When I first considered becoming a promotions intern at Cities 97, I really had no idea what I would be getting myself into. Now that I am at the end of this amazing internship I realize how great of an opportunity it has been and how grateful I am that I was offered this position. I have learned more than I could've imagined and had experiences that I'll remember for life!

       I am a big lover of music and have been my whole life. I grew up singing and performing onstage and I chose to pursue music even further in going to school at McNally Smith College of Music.  Being an outgoing person who loves music, a promotional internship at Cities 97 seemed like the perfect match for me this semester!

       As a performer myself, my favorite part about working with Cities 97 was the Studio C events. It was very inspiring to me to see these artists I look up to perform less than five feet away from me. I loved seeing the fans and how they reacted to meeting their favorite artists. It was educational for me to see how the whole process of Studio C works and how the different artists promoted themselves and their music.

      Out of all the amazing artists that I got the opportunity to see this semester, my favorite were The Fray and Ellie Goulding. I have been a fan of The Fray since the beginning and saw them in concert almost 5 years ago back in my hometown of Charleston, SC. If you had told me back then that one day I would have the opportunity to meet them I don't think I would have have believed you. When I heard Ellie Goulding was coming in to Studio C I was more than excited. I first heard of her almost a year ago when one of my good friends introduced me to her music. The best part of working the Ellie Goulding Studio C was that I got the opportunity to share that experience with my friend who first introduced Ellie's music to me. Meeting these artists and seeing them in their working element has been very inspiring and educational as a musician and performer myself.

      All the experiences that I have had at Cities this semester have had a great impact on my life. I've learned just how much hard work can pay off, how important it is to interact with people and how just being nice can greatly improve a fan's day. I learned the process it takes to run a successful radio station and how fun it is to work in an industry like this. This internship has changed my life and has added fuel to the fire behind my drive for a career in the music industry. I cannot thank Cities 97 and the staff enough for giving me this opportunity! It has been a great semester and I cannot wait to see what the future has in store!

- Intern Brenna 

 A warm hello to all my fellow Cities 97 listeners! My name is Mike and I’ve had the incredible privilege of working as a promotions intern for Cities 97 for the last few months. “If you don’t know where to start, go back to the beginning.” Truer words were never spoken, so let me give you a little background on myself… And let’s start at the beginning shall we!! My love for music and radio began at a very young age, ever since I can remember I’ve always been intrigued by the magic of radio. It was always very interesting to me, partly because of the mystery it employs. “Who is the person behind that voice on the radio” “I wonder what they’re really like” “I wonder what they look like” These past few months I got my chance to answer these questions and many more. I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with these great people hear at Cities 97. And let me tell you I have been having a great time working various pre party’s with BT, the Bed race for Bridging and Oake on the Ice with Brian Oake, I’ve enjoyed countless Studio C performances with everyone here at Cities 97, and even just hanging around the office with Thorn and Nagel.

 Another passion of mine is technology, and music recording. I’m currently a senior, just about to finish up my last semester at Hennepin Tech where I am studying audio production. I’ve done everything from recording, editing, mixing and mastering various projects for music and video post production. I hope to one day very soon turn that into a career here at Cities 97. I recently had the opportunity to shadow a couple engineers here at the station. Last week I got to assist in the recording of the band “Dry the River.” And let me tell you it was nothing short of AMAZING!! The band itself was incredible as well as working with the engineers it really makes you appreciate and take note of all the hard work and dedication that goes in to these recordings which become a part of our annual Cities 97 sampler. There really are some great people working behind the scenes here at Cities and I definitely think it’s worth mentioning.

 So yes, I’ve had some awesome experiences here the last few months and I think the best part has been you the listeners. I love getting out there, working events, and just hanging out with our great listeners. The best part of that is when you guys come up to chat with us and you see all the great prizes spread out before you, and the reaction is always the same; “I can have it for FREE!!” It really is the best part of the job making you guys happy, whether I’m calling you to tell you won, giving out a free dvd or cd or just chatting at an event. So from me to you thanks for all the great times!!

 Thank you for everything Cities 97

 -Intern Mike

My first glimpse into the music industry started with interviewing my friend’s band for a school project my senior year of high school.  I followed the band everywhere, watched them practice, met each one individually, and even took pictures for them at their concerts.  I fell in love with the rush of adrenaline at shows, and the excitement and passion of four sweaty boys and one girl sharing with their fans something they love: music.  Even though things changed quickly throughout that one year, my growing interest in music sparked into an intense flame.  I had already been involved in music throughout school, but I wanted more. 

