But really, I’ve never been that kid that threw the ring around the Coke at the carnival and won a big teddy bear, or got my name drawn for the gift basket each classroom would put together in grade school. That wasn’t me. I spent years (more like 5 minutes) holding a grudge against my fellow elementary schoolers that would continuously win prize after prize…A cake walk here, a meet and greet with Smokey Bear there, but the years of constant losing, have made winning this internship competition all the more sweet! Now while all my peers are filing papers, running silly errands, and other boring intern tasks, I am sitting here basking in my one great win: the Shure Artist Relations Get the Gig Internship Competition.

While maybe some of them can say they’ve met Smokey Bear, I can say I sit next to and get to work with some of the coolest guys out there! Cory, Rich and Nelson have been incredible colleagues so far, making sure I know what to do and that I meet a lot of people to make my summer more enjoyable. The great thing about interning here is that they really make you feel like you’re a true employee. I don’t feel like an intern. My first day at Shure included your standard orientation, but want to know what I did next? I was immediately thrown into a meeting on social media with the team and asked for my input.

The atmosphere is so relaxed here, my days of increased heart rate over landing on the right number in the cake walk are over. I’ve found a place where everyone is friendly, has a smile, and talks to you! It’s kind of like the town of Spectre in the movie Big Fish if anyone has seen it (but a lot less creepy). Everyone at Shure is so happy and friendly it’s almost not normal, in the best way possible.

I couldn’t have asked for a better week to start my summer with Shure. I’ve already learned so much about the company and the Artist Relations department. I even got Mic 101 with Nelson and Rich! I am so intrigued by every aspect of work here. I go home each night listening to my two roommates (Shure interns as well) geek out talking about the engineering side of all this stuff and it’s so cool.

This summer is definitely going to be a memorable one. It feels like I’ve already done so much and learned enough information to write a series of books, but then I have to remind myself…

This is only the beginning.

–B

Here is a playlist I put together for my first week at Shure. It’s 10 tracks that I’m super into right now! You can also find a little about me section, so you’ll know who’s writing these things!

 ABOUT ME:

Name: Brooke Giddens

School: Truman State University

Hometown: Rolla, MO

Position: Artist Relations Intern

Top 10 Shure Endorsers (In no order): Matt & Kim, Phoenix, Passion Pit, Foster the People, The Black Keys, Atlas Genius, Alabama Shakes, Ben Folds, The Civil Wars, and Young the Giant

Favorite Things: Ultimate frisbee, music, frozen mango smoothies with rasberry drip from Panera, The Family Feud, harmonica solos, and cats (I know, controversial topic, but I like dogs too).

Twitter: @Intern_ShureAR

Ben Folds mentioned once to me that he loves the SM5B and wanted to see Shure reintroduce it.  Here’s a shot from the recent Ben Folds Five album artwork with Ben’s own SM5B in the studio:

I began thinking about which mic I would like to see reintroduced into our line. The Shure 300 was a beautifully crafted Ribbon microphone. Sleek and elegant with a timeless design, this mic was used in many applications including vocals and instruments.

I think this microphone would be a hit on stage, in music videos, maybe even a USB version for on the road interviews by radio stations or bloggers.  Shure now has the capability with the KSM313 and the KSM353 to make more Ribbon mics and I think this would make an interesting “throwback.”   There could be some subtle design changes but it would bear an instantly recognizable resemblance to its predecessor.

With in ear monitors becoming the norm on tours and even in smaller rooms, having a bi-directional mic on stage is much more possible today.  Like the 55SH and now the Super 55, we are seeing those models all over music videos and on major award shows.

What about you?  What Shure mic or product would you like to see brought back?

Ryan

Speaking of William Shatner, Ben produced one of William’s recent albums entitled “Has Been.”  I have my good friend and fellow Shure Artist Relations comrade Richard Sandrok to thank for introducing me to this record.    It’s full of fun songs, some deep lyrical content and just plain craziness.  The craziness comes in the form of a song called “I Can’t Get Behind That” in which Bill and Henry Rollins go off on all kinds of topics.  If you are still reading this, take a short break and go to iTunes to download this entire record.  It’s worth your time and money.  Joe Jackson’s on the first track and Brad Paisley is on the last.  The band is killer!

The other time I got to experience Ben Folds was when he was backed by the Nashville Symphony at TPAC in Nashville.  Amazing show!

Back on track now….

So the title of this blog is Ben Folds Five, right?  Never seen them before and I am not familiar with any of their songs.  I do like it sometimes when I go to a concert that I am not familiar with the groups catalog.  It causes me to pay closer attention to the show and the band rather than just rocking out and signing along.  (I like those concerts too!)

I arrived at The Ryman in time for sound check where the group was joined by Ke$ha and Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips.  They were working up a special cover of a Conway Twitty/Loretta Lynn duet called “You’re the Reason Our Kids Are Ugly.”

The opening act was an Australian singer named Kate Miller-Heidke who was joined by a great acoustic guitar player.  Kate has had operatic training and works it very well into her material.  During the set they rattled off a pretty funny version of Eminem’s “The Real Slim Shady.”

When Ben Folds Five hit the stage to thunderous applause, Ben kicked it off and the crowd went wild.  After the first song, he announced that this was their first tour in 13 years.  As the show went on, Ben prepared for another song by installing mute’s on certain piano strings to get a muted guitar sound.  As he explained what he was doing to the audience, a crowd member shouted out an exclamation of doubt.  Ben quick shot back through his SM58 vocal mic “No, I’m actually going through a car wash backwards with a plastic bag over my head.”  (crowd laughs) Then he proceeded to play the muted piano keys, which sounded exactly like they should and Ben said to the crowd member “See?  No but that’s OK,  I encourage ignorant heckling like that.”

Ben Folds Five is such a great band to see live because there is such a fun aspect to their personalities.  People come to see great music and are treated to some comedy along the way.  They have a few shows left in the States before they head overseas to Australia and then to Europe.

Ryan