Angie Cooksy: 0:11

Welcome back to another episode of the Bradley University Podcast. I am one of your hosts, Angie Cooksy, and I serve as the vice president for enrollment management, marketing and communications.

Ben Jedd: 0:20

And I am Ben Jed, AVP of Marketing and Communications.

Angie Cooksy: 0:25

We actually have a musician here today.

Ben Jedd: 0:27

I know.

Angie Cooksy: 0:28

It's not me.

Ben Jedd: 0:28

I was gonna just say Angie Cooksy.

Angie Cooksy: 0:31

It is not me. Uh if you've heard any one of our shows before, you know that Ben likes to see if I will ever play a musical instrument on the show. The answer is no, still. But we do get to meet and talk to all sorts of other amazing people. And today's guest actually does have musical ability. So I'm super excited to share that.

Ben Jedd: 0:47

Not just like a fun ukulele hobby.

Angie Cooksy: 0:51

Yes. Not just my ukulele hobby. Yeah. Is a ukulele like a small guitar?

Ben Jedd: 0:57

Yeah. That's exactly what a ukulele is. Okay.

Angie Cooksy: 1:00

All right. Well, more you know. Um, our show is recorded in the lower level of University Hall in Hilltop Studios. If you've never had a chance to be down here, it is a technology space for musicians and for podcasters, and just give students the opportunity and faculty and staff to have the resources to engage in today's technological space. And so I'm always really excited that we get to record down here. To jump right in, our guest today is Patrick Sheeley, who is a music business major and a social media marketing minor. And um sad news for me, he is graduating sooner than I uh feel like I approved of. But Patrick, welcome to the show.

Patrick Sheeley: 1:39

It's true. Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.

Angie Cooksy: 1:41

Of course. The way we start the show is to give you all a space to share a little bit about yourself and your journey to Bradley and uh your experiences to the seat that you sit in today. Um, so as a as a senior and what that looks like. So can you tell everybody a little bit about yourself?

Patrick Sheeley: 1:57

Sure, yeah. So my name is Patrick Sheeley. I am a senior this year here at Bradley University. Uh and yeah, as uh Angie said, I am a music business major, social media marketing minor, and I am a musician. My uh main instruments are piano and voice, but I've dabbled here and there in some um some guitar, and I used to play trombone as well, uh, but kind of dropped that off back in high school.

Angie Cooksy: 2:21

Those are very different instruments to just dabble in.

Patrick Sheeley: 2:24

It's true, it's true. Uh but you know, I always like to say I'm like technically, yes, they're part of the the repertoire.

Angie Cooksy: 2:30

Does Carl Anderson know that you dabbled in trombone?

Patrick Sheeley: 2:32

He did, but not until after I was admitted, thank goodness. Because I had already declared uh piano as my major, as my primary.

Angie Cooksy: 2:39

I think he would have scooped you up if he knew.

Patrick Sheeley: 2:41

He really would. And the funny thing is that he's you know still my advisor for music business, and you know, he was like, wait, and you play trombone? I was like, Yeah, I left that part out, didn't I?

Angie Cooksy: 2:51

Patrick, where are you from and what was your college search experience like?

Patrick Sheeley: 2:55

Sure. So I am from Kansas City, Missouri. So about five and a half hours away from here, just kind of to the southwest.

Angie Cooksy: 3:02

Do we have to ask if you're a Chiefs fan?

Patrick Sheeley: 3:05

You do not. I am a Chiefs fan. There's nothing worth asking. Not Ben Wagon either. I always have to tell people, I'm like, no, I was a fan of the Chiefs when you grew up there, of course. Matt Castle was the quarterback, you know. I I had to watch that too. So I feel like I've earned it. I feel like I've earned, you know, uh what what we're seeing today from the Chiefs. And then for a while I also always said I'm like, well, I'm a Royals fan too. I was a Royals fan actually really like first. So I always say, I'm like, no, trust me, guys. I like I I'm I'm through the bad too. So don't worry.

