of that building. My desk was ten feet away from [former Police manager/IRS Records head] Miles Copeland on one side and ten feet from A&R head Stevo Glendinning on the other. I couldn't have asked for a better internship!

“I knew from the beginning that I didn't want to intern for a big company—I wanted to be a big fish in a small pond. After I graduated from MBP I was put on the payroll and everything started moving along. Having been at Sage from the beginning, I am now the senior employee and I handle sales and marketing for new CD's to 300 stores in all 50 states and the Virgin Islands. I have marketed over 50 albums including Enya, Aaron Neville, Michael Buble, Steve Tyrell, Yo-Yo Ma, Luciano Pavarotti, Rod Stewart, Josh Groban, the Lord Of The Rings Soundtrack, Sarah Brightman, Boz Scaggs, Carly Simon, Harry Connick, Jr. and Norah Jones. The company has outgrown our little office inside Ark21 and we have now moved over to Burbank.

“MBP prepared me for what I do today. There are a lot of myths about how the music world works and this school helped to show me what was real and what wasn't. I have also made a lot of lifelong friends along the way. My advice to people thinking of attending MI is this: if you only want to play one style of music or are only interested in being the A&R guy at a record company, then stay at home. MI is a diverse school and to make it in music you have to learn and understand ALL types of music and learn ALL the different jobs that make up the "Music Business". When you graduate, chances are nobody's gonna be standing their with a contract in their hand with your name on it, and I know no record company is gonna pay you to fly around the world in search of new talent. You have to start from the ground up and do all of the shitty, boring work that any job requires. MI prepares you for great things but you can't pay for experience. As long as you come to the school to LEARN you will do just fine.”

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“More and more of the auditions I’m having for recording artists are turning out to be MI class reunions. The graduates of MI have been dominating the new, young music scene in LA”.

- Barry Squire
  Music Industry Talent Coordinator
  MI Hiring Hall Manager



MI alumni are working on stage, in the studio and behind the scenes around the world, with new stories arriving nearly every day. A sample of former MI students who have achieved industry recognition also includes:




Alessandro Cortini
Nine Inch Nails

Kalen Chase
Korn

Dave Kushner
Velvet Revolver

Rafael Moreira
Pink, Christina Aguilera,
Rock Star: Supernova

Mike Ward
Wallflowers, School of Fish

Kevin Hastings
Liz Phair

Pete Griffin
Hanson

Rivers Cuomo, Brian Bell,
Scott Shriner
Weezer

Curt Bisquera
Elton John, Mick Jagger,
Bonnie Raitt

Pete Anderson
guitarist, producer

Paul Gilbert
Mr.Big, Racer X

Norman Brown
recording artist

Scott Henderson
recording artist

Oscar Cartaya
Jennifer Lopez, Spyro Gyra

Alex Al
Tupac Shakur, Stevie Wonder

Keb’ Mo’
recording artist

Fred Clark
Chaka Khan, Ray Charles,
Stevie Wonder

Dave Weiner
Steve Vai

Jennifer Batten
recording artist, Jeff Beck,
Michael Jackson

Toss Panos
Steve Vai, Mike Landau,
Robben Ford

Frank Gambale
recording artist, Chick Corea

Kevin Dukes
Don Henley, Boz Scaggs,
Jackson Browne

Chad Smith,
John Frusciante
Red Hot Chili Peppers

Clayton Gibb, Les Falconer
Keb’ Mo’

John Shanks
Melissa Etheridge, Bonnie Raitt

Allen Hinds
Randy Crawford, Natalie Cole,
Crusaders

Jeff Buckley
recording artist

Ray Luzier
Korn, STP, Army of Anyone,
David Lee Roth

Matt Laug
Alanis Morissette, Slash

Ash Sood
Sarah McLachlan

Joacim Cans
Hammerfall

Leah Andreone
recording artist

Irene Gutierrez (DJ Irene)
DJ/producer/remixer/recording artist

T.J. Guger
Göla

Valerie Vega
Zomba/JIVE recording artist (France)

Ernest Tibbs
Alan Holdsworth, Natalie Cole

Toshi Hiketa
David Lee Roth

Travis Johnson
Dickies, TSOL

Jimmy Herring
Allman Brothers, The Other Ones,
ARU, Widespread Panic

Josh Sklair
Etta James, Jeffrey Osborne

Dan Caron
Clifton Chenier, Charles Brown

Jimmy Scott
Little Milton, Solomon Burke

Steve Kerscznic
Tom Jones

Brian Allen
Virgil Donati, Greg Adams

Meja
recording artist

Jesse Gress
music editor, Guitar Player Magazine

Sarah Hudson
recording artist

Chris Maloney
Dweezil Zappa, Lisa Loeb