Angie Cooksy: 0:08

Welcome back to the Bradley University Podcast. I am one of your hosts, Angie Cooksy.

Ben Jedd: 0:13

And I am Ben Jedd.

Angie Cooksy: 0:15

And if you haven't turned into the podcast before, this is a place where we bring people from in and around the Bradley community downstairs to the lower level of University Hall in Hilltop Studios to share the stories of Bradley with the amazing people who are doing awesome things here on campus. So let's jump right into today's guest, is Carl Anderson, Associate Chair for the Department of Music and Director of Music Industry Studies. Can you tell us a little bit about your background and the journey to the seat that you sit in today here on campus?

Carl Anderson: 0:46

Well, my journey is quite unusual because it goes back actually over a hundred years if you're looking at the Bradley history. Because I'm one of four generations of Bradley graduates, not to mention, obviously, an employee here, but uh my journey really started in 1918 with my grandfather, who was um actually in World War I and the Army was stationed uh in the camp here at Bradley University as part of that deal. They allowed them to take classes and earn degrees uh while they were also enlisted. And so, fast forward to the 1940s, my mom uh joined uh you know became a Bradley student and a business major, actually, which uh was unusual in those days for uh someone that was female to be a business major, although she to this day will say that she was actually after her MRS degree, uh which she was able to obtain when my father, who was in World War II, a Navy veteran, uh, when he got out. In fact, they're both still with us at age 98. Uh, he uh came to Bradley as a essentially a horology major, so watchmaking. And um, they had a unique program called Jewelry Store Management, not unlike music business, where it was a combined I like the con like I like the connection that you made there.

Angie Cooksy: 2:10

I I I hope we'll talk more about that.

Carl Anderson: 2:13

Um then my uh my brother had graduated with a finance degree here, um, and then I followed footsteps as well. And my brother had one of his um sons graduated in 2014 as a sports communication major, and I had one of my stepsons graduate in 2021 as a music business major, and I have one here now as a senior, as a MEI major. And you know, one of the also crazy things I have to share is the story is my mom was one of the editors of the Bradley Scout in the 1940s, and in 1948, they printed an article about the historic brand new major, first of its kind, the music business program. And she was actually involved in in writing that story that was published. Of course, I was not on the map yet, but little did she know she was writing a story about a program that would be later directed by uh her son many, many years later.

Ben Jedd: 3:12

I love that. Uh that's such a great story. So you uh you have a deep history with Bradley University, uh, a lot of family ties. What does Bradley mean to you and your family now?

Carl Anderson: 3:26

Well, I mean, it's obviously been a great source of education for all of us. We've all kind of gone in different directions. Uh, many of us were business majors and and leaned one way or another, different, different pursuits after school. Um, I wound up in the music business, uh, which was not really my initial plan as a finance major, but um, you know, Bradley has always been that that solid point in in Peoria. Um we all kind of stayed around the area for at least a while, and I certainly did that whole time. And um, you know, my some of my greatest memories as a child were going to the Bradley basketball games in the old field house, um longing to play in the band someday, which I eventually did. Um and you know, it's it's one of those things I never expected to be part of the staff here and and you know, teaching that wasn't really in the plan. Um, I was simply somebody in the business world and was connected with Bradley um historically and was asked to share some of my experiences in the in the business community initially to teach a class, and then that later led to many other pursuits along the way here.

Angie Cooksy: 4:39

So let's talk a little bit about that. What is your role in the in the music department? And I know you've worn a lot of different hats over the years, and so what's maybe been the favorite thing that you've done with music here at Bradley?

Carl Anderson: 4:52

Well, I think one of the coolest parts is the fact that I've been able to pay things forward. You know, I worked in the music business for 28 years. Um, I was initially asked to teach one class. Don't worry, it's just one semester. You're filling in for someone who uh went over seriously.

Ben Jedd: 5:07

Right.