Angie Cooksy: 3:34

I'm a White Sox fan, so it's fine. Like the I get it.

Patrick Sheeley: 3:37

You're still telling people that.

Angie Cooksy: 3:38

I d there's only like eight of us left.

Patrick Sheeley: 3:40

So like the the Pope is from Chicago, so it's good. You gotta represent. But yeah, anyway, I'm from Kansas City, Missouri. Um, and my college search was really based on the major of music business. So I college searched by major. Um, and actually Bradley has one of the oldest music business programs in the country, literally dating back to like 1947. Yeah. Uh and so, you know, when I was kind of looking at you know, music business programs, Bradley happened to like really pop up like with some of the top three up there with with Belmont and USC and some other groups that have some really, really great programs. Um, but then I kind of was looking around at Bradley, decided to come here and audition and do a visit day, and I just really loved the people and I love the fact that it was a mid-sized university, so I could do a lot, as you guys you know have kind of already heard, even just from the music side, but also the fact that I also have the social media marketing minor. I play intramural sports, I have like four or five part-time jobs. I mean, it really allows me to do like you know, just about like all the things that I want to do. Uh, and that's just something that's always been appealing to me. I I love to do a ton of different things. Yes, sometimes like maybe too much on my plate, but I like it, and it gives me a smile. So um that's kind of what I have uh kind of gotten to do here at Bradley, so it's just kind of the perfect fit for me. That's awesome. Uh so you're also in a band here at Bradley, right? It's true. Can you talk about that a little bit? Absolutely. So I'm in a brand new, as of just this last year, uh, pop rock ensemble at Bradley called Kaboom Box. Um, if for those of you who are specifically Bradley fans, you're gonna notice that that's a a mix of Boom Box and Kaboom. So we we decided, you know, it works. We were workshopping different names for a while, and we're just like, it may be too cheesy, but we got to do that. No, it's awesome. And it it's stuck and it's it's really kind of caught on, so I'm really happy about it. But um, you know, it was one of the big initiatives, at least for me, like I have always wanted to incorporate more kind of pop music and just more kind of current contemporary music here at Bradley. Um, and kind of something that we kind of started last year was just like hey, we should have more ensemble opportunities that are going to include more contemporary things here at Bradley. So it was a really great initiative that uh Doc had kind of Dr. Todd Kelly had brought back from a conference um and then kind of pass it on to the guitar professor here, Scott Anderson. Uh we kind of just gathered a little ragtag volunteer of uh groups, you know, uh of people who, you know were interested in that and really kind of wanted to see that blossom, and uh it's really turned into something great. So we have uh piano, keyboard, uh voice, guitar, bass, drums, and then we also have a horn section too, which usually is some sort of mix of trumpet and saxophone. Uh, so it's really kind of this fun blend of like pop and a little bit of almost kind of jazz in there, and just really kind of your your contemporary pop group uh that's going to have you know horn lines of you know arrangements of like you know 25 or 64 or something like you know, very Chicago-esque, that sort of style where it's like, you know, you still have really nice horn lines, but it's still pop. And yeah, it's been it's been a lot of fun.

Angie Cooksy: 6:53

It's so fun.

Patrick Sheeley: 6:54

That's so fun.

Angie Cooksy: 6:55

Um I was listening to you so intently that I literally forgot my question, but that's okay. It'll come back to me. Um one of the things that you Oh, I remember what my question is. Uh you mentioned at the beginning that you are a senior.

Patrick Sheeley: 7:10

It's true.

Angie Cooksy: 7:10

Are we talking about that? Or are we not emotionally ready to talk about that?

Patrick Sheeley: 7:14

Do you want to talk about that?

Angie Cooksy: 7:14

I mean, I I'm not emotionally ready to talk about that yet, but like I'm emotionally ready. Okay, so you're a senior, you're in your last semester at Bradley, because I think you have different plans for next semester.

