Success Stories

Richard Chung (GIT '03)
Jan 01, 2005

Recent GIT grad Richard Chung is the hands-down winner of the best "How I Spent My Spring Break" story. Read on...
While growing up in Los Angeles, Richard developed eclectic musical interests, ranging from blues and rock to jazz, funk and fusion. Once he was ready to get serious about his music career, he turned to the similarly diverse musical climate of MI; in his own words, “I was drawn to MI by the impressive staff of instructors, musical environment and the fact that there are musical opportunities left and right.” Prophetic words, as it turned out—Richard was in just the right spot when the call came in to MI’s Musicians Referral Service seeking musicians for a new MTV reality-type show, Girl Makes Band.
“There were two auditions”, Richard describes. “The first one, I didn't even get to plug into an amp. I had fifteen seconds to just play anything and it was in a small production office. I didn't get a chance to see who else auditioned but I heard that they were auditioning for three days straight. They called me back to tell me I made the first cut and invited me for a second audition a week later. The second audition was like a huge 'cattle call.' I would say there were about 200 musicians and we all had to just sit there and wait all day for our turn. I was given a popular hip-hop song to learn and that was it. I didn't even get to play the entire song—only about 30 seconds of it. There were twelve musicians selected to make three bands to perform for the show. I was chosen by myself and didn't get to meet everyone else chosen until we started rehearsals. We were given about ten songs to learn, but we knew that we would only end up performing one of them.
“We were assigned to each girl and they had the girl sort of act as our producer. They filmed our rehearsal, which was supposed to be the "reality" part of it, but it was actually very staged. Then we performed the song that represented that genre on the Spring Break stage in Miami. It was basically a contest where the girls were competing for the prize and they just had to choose the right musicians to perform for them. Mandy Moore hosted the show.
”I had an amazing time, was treated as VIP everywhere I went since I was with MTV, mingled with a lot of stars at the private parties and it gave me huge amounts of exposure and experience. I'm hoping for more opportunities”.
If that was Spring Break, what's in store for summer vacation...?

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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

Scott Travis
Judas Priest

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
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