I joined my friend’s solo project, Goodbye Duckie, later that year as a guitar player.  It had been a few years since I last picked up a guitar, but I figured this would keep me playing because I had a reason to.  I struggled with making the chord changes fast enough at first, but I didn’t want to stop.  With my fingers stinging as they slid back and forth across the sharp steel strings, I slowly caught on and was able to make the changes faster.  The piano and guitar duo actually started to sound like a real band, rather than a sloppy dog. 

After months of practicing, it was time for our first show.  I had watched Goodbye Duckie from the audience multiple times in support of my best friend, but I wasn’t in the audience this time.  This was the first time that I had EVER performed in front of a large group of people with only one other person.  You can only imagine how nervous I was.  I was shaking during the sound check, forcing my fingers to curl over the strings as I strummed each chord. Finally the sound check was done.  And the curtain rose. . .

I froze as I saw each individual face stare at my friend and I, waiting for us to introduce ourselves and play our music.  I knew what I had to do, but my fingers didn’t want to move, my body shaking as I picked up the guitar and looked over to Renee.  We started our first song, a cover from the band I had fallen in love with only seven months ago.  Each song became easier as our performance went on, and I began to enjoy myself more after the stage fright began to subside.  And then we were done.  Our first show together was a huge success and Goodbye Duckie gained some new dedicated fans. 

Now, Renee and I have been playing together for a year.  We’ve improved our set tremendously since that first show, adding more harmonies, new songs, and even new instruments, including a macaroni and cheese box.  Being a part of Goodbye Duckie opened my eyes to a new world, filled with a love for music.  It would have never happened if I hadn’t had that school project only a year ago.  And now I’m interning at Cities 97 as a college freshman studying Music Business at the University of St. Thomas.  I’ve always wanted to fill my life with my music, and the music of others, and this internship gave me an opportunity to get a head start on my career.

Thank you Cities 97!

-Intern Ariel

Greetings one and all, this is Evan P and i'm a promotions intern here at Cities 97. First off, ill just start with a little background of my self and let you know why I decided to get involved in radio. Well I graduated from Princeton High School and while I was a senior I had the opportunity to do a job shadow. When deciding who I wanted to shadow I thought about what i'd truly love to do with my life and ever since I was alittle kid i've had a love for all things music so with that in mind I decided to job shadow a jock at KCLD in St cloud. Since that was such an amazing experience I decided to go to school for radio broadcasting which is exactly what i'm doing now. I'm currently a radio broadcasting student at Brown College and it is awesome to say the least.

Being an intern at Cities 97 has been so fulfilling and I've had the opportunity to attend countless events and meet so many different amazing artists. To just name a few if i had the pleasure to see: Eric Hutchinson and Andy Grammer, Jack's Mannequin, Meiko, Matt Nathanson among many others and with still more to come. After listening to as well as meeting all of these amazing artists it was really interesting to find out just how down to earth they all are. Matt Nathanson and Ingrid Michealson were especially down to earth and quite hysterical to say the least.

After several months of interning, I'm really impressed with how much everyone here truly cares about the music and espcially about our listeners. One of my favorite things while interning here has been calling the listeners to let them know they've won a prize. It is just awesome to hear how much concert tickets or a movie brightens up someones day or maybe even week. I think this is just because I really just love making people happy and it is even better when they didnt know that they've won something.

Thanks for everything!

-Intern Evan

The spring of my junior year in high school, I skipped one of the most important events (as they say) of your high school experience... prom.  Instead I chose to attend a minimally priced show at 7th Street Entry.  The performers: Noah and the Whale.  Never heard of them?  I knew no more than three songs my self before attending.

If you've never been to a show at 7th Street, it is worth checking out.  It was once the coat room of the main room (now First Avenue), to give you an idea of how truly small it is.  The concert had no more than 100 people in attendance, allowing the audience to be within three feet of the performers.  The intimate feel of the small venue made the show memorable, while earning Noah and the Whale an increase in plays on my iTunes.

As a rather up-and-coming group from London, Noah and the Whale doesn't make a ton of ppearances to the upper Midwest, so when I found out that they were going to be back in Minneapolis this past fall, I bought my tickets as soon as they went on sale.  This time around they were playing on the main stage at First Avenue.

The second Noah and the Whale stepped on the stage last fall, I noticed a change.  They had built up their confidence and had become more comfortable on stage then they had been two years ago.  Though the band had gained a larger audience, they didn't lose that intimate feel they had with their audience two years prior.  They were still the same band, and they didn't let the change in amount of listeners effect that. 

As Charlie Fink says in his lyrics, I'd "give it all back" just to see them again. 

-Intern Kathleen