Carl Anderson: 5:08

And uh that led to a couple classes, and then they, you know, they really wanted to focus on sort of giving rebirth to this program. And um, you know, part of my feeling was I I was at the point in my life where I also wanted to give back, right, or pay it forward to the next generation. And this was a great opportunity for me to be able to do that. So I started as an adjunct, worked as an adjunct actually for 18 years until 2015 when Bradley asked me to come on full-time. I was ready to kind of transition out of the music business and became the director of the music business program. We started a kind of a sister program called Music and Entertainment Industry, very similar kind of program for students wanting to work in the music industry that might not have the background of band, choir, orchestra, that kind of thing. And so we created both of those programs, and uh so I've been leading that. Uh about three years ago, they asked me, uh the dean asked me to step in to the role of associate chair, sort of an assistant uh leader uh under Dr. Todd Kelly, who was the chair. And so some of those, you know, in addition to teaching classes and all the things connected with that, is involved in enrollment, um, as you well know from admissions work and um our audition process here, a lot of the marketing efforts and kind of getting the word out. Because we have a very dynamic music department here. Uh we are always um creating new programs and and different opportunities, and we've been kind of at the forefront of doing that.

Angie Cooksy: 6:44

I love that.

Ben Jedd: 6:45

That's really exciting. Um and so how long have you been at Bradley?

Carl Anderson: 6:51

Um well, total about 27 years, not including my student time.

Ben Jedd: 6:56

Sure. So 27 years. Yeah, exactly. So it seems like that. What's a story uh from a student's perspective, or what's a student story that really highlights Bradley University for you?

Carl Anderson: 7:14

You know, I had I had a student uh many years ago um who was a music business major, uh vocalist, and uh she had kind of a tragic event that happened in her life where she suddenly lost her mom. And uh, you know, one of the things that's great about the Bradley family is it's small enough, we sort of envelop our arms around our students uh figuratively, and that's what we did there. And we offered an opportunity for her to take kind of a leadership role as a stage manager for Dingledine Music Center, which is our main performance hall. We put on about 70 shows in there every year. So it was kind of a big role for a student to manage the personnel, all of the students, the equipment, all the logistics associated with that. And she kind of became on fire with that. And when she graduated, she went, she uh went out on tour with some uh student groups, uh, vocal groups that tour the country. So she was into the logistics, which ultimately led her to her current job, which is the manager of Carnegie Hall in New York City. So, you know, little do you know that the humble roots of starting working in essentially the same position as a student would springboard her a decade or two later into, you know, quite frankly, running one of the most premier and famous event centers in the world.

Angie Cooksy: 8:43

I've heard Carl tell this story a number of times, and every time I hear it, it's like the first time I've heard it because it's it's so powerful, and I think it's so true of what we see over and over of faculty and of staff on campus taking care of each other, but also taking care of our students in such dynamic ways, and then we get to see them. We had somebody in here a few weeks ago talking about how they have the audacity to graduate and they leave us, but it's so cool to see where they where they go after that and to know that you had a part of that. Is it's gotta be special.

Carl Anderson: 9:12

It is. I mean, one thing about being a professor is you you don't while you see them go, they're never completely gone. You know, a lot of our alumni stay in touch, especially with with uh the music department, and many of them stay in touch with us. As a matter of fact, this coming weekend we have the um Illinois Music Educators Association convention here, and so we have a big alumni event where a lot of our um music ed majors who are now teaching out in the various school systems come back and they always visit visit Bradley and visit our our faculty. And I can't tell you the number of weddings that I've been to, and and you know, watching uh students marry each other within the department in some cases. Uh it's you know, it's like one big giant extended family.

Angie Cooksy: 10:02

So I'm gonna put you on the spot a little bit because I did not tell you or that I was gonna ask this question in advance. We are recording in Hilltop Studios, and I think you had a big part in sort of the creation and development of this space. Can you talk a little bit about what that how that took shape and why it was created?