Patrick Sheeley: 7:25

That's right. So what's on your next semester? I am planning on going on to the Hollywood semester here at Bradley, um, which kind of dating back to why I chose Bradley, that was really one of the key factors for me when I came here and found out that they had a Hollywood semester program where you could literally basically study abroad in LA.

Angie Cooksy: 7:43

Yeah.

Patrick Sheeley: 7:44

But while you're doing that, you're be you know taking classes from professionals in the field, in, you know, kind of your field specifically of what you want to study. And during that, you put in like 240 hours in an internship. Oh wow. You know, I was just like, that's such a great opportunity for someone who really just wants to get their foot in the door. Like, what a great opportunity, you know, to just really get out there, get field experience. I feel like it's so important these days, you know, just as much as they're looking for, you know, possible education and they want to know that you have tech, you know, the technical skills to go with it. Uh, and so I felt like that was kind of the the perfect opportunity and blend um to kind of you know combine my education with also getting that field experience. So yeah, I'm gonna go out there in uh next semester, so starting in January, and the hope is that I can kind of use that as a launching pad straight into a career out there in LA.

Angie Cooksy: 8:32

Nice. Do you know what your internship is yet, or is that part of the work for the semester?

Patrick Sheeley: 8:36

So it is part of the work for um so this semester we actually have a thing called Hollywood Boot Camp. Oh yeah, very very fun, right? Uh and essentially that's kind of this preparatory class that's you're gonna work on your resumes, you're gonna also work on things like cover letters and also just in general, what to expect out there, where you're gonna be staying, different guidelines such as that. Um but I am happy to report that I do already have some job leads. That's awesome. Can't say too much, but um I am looking in kind of the like the digital music marketing kind of arena. So combining that music business with marketing is kind of what I've been doing here.

Ben Jedd: 9:12

So where do you hope to be? Do you want to be LA area? Do you want to be New York, Nashville?

Patrick Sheeley: 9:18

Like what where what's your hope? I think my my hope is honestly the fact that you know if I have a strong internship in LA, then hopefully that would lead to uh an opportunity directly in LA. Maybe that company hires me on afterwards, or they have you know maybe some contacts for another company or organization that I could try out. Um but I do also I love Nashville too. I've kind of visited there a couple times and that's really a lot of fun. Um and yeah, I like Nashville's kind of nice because you get that kind of the city life, you get to be a part of the music scene, that's really big, but then as you get out of the city, it's like, oh, it's kind of suburban Midwest in some ways. So it's like, you know, kind of that opportunity to like, oh, you can stay in music, but you know, if you were to Sunday kind of go down and and settle down a little bit more, not have to be dealing with the outrageous prices and rent and all those things in LA, it's a really great alternative.

Angie Cooksy: 10:12

So uh shameless plug for Patrick. He did not ask me to do this, but alums in uh LA or Nashville, he's coming on the market to so he's looking for a job if you have one.

Patrick Sheeley: 10:21

Yes, please. Contact Angie to contact me.

Angie Cooksy: 10:24

We can make that happen.

Patrick Sheeley: 10:26

So, what's something people may not know about you, Patrick? Something that people may not know about me. I mean I guess you played the trombone. Yeah, I guess we yeah, I guess we found that out today. Um, so yeah, it's officially out out yeah, out of the basket, out of the box for for Carl. Or what's something people may not know about your Bradley experience? Something that people may not know about my Bradley experience. Well, something that I really don't talk about too much, at least as far as for a lot of people that know me from being from the music department, uh, is that I I have dabbled a lot in our intramural sports yeah, which is kind of just something that's fun that I've done on the side. Uh I mean just about all of them except for soccer. I'm really bad at soccer. I've even given volleyball a try. I'm not really great at that either, but luckily I'm tall, so you get that going. I'm like, I just have to hit the ball up if hit it down. As long as I can do those two things.

Angie Cooksy: 11:19

Those are like the key skills. I think you're good.

