Hi Everybody!

My name is Jennifer Boyer. I live in Chicago and work in the music industry. I am on the street team for Island Def Jam Records. I intern with the street route and promotions dept at Metro. I cover shows at Metro and Double Door. Every summer I work for C3 Presents and Lollapalooza. I also volunteer at The Hideout’s Annual Block Party and the Pitchfork Music Festival. I go to concerts almost every night of the week. I am trying to get a job at the House of Blues so I can go to shows there for free too. I have friends who work at all the major record labels and concert venues and I always go to shows with them or in their place because I would rather be at a concert or music festival than anywhere else in the world. Live music entertainment is my life. I play the piano and am a senior at Columbia College Chicago. I am majoring in Performing Arts Media Management with a concentration in Music. I may just minor in Music Business too. I also sing classical opera. I LOVE going to Broadway musicals. I have seen shows in London, New York City and here in Chicago. I love taking photographs at shows and would love to be in the photo pit one day. My top favorite bands are: Fall Out Boy, The Killers, Green Day, My Chemical Romance and Coldplay. My favorite singers are: Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Celine Dion and Whitney Houston. I have worked at WEA (Warne Music Group) before, as well as interned there and at Rockit Ranch Productions. I am a member of GRAMMY University and participate in Chicago events for The Recording Academy. I hope to vote for the Grammy Awards and attend the awards show someday!!!!!!!!

Sherwood
The Riviera Theatre - Chicago
Saturday, November 24, 2008

I do not know any of this band’s songs. I am not going to lie about that. But I am wondering why I do not know them because they are DAMN GOOD CATCHY SONGS with GREAT HOOKS. I am serious: their songs are more radio-friendly than anything I have heard recently. Even more so than the concert’s headliner’s (The Academy Is…) own songs if you ask me… I really enjoyed their entire set, which is rare with me and an opening act that I did not specifically come to see at a show.

Read the rest of this entry »

M.I.A.
House of Blues - Chicago, IL
Wednesday, November 21, 2008

This chick is pretty much the coolest on the block. I LOVE her. I saw her for the first time at Lollapalooza this past summer and she blew me away. I was going to see her again on Friday, November 23 at a different venue (The Vic Theatre) in Chicago, but I ended up having to work that night. I was bummed to miss out on two M.I.A. shows in three days! Chicago’s very own The Cool Kids opened for her. Since Against Me! Played an early show that same night at the HOB, M.I.A. did not go on stage until 1:08 AM and performed until 2:30 AM! Thank God the HOB’s late show curfew was 3 AM or else I would have passed out from exhaustion. She came out on stage in wearing her signature shades, even though the lighting in the venue was nothing near too bright. But whatever, if the girl wants to wear sunglasses at 1 AM inside a dimly lit room, then more power to her! I had no idea what she was saying or singing about pretty much for 90% of her songs, because her mix of British/Indian/Sri Lankan accents is like a foreign language to me. I just keep my mouth shut and watch her super fans sing along to every word of every song. She had two backup singers/rappers/dancers and a DJ for her set. She also got behind some crazy weird DJ booth or mixing board and contributed some special effect sounds of her own.

Read the rest of this entry »

Chris Cornell
Pearl Theater @ The Palm’s Casino
Friday November 23, 2007

Update: A Preshow Huddle Video!

A little late, but better than never. The Chris Cornell show on Friday was super fabulous. As a fan of Soundgarden and his solo work Friday’s show had a great mix of songs from both eras.

Read the rest of this entry »

I am thoroughly jealous of Jessica because at this moment she is in Vegas waiting for Chris Cornell to appear on stage. At approximately 8:45 pm she will be in the front rows to shoot pictures of the show. (Those should be available on the blog tomorrow.) As for right now let me count the ways I’m jealous! Could it be his great looks? His amazing talent on instruments? His lyrical abilities? Or better yet, his super sultry voice. Hmmm. Although, all these are great reasons to be jealous I think my favorite has to be that sultry unduplicated voice. Many of us have loved that voice since, Audioslave, and even further back Soundgarden. His abilities as an artist are definitely among THE best. From early beginnings as a boy learning piano, then drums, then guitar, and last but not least singer/songwriter he has proven that he has the staying power to be ranked among the best rock musicians out there. Stay tuned for more from Jessica…….

Super excited! Chris Cornell is tonight @ the Pearl Concert Theater. Doors open at 8 pm and Chris Cornell goes on around 9:30pm. We are shooting pictures for the show, look for them tonight or tomorrow.

Guess I’m on board now, and I look forward to adding to the site as much and as often as possible. Why not begin with working the AMA preparty at House of Petals in LA. As Jessica mentioned I am a troublesome friend. Troublesome in that I know how to party and love to meet new people everywhere I go. And boy did we meet people, celebs, rockstars, up and comings, and various other influential people. The vendors were plenty and very giving, and the food was simply exquisite. Among the celebs that showed up for the night were Andy Dick, Tim Daley (well known for Wings), Crossing Jordan’s Steve Valentine, Boxer Tarick Salamaci from the Contender, Cast members from LA’s Wicked, and many, many more! Among the well known artists were Buckcherry and Weezer. Also there was an up and coming band called Jay with a cd release scheduled for 2008. The exquisite food I mentioned was provided by Lu Concierge. There was never a shortage of tasty treats and the staff was very pleasant to work with. Let’s not forget that we were there to work and work we did. The early hours were spent assisting the vendors with set-up and the day was spent running a silent auction to raise money for Rock for MS. The celebs were all quite gracious in listening to our little pitch and signed the two books we had up for the auction. The books are called Uncommon Sound and are a catalogue of the most amazing artists who were left handed and made a huge impact on music. I can tell you that theLiveHub scored this particular item from the auction. What I won’t tell you is how much it cost! Let’s just remember that it was for a great cause.

What do you get when you mix Andy Dick, BuckCherry, and a $40 parking ticket from the city of Los Angeles?

Details tomorrow when I can keep my eyes open…

Thanks to a fellow Columbia Alumni, the Dead Hub will soon be bringing you closer to some of your favorite artists.

We are bringing you reviews/photos/interviews with the top musical acts in the nation. I know I am personally excited for this one. Hope you will be too!

Keep your ears and eyes open. It’s coming soon!

-Jessica

Headed up north to Los Angeles tomorrow for a Pre-American Music Awards event.

I have been invited to “work”, again I use the word work loosely meaning, I don’t get paid but will have a great time, for a SWAG event. Yes, free stuff! Not so much for me, but for the “Rock Gods” that will come tomorrow to pick up free stuff. I hope they don’t put the Fall Out Boys in the same category as someone like Steven Tyler or Eddie Van Halen. I might have issues with that.

It’s funny how people who don’t need free stuff are the ones that receive it and the people in my position that work for free to get somewhere get nothing but a free meal. Its the price we pay for getting ahead in life and mingling with talented people.

Be prepared for pictures and stories tomorrow! This should be fun considering I have my trouble-some sidekick and awesome Asian Friend!