Tag Archive for 'Boston Celtics'

Q&A WITH MIA BOOSTROM

Published by AidanR on September 13, 2009 in Artist News, Editorial and Interviews. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .
Mia Boostrom

Mia Boostrom

If you’re a teenage musician, chances are you have a few original songs that you play for friends and family, and maybe you score a gig here and there. If you’re lucky, you might even get a chance to record your material. Of course balancing high school, adolescence and artistic potential all at once can become overwhelming at best. However, if you’re a teenage musician and your name is Mia Boostrom, you’ve already performed in front of millions of people. Playing a range of gigs, from open mics in suburbia to reality television competitions and professional sporting events, 16-year-old OurStage artist Mia Boostrom seems destined for future stardom—did I mention she already has an EP under her belt? And unlike many artists who stumble into the national spotlight with a pretty voice but limited songwriting capabilities, the original compositions displayed on Ms. Boostrom’s profile page actually deserve attention. With such natural talent in our midst, I couldn’t help but sit down with Mia and ask a few more questions about teen life in the national spotlight.

OS: Musically, you’ve accomplished more in your 16 years than the vast majority of everyone else who’s ever tried to make it big in this industry. When did you first start playing music?

MB: I started playing music when I was 8-years-old. I picked up a piano class at my elementary school with my music teacher and from there I continued into voice lessons at the age of 11. I only recently started to become a songwriter at the age of 15 when I got my first guitar.

OS: From singing at professional sporting events to reality TV shows, I’m beginning to think you don’t know the definition of stage fright. What was it like going from performing open mic nights in suburban Massachusetts to singing the national anthem for the Celtics?

MB: Moving from open mics to national stages was a huge jump for me. Even now, I still get the occasional case of butterflies but instead of nerves I try to channel it into my performance. The whole aspect of getting to larger stadiums helped me so much as a performer and an artist, and I’m so grateful for it.

Performing the National Anthem for the Boston Celtics

Performing the National Anthem for the Boston Celtics

OS: What was more nerve wracking; playing in front of thousands of rowdy sports fans in an enormous arena or playing in front of a panel of opinionated celebrity judges on America’s Got Talent with millions of viewers watching from home?

MB: When you’re out in front of a crowd of people you are living in the moment. During the Celtics game no one is critiquing you or judging you against another performer. Reality TV is much more nerve-wracking. You have to have tough skin and deal with constructive criticism, and with the knowledge people are judging you from their couches. Thankfully, I had an enormous amount positive feedback and an incredible support system, not only from America, but from the other contestants who became some of my closest friends.

OS: The actual “reality” of these musical reality shows remains a mystery to a large portion of viewers. Did you have any “real” freedom to perform whatever material you wanted?

MB: Working with reality television was a wonderful experience. We did get to choose our own music and from there myself and the show picked a song to fit both myself and the success of the show. In all, there is nothing bad to say about reality television. Even after being eliminated, I came out with only positive feelings toward the show, the judges and the crew.

OS: What was the atmosphere like between competitors? Were you guys all supporting one another or gunning for each other’s throats?

MB: The contestants became my closest friends. We all sat through hours and hours of waiting to get interviews and wardrobe. But during those grueling hours, we got to know each other and become incredibly close friends. The most heartbreaking part of being eliminated was not me leaving the competition. It was, the fact I had to separate from the contestants who I care about deeply. We ultimately forgot we were competing and instead supported each other as much as we supported ourselves.

Performing on America's Got Talent

Performing on America's Got Talent

OS: A quick listen to the original material on your OurStage profile page will reveal not only a talented vocalist, but a gifted multi-instrumentalist as well. Being able to play two instruments fluently, do you have different lyrical criteria for songs where you play guitar and songs where you play piano?

MB: Thank you! But no I don’t have any certain criteria for piano versus guitar. Depended on how my mood is, or which instrument I’m favoring that day!

OS: There are plenty of young female singer-songwriters in the world. What’s your X factor?

MB: With all the young female singer-songwriters I try to stay as original as possible. I’m kind of an old soul. I like old jazz, blues, ballads and folk. As much as I want to fit in with other 16-year-old girls, I know that I enjoy the songs of generations past. I would say my X factor would be my classic but contemporary style. I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve and it comes across in my song writing.

OS: Your debut EP was released last fall, anything new in the works? Would you say your new material is traveling in the same direction as the old songs?

MB: I have been writing NON-STOP. I’ve been extremely busy with America’s Got Talent over this past summer, so I haven’t jumped into a recording studio quite yet. And don’t forget us 16-year-old girls still have homework! Yuck! I’m trying to balance it all and hopefully a CD will be on the way with all new original tunes!

WELCOME TO THE NEWLY RENOVATED BIG NAME BANKING FACILITY OURSTAGE BLOG

Published by Rainy on July 7, 2009 in Editorial. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

It all started when I was eight-years-old. I’d packed my backpack full of My Little Ponies and snacks, excited to do something different for the evening. I asked my mom excitedly, “When will we be at Grandma’s house?” She looked down at me disapprovingly and said, “It’s called The Starbucks Center now. We’ll be there around six.”

I blinked silently. “What do you mean it’s called The Starbucks Center? It’s Grandma’s house. I’ve always called it Grandma’s house.”

“Well,” replied my mom, “They had to sell the naming rights. It was a financial decision. You can still call it Grandma’s house though. It’s just… technically The Starbucks Center.”

This sounds like a bad dream but it might just be the beginning of a terrible trend soon to spread throughout the US.  At any moment, arenas, concert halls, baseball fields, just about any major recreational facility, could fall victim to the corporate renaming (a.k.a. sterilization) process. Of course the establishments themselves don’t necessarily look at it this way; for them it’s a smart business decision. For the loyal fans and patrons it’s an extraction of a tiny little part of their soul… the part that contains memories made at those concerts, sporting events and even big city senior proms.

g2582580d46bef1b34af93e24f7f4091a28049aae93948bAs a lifetime resident of Massachusetts, I’ve watched Great Woods, one of the biggest and most well-known concert venues in the state, turn first into The Tweeter Center and then The Comcast Center. My beloved Worcester Centrum is now The DCU Center. And worst of all, The Boston Garden, home of the Boston Celtics, is now supposed to be referred to as the TD Banknorth Garden. 

No! I refuse! It’s The Boston Garden! (Gahhh-den if you’re a true Bostonian.) Nobody’s going to ask their buddy if they remember “that Game 5 that went into triple overtime back in 1976 against the Suns at the TD Banknorth Garden.” It just sounds wrong; it sounds impersonal. And it seems to me that banks are taking a hold on quite a bit these days. Houses, high interest loans, overdraft fees. So why our beloved concert venues and stadiums?! fenway_park1Fenway Park is still Fenway Park—for now—and I pray that never changes. We’ll never call it anything else anyway. But it’s hard enough to watch players we’ve grown to love get moved around the League like their respective trading cards. At least everyone wearing a Red Sox jersey can still call the same place “home.”

Perhaps I’m overreacting. Perhaps I’m not. The way I look at it, these venues are an important part of local culture. They’re one of the few links that can really connect generations, because they’ve been around so long. When the venue names change, it’s like a little piece of that link is chipped away. Of course, an anti-establishment punk band playing at The Dunkin’ Donuts Center —or any big venue for that matter—has a certain air of irony about it.

The point is, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. In a day and age where constant change is the norm, we rely on the comfort of tradition to get by. And that’s what I think about that!