WEST LONG BRANCH – Over the past few weeks, student life at Monmouth University, and everywhere, has changed dramatically due to COVID-19.
Like all other schools and universities across the country, COVID-19 has forced Monmouth University to move to online instruction for the remainder of the spring semester and postpone and cancel many on-campus events and activities.
Conducting classes in a virtual environment is hard enough for lecture courses, but is especially challenging for studio and performance-based courses with group projects.
Nicole Totland
Students from Blue Hawk Records innovated and found a way to remotely produce, promote and release its 16th studio album, the spring 2020 compilation EP “Sweet 16,” a first for the student-run record label, as well as most major record labels.
The Record Label Strategies course is where students work together, under the direction of Joe Rapolla, Monmouth University’s Music and Theatre Department chair and Music Industry Program director, to release the Blue Hawk Records compilation EP each semester.
This requires that students hold auditions, select artists, prepare them to record, develop marketing strategies, decide on artwork and plan and produce a live event. It’s a significant amount of work under ordinary circumstances. But, with a shutdown requiring that everyone shelter in place, it presented unprecedented challenges.
Rapolla continued to conduct live class meetings online, where the team devised a plan to accomplish all the required tasks remotely. With just one recording session able to be conducted at Lakehouse Recording Studio in Asbury Park before the shutdown, student managers and producers remotely worked with artists to record tracks in home or local studios. The tracks were then sent in to be mixed and mastered.
Mikey Sanchez
All the while artwork was being designed and online promotions were being executed to get people excited about the album. As in past semesters, the class partnered with Monmouth professor Linh Dao’s art class to design the album art.
“The resilience of these students astounds me,” said Rapolla. “Their spirit and commitment to the project, and each other is heartening. They will be able to apply this experience, in many different professional and personal situations their entire lives. That’s what most gratifying in all of this. Getting together with the students is the highlight of my workweek, and especially during this virus shutdown.”
Artists on “Sweet 16” include Monmouth students Shadiyah, featuring Gabe Garcia; Nicole Totland; Bruce Davis, featuring Janae; Mikey Sanchez; Drew Fournier; and Monmouth alumna Anya Schildge Angeloni ’12M, along with an ensemble of accompanying student musicians and producers.
As music industry sophomore and Blue Hawk Records press coordinator Ben Davis put it, “A lot of effort is being put in to make this album happen and we know it will be worth it in the end.”
Although the on-campus release show was canceled, the first Blue Hawk Records virtual release show was held at 8 p.m. May 6 on the Blue Hawk Records Instagram page.
“Sweet 16” will be available for streaming on all digital platforms May 8.
Blue Hawk Records is Monmouth University’s student-run record label and music organization designed to provide music and hands-on experience for the students. Its mission is to equip music industry majors, as well as others in the university, with relevant, real-world experience and familiarize them with the typical workings of different occupations in the current music industry.
You can find and follow Blue Hawk Records at @bluehawkrecordsofficial.
The article originally appeared in the May 7th – May 13th, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
