My Encounters with Greatness In The Entertainment Industry

            As opposed to all my other blogs, this one is all about me. Well, sort of. This post will be about my interactions with celebrities from the music industy.

            The first concert I ever attended took place in my hometown of Alexandria, LA. The World Class Wrecking Crew (featuring Dr. Dre of NWA fame) and The Rappin’ Duke (Duh Haa, Duh Haa) were performing. But that’s not the concert that would change my life. It was the SECOND concert I ever attended that did the trick. I traveled to Lake Charles, LA with a friend to see the hottest concert of the year; Public Enemy, RunDMC, Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, EPMD, LL Cool J, JJ FAD and others were performing. RunDMC was favorite, as they, along with LL and The Fresh Prince were the only acts I was familiar with.  There came my first encounter with a music celebrity. While RunDMC was performing, Darrell “DMC” MacDaniels (my favorite rapper) reached out for a towel I was waving in the air (we were 2 standing rows away from the stage). I threw my towel to the mega-star, and he caught it! As he threw it back, a woman directly in front of me caught it, and refused to give it back! Memorable, yes! Disappointing, yes as well!

            The next celebrity encounter occurred while interning at The Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, FL. On an off day, a friend and I went on a shopping trip at The Florida Mall. As we were walking in the mall, my friend whispered, “Hey, that’s Queen Latifah over there!” After approaching her, I was surprised to find that she was very friendly! In fact, she invited us to the after-gathering at her hotel. She, along with other notables like Public Enemy, Heavy D & Tha Boyz and Kid n’ Play were performing in Orlando that night. The concert was awesome, and afterwards, we were escorted into the hotel (hundreds of people were trying to get in) by one of Queen’s dancers named Kika. While hanging in the hotel bar, I met Chuck D and Flava Flav of Public Enemy, Christopher “Play” Martin of Kid n’ Play and Queen Latifah and her dancers, Swatch and Kika. Autographs and political discussions were aplenty that night!

            The before mentioned encounters were exciting and memorable, but they fail in comparison to going to school with a celebrity in the making. My alma mater, Grambling State University, is home to many talented students. One such student, Erica Wright, did not reach the pinnacle of stardom until after her time at GSU. Erica was a fellow Theatre Guild member, and she performed in several productions while at Grambling. Her most notable musical ventures as a student came as a member of the singing foursome, Harmony. Harmony, consisting of Erica, Miko Marks (now a budding country music singer) and two others, performed at many campus and local events. My interactions with Erica came through the Theatre Guild and many of the campus musical events, as I was a member of the DJ Committee, which set-up sound equipment and provided music for those events. Erica changed her name after leaving GSU. She is now Erykah Badu.

Herbrina Gordon-Entertainment Industry Insider

Herbrena Gordon is an Entertainment industry insider. She knows the ups and downs, ins and outs of the business, and, unlike many industry people, she is willing to share that knowledge with the average Joe.

Ms. Gordon’s career started at Grambling State University (GSU) as a morning personality and producer at KGRM, the university’s radio station. She recalls her experience at GSU: “Attending GSU afforded me the opportunity to work with some of the best in the business.”

After graduating, Herbrena took her “show” on the road. She has done stints in Columbus, Ohio, where she worked as a radio morning show personality, and in New Orleans, LA, as a radio personality at famed WYLD FM 98.5. She eventually became the host of Talent Unlimited Talent Exposure Television on UPN New Orleans, and part owner of Miles Outside the City...another show that displayed the talents of unsigned artist. Currently she is part owner of DBM Music and Entertainment Group, and Trendz TV Show in New Orleans. The sole owner of RedGirl Management, she also works as Executive producer and host of Trendz Gospel. She serves as a consultant to a new reality TV Show called Who in the World is J Baroone, coming to New Orleans.

Herbrena has gained a great deal of her industry experience by working as a consultant for several radio shows, television shows and recording artists. When asked what she has found to be the upside of managing in the entertainment biz, Herbrena explains, “The ups to management is the mere fact that you have the unique opportunity to see an artist grow and become successful.” She adds, “You have the opportunity to be a positive impact on someone's life and protect them from the ugly side of the industry.”

As with anything in life, what goes up must come down. So goes the Entertainment industry as well. Herbrina knows first hand about the “other” side of the business. “The down side is that you may have the talent, but, without a budget, you will not move and shake it in this industry.” She continues, “A lot of artists think that as long as they look good and have music they can make it.”

When asked what advice she would give to aspiring artists and musicians, Herbrina had this to say, “This is an 80/20 business. The artist must educate himself; surround himself with educated individuals and work hard to save money to get a good lawyer and a good promotional budget. Today a lot of deals come after gaining knowledge of proof of your investment into yourself being matched by a label or distribution company."

Herbrina Gordon's website is:www.trendzstoptheviolence.com