Patrick Sheeley: 11:21

For for like C League volleyball, yeah, that gets you by. Um, but mainly flag football and basketball are the things that I have probably the most fun with. And then we also have the softball too. So kind of involved in those. That's always fun. I have my my two roommates for those Bradley listeners that know the Hollis Brothers, I'm I'm sure they're they're big names around here too. Um they they're they basically run uh markets and intramural sports. So uh I they're they're my roommates as well.

Angie Cooksy: 11:48

So some sports you play just because they need another person?

Patrick Sheeley: 11:51

I really well I'm just kind of dragged along, you know. It's like I feel like our house is kind of like the office of of internal sports sometimes. So I'm like, I'm just kind of naturally in it.

Angie Cooksy: 11:59

I'm like, I'm here. Um you know, one of the things that we talk a lot about at Bradley is really being a a place for experiential learning and you're gonna do the things that you're learning in class. Um have you had a project or an uh an experience that you're like this this is why I was here. This is this is really gonna stand out. I'm gonna remember this.

Patrick Sheeley: 12:18

Absolutely. Um, I mean, even just recently, and this is kind of less than the the I mean, obviously in the music department, what's great is that you you're always going to have performance opportunities. Sure. And that's something that kind of also separated Bradley from other schools, especially in music, is like you're going to have the opportunities to perform here that you're not really maybe going to have at a larger school where you're kind of a smaller number. Here it's like with a more tight-knit group, it's really like there's there's the space, there's the opportunities to play often. And your professors, you you know, you're you're so close with them that they're gonna just they're like, nope, you're getting up there, you're performing. I mean, Dr. Kim, my uh piano teacher, I'm giving a senior recital this semester as well, so I guess I should plug that too, November 23rd at 7 30 at Dingle Time.

Angie Cooksy: 13:02

I saw the poster.

Patrick Sheeley: 13:03

So so be there my way. It's gonna be pretty, pretty fun. Uh a really nice range of classical piano and jazz and and pop and some original compositions, so that's all gonna be nice. So again, that's that's an example right there. It's like, you know, I get the opportunity to do a senior recital, so it's going to be an entire hour, 15-minute program that's pretty much all done by me, things that are either composed or arranged, or just in general that I'm kind of performing myself of you know, classical pieces. Um, so I mean that's a great example in music. And I had a lesson with with Dr. Kim today, and she was like, Yeah, you're performing like basically as soon as I can make you. So it's like they're just gonna get you up there, but it's because they want you to be comfortable with it. Yeah, and they know that the in the professional field, like the expectation is like, yeah, no, you're you're gonna play. You you need to know how to perform. And so they do that there. And then recently I was able to use a lot of my experience that I've done in the social media marketing world with uh Heidi Rotier, who's the the social media marketing professor. Absolutely. Um I just recently had done a faculty fun fact Friday for her. I run the back social medias, so for the Foster College of Business and the Caterpillar College of Engineering and Technologies. One fun series that we started was a faculty fun fact Friday, and I got Heidi Rotier to do it, and she said that she read like 216 books last year. What? And I was like, wow, that's yeah, that's that's a lot. But she's she's really well versed. Point is that she's very knowledgeable. And uh, we did something in her class uh where we basically got to do kind of like an internship um that was kind of like mocked online in the simulation. Uh and essentially you were given like a budget like each week as though you were working for a marketing agency that was doing social media and digital marketing like that. And you actually got to go through and like make Facebook posts and make Instagram posts, Instagram, YouTube, like the works, even influencers, which was was crazy to actually get to kind of deal with that a little bit. But I was able to use that use that experience in some um interviews recently where I was like, yeah, no, I I have kind of gotten to work with a budget in a way. I'm like, I know where I should be putting certain you know allocations of of money toward different things, and uh, you know, they were pretty impressed by that. Like, well, you know that? And I'm like, yeah, well, I yeah, I kind of actually got to do that. I went to Bradley. I went to Bradley, exactly. So I know I kind of danced all all around that question, but I think the the point is there is that there's there's a lot of experience. Uh and so whether that's in music or more on you know my business and social media side, I really feel like I've gotten to do a lot. Um, and uh I I feel feel pretty prepared now that things are coming up with interviews and stuff. I've had a lot to share, which has been really nice.

