The tour around the House of Blues was the best experience during JUA for me. I was always interested in music, and being on a tour of a popular venue was like a dream come true. My first impression of the house however, was the color blue (yeah, I wasn’t impressed.) Later when we walked around and saw the music hall, the restaurant and the backstage area I found out that the House of Blues is full of hidden meanings that are expressed in paintings and different artworks that are all over the house. For example; Famous musicians like Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton and many more have their portraits in the house. There is a section where musicians faces have been sculpted into the wall and illuminated with a blue light, and it is called the "god-wall"! In the main music hall almost every religion is represented symbolically above the stage, all signs in the House of Blues are made out of recycled wood that was collected after the hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, and all this just shows how much thought and love was put into the House of Blues. It is not only a music venue, but also a museum. It has a philanthropic organization that brings art and music lessons to schools. It supports the local economy by attracting a lot of people. It is very versatile, but the coolest thing about the House of Blues is the backstage area. It is decorated in Indian wedding dress cloth, Persian carpets and a lot of Hindu artifacts give the area a really cool groove. This area is where the backstage politics happen. Managers, artists and agents get together here to plan the next concerts or salaries, include or exclude bands from venues, and celebrate their success!
We learned how artists get to perform in venues, and how much they get paid for performing, and that connections mean everything. This experience definitely influenced me to pursue a career in the music business!
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