Carl Anderson: 10:19

Sure. Well, as part of the music business program, there's lots of different facets. And you know, we had brought in, you know, ideas with uh, you know, musical licensing, copyright history, the tour business, and so forth. One part that was missing that is common in most music business programs is recording and general production. Production uh and and so we needed a space. And so it was actually the idea of not mine, but of a student years ago, who now, by the way, runs production at a big venue out in Pennsylvania, to let's find a space, Mr. Anderson. Some there's gotta be someplace. And so this space was actually found by a custodian because they know where all the spaces are. Yeah. Uh this space at one time was a lounge for this um uh this dorm that we are in. Yeah. And and as a matter of fact, when we came into it, there was a pool table and you know, lounge chairs and all that hadn't been used in years and years. It was sort of a break room for the custodians. And we're like, um, we're gonna take over this space. So they lost their break room, but we gained a beautiful space. It's very big. Um it's you know, it's about 1,400 square feet or something like that. So it is much larger than most recording studios, so we can accommodate, you know, a large ensemble in here, um, which, you know, so many of our performing groups, other than our really large ensembles, can come down here and record. And also when we developed it uh with Bill Duncan, who is our uh current engineer, we wanted something that would also be portable. So the equipment is designed so we can take components of this to our other venues, capture the recording of you know, whether it's at a church or a dingle dine music center, bring it back here and do the engineering. And then we built classes around it too. So we have we have several recording classes that they can take where they learn the basics of the recording arts as well as live production, um, so you know, live sound reinforcement and all that.

Ben Jedd: 12:28

So uh why Bradley's music department? Like why if if I'm a potential student, why should I choose Bradley's music department? Gotcha.

Carl Anderson: 12:38

I think it comes down to that first story. It comes down to the people. Because any university can buy equipment and build buildings, but it's the people that makes it the difference and the heritage and that that generational knowledge that's passed along through professors, through alumni, and all of that, which separates what we do here. And in fact, if you're not super dependent on equipment, it has to be the people that make the difference, right? Um, you know, two of our music halls are historic buildings. Um, they've been repurposed. Um, they were never initially built for for a music hall, um, but they were great.

Angie Cooksy: 13:23

I didn't know that about Dingledine. I thought it was a music space.

Carl Anderson: 13:27

Dingledine was a church of Second Christ scientists built in 1915. It was converted into a music space my freshman year at 1983. Uh-oh, I just gave away my age.

Angie Cooksy: 13:41

This podcast is now History of Bradley featuring Carl Anderson.

Carl Anderson: 13:45

Yeah, it was it was converted. Uh and likewise Constance Hall, which is our main building where we teach our classes and offices and so forth, was the original women's dorm built in 1930. So the women's dorm for Bradley University. And so my office is literally in somebody's dorm room from years ago. Did your my mom was gonna say did your mom room there? She she would room overnight because she was a towny, as I said, but uh she was very well versed with Connie Hall, which is what they called it in in the days.

Angie Cooksy: 14:17

I feel like we should bring that back. Absolutely. Um what you just said a minute ago, I I want to reinforce, and especially, you know, we hear this over and over across campus, but I see it so much in in the College of Communications and Fine Arts, and then specifically in the music department, of space for students to say, I have an idea, and then those ideas being championed. And I know you've shared a couple of us with us today. Um that I think is just one of the coolest things about this department that maybe doesn't get enough credit.

Carl Anderson: 14:50

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, even some of our majors and and minors and so forth were the ideas uh at least brought forward from students who's like well, let me give you a really great example. We have a class that I teach, which I'm sure is not taught in any other university. We call it Music Business Pro. It is not for music business majors, it is for composition majors and performance majors. Because we had an alum that that wrote to us an email saying, you know, I love my time at Bradley, I was a composition major, I've made, you know, a great name for myself and very well uh, you know, great career and so forth. And looking back, I loved every moment of Bradley. But if I just knew how to adult, in other words, that's gonna be another class that I'm gonna want to take. You know, I uh he had to figure out how to file your taxes as an independent contractor. What do you do about insurance? If you have if you host lessons in your house, how do you insure that? Um, you know, if I'm writing a composition for someone, how do I create a commission contract for that and so on? And from that, it was like a light bulb moment. It's like, why don't we just create a class that is just for that? And so I teach a class right now. It we teach some fundamentals of music business, but about half of the semester we spend time on talking about how to form an LLC, uh, how to file your taxes when you get a pile of 1099s as an independent contractor, as a performing musician, um, all of those kinds of things. And and quite quite honestly, we talk about that to the parents too, because you know, parents that have students going off into the arts in general, their biggest concern is that, you know, they don't have their student living with them at 35 in their basement and that they're actually employed gainfully. You know, like we tell them like this is, you know, we we give them what Lydia Moss Bradley would have done, right? She would say, we're going to set people up for successful careers. And part of that in the arts means to not just teach them the art, but also teach how to employ that art in a successful world. And that's one of the things that we do here. And you talk about a difference in terms of why, Bradley, because we are always doing things like that that prepare our students far better than many of our uh competing institutions that may have similar programs.