Angie Cooksy: 15:41

That's awesome. Um I typically do a wrap-up question, but I have one other question before I do the wrap-up question. Um, what's been your favorite class at Bradley?

Patrick Sheeley: 15:52

My favorite class at Bradley. Oh my goodness, those are probably gonna have to be my music business courses with Carl Anderson. Yeah. Uh he does such a good job covering kind of all the different scopes of the industry. So we have a music uh licensing and contracts class, and then we also have one that's really about like live music and agencies and stuff like that. So we actually got to fully like route our own tour as though you know we're we're we're a touring artist. We're basically saying, yeah, you're gonna go there. This is the ticket price that we're gonna charge and you know what venues we're going to, and you actually had to route this like you know, entire like month-long tour. Um, so like that was super fun. Uh and then we also got to do uh we have a products class as well, and that's the last project in that class is basically you're a district sales rep, uh and you basically have we have a guest come in at the end of the semester, and you actually have to like sell them like two different instruments, and you know, one's kind of more of a a basic and then one's kind of your your level up instrument that maybe might be a little bit more expensive, have some more cool fancy features. Um and the guest that we ended up having to present to was Beth Kidder, um, who, if you know, is currently at the top of Kidder Music here in Peoria. Uh and we didn't know that at the time. Walked in and it's like, oh yeah, by the way, that's the president of Kidder Music that you just had to sell to. So um, you know, like again, really hands-on stuff, but those classes were just so fun, just because number one, obviously it's stuff that I'm really interested in as far as music goes. Um, but getting to learn like you know, the thick of the industry was really so cool. And Carl does it in such a way that's um, you know, very hands-on, and you really get to to learn more because you're going to be doing it. And and he really tries to do those things in the projects that we do in the class, uh, aside from just the lectures that are already pretty engaging just because I'm interested in it. But yeah, um I would say all of Carl Anderson's music business classes, go take them.

Angie Cooksy: 17:48

Uh well we will pass that along and make sure that he he knows that. Um, our wrap-up question is the same for everybody on the show, and we usually get the same response initially, so we'll see what yours is. Uh, but uh Patrick Sheeley, what are you unapologetically exceptional at?

Patrick Sheeley: 18:04

What am I unapologetically exceptional at? And you said that you get the same answer. Yeah, everybody. Same response. Everybody's like, same response. Yeah, like just like I don't want to answer that. I don't want to answer that. Um, is it like the like nothing? And no, no, everybody answers that everybody answers that, yeah. Uh let's see. I feel like I have a knack for kind of being super busy, but not even like minding. I don't know, it's kind of like a very specific thing, but I feel like I I do a lot, but I I I end up managing it somehow. Some might say that's uh something that is uh tough to be good at, but I I feel like that's something that I do a lot. Um and then I'd have to say probably piano and and singing is that's great. Kind of my biggest thing that I'm the best at in my in my opinion. That's awesome. Thank you so much, Patrick. This has been a lot of fun. Yeah, thank you guys so much for having me. I really appreciate it. This was a lot of fun. Yeah.

Angie Cooksy: 18:59

Anytime that wraps up another episode of the Bradley University Podcast. Uh, this is Ben and I's favorite thing to do is be able to meet and talk to all different people around campus. And so if you would like to come on the show, you can message Ben, who loves when I tell people to message him directly.

Ben Jedd: 19:15

Email me at a cooksie at bradley.edo.

Angie Cooksy: 19:18

Somehow that just backfired at me. Okay. Uh, but everyone, thank you so much. Uh until next time, go Bradley.

Patrick Sheeley: 19:24

Bye. Go Bradley.