Music alum’s life a mix of glamour and grit
Imagine an event where make-up artists wait in the restrooms to refresh your “look,” where champagne flows like water, where the entrances and exits of A-list celebrities are choreographed to the second by dead-serious backstage workers with “walkies,” and where Oprah Winfrey personally compliments you on your necklace.
For MSUM alum Rachael Goers, that was a night at work, albeit an extraordinary one. Goers, a 2013 graduate of the Music Industry program with an emphasis in business, works full-time for The Teahouse Company in Los Angeles. Teahouse represents and manages six different bands, hired out for special events. The event described above was the Golden Globes. The band hired to perform as guests arrived and entered the ballroom was one of Teahouse’s — the Black Canary String Band.
“It’s a surreal event,” says Goers of the Golden Globes. “Definitely glamorous.”
Goers coordinated timing of sound checks, worked with the production crew and made sure the musicians had everything