Angie Cooksy: 17:13

It's like teaching, teaching to the whole profession, not just to the one to the one aspect of it. Speaking of teaching, what's your favorite class to teach?

Carl Anderson: 17:22

I think my favorite well, I have to say that that new class that we just started is fun because new classes are always fun because you're constantly.

Angie Cooksy: 17:31

I wish you all could see him right now. His whole face just lit up.

Carl Anderson: 17:34

And and what is the new class? Well, that's that music business pro class that we were we were talking about. My favorite classes probably, though, are my music licensing and contracts. It's all math and law. And the the whipping car. You had me at math. The students come into it very, you know, terrified because they've heard things, right? And in reality, they discover, well, this is the most interesting class I've ever taught or ever take at Bradley because it's so topical. The industry is changing so quickly. And the laws embrace try to catch up with the changes in technology. And we dive down in that deep. And so I've I've had students come out of that class, go on to law school, become entertainment attorneys. Oh, cool. Um, in fact, one works out in Beverly Hills, just sued Taylor Swift, just one. Um so you never know what's going to come out of that.

Angie Cooksy: 18:32

I believe that is our second podcast with the Taylor Swift reference. Oh, for those keeping track.

Carl Anderson: 18:39

But that's probably my most fun because from an intellectual standpoint and the fact that it's changing so fast. As a teacher, uh you do get tired teaching the same things over and over again. You are not teaching the same things. No, I mean this is this is something that you're you're constantly having to uh keep your pulse on the industry and be able to share what's what's new and what's happening.

Angie Cooksy: 19:00

So that's wild. Um as we wrap up, I have asked this question on every podcast, and thus far no one has liked it, so we will continue to ask it because I like it. Um when we created this show and we created the podcast, we wanted to find a way to highlight the people that are awesome on campus. And what has happened show after show is people come on and tell us all about the other people that are awesome and amazing and the students that are amazing on campus and tell us less about themselves. So I'm gonna put you on the spot. What do you do in your role or in the classroom that you are unapologetically exceptional at, Mr. Carl Anderson?

Carl Anderson: 19:43

I think I am very good in inspiring our students to think of themselves as music business professionals and not just as students. Um in fact, I'm always explaining to them, especially after their first. Year or two is you can no longer think of yourself as a student anymore. We're too close to the end here. And so I think I do a pretty good job of that. My students would say that I'm the most organized faculty member on Bradley's campus. So they they always know exactly what to expect. They enjoy the classes. And perhaps the greatest compliment that I get over and over again is from my seniors that say, I'm so disappointed because I'm out of classes of yours to take. So I'm like, yeah. That means you have to go get a job.

Angie Cooksy: 20:40

Then they can come back and they can teach with you.

Carl Anderson: 20:42

You know, as a matter of fact, we just hired an adjunct out that works out in California to teach one of the classes in our music business curriculum that was one of my former students.

Angie Cooksy: 20:51

So full circle.

Carl Anderson: 20:52

Full circle moment right there. In fact, yeah, guiding him through the whole syllabus process was pretty exciting.

Ben Jedd: 20:58

I really felt like I was paying things forward at that point. I love that. Carl Anderson, thank you so much for joining us today. Really enjoyed the opportunity.

Angie Cooksy: 21:08

That wraps up our another episode of the Bradley University Podcast. Again, we record live in the Hilltop Studios in the lower level of University Hall, and we love getting to tell stories of Bradley. See everybody next time. Go breathe.

Carl Anderson: 21:21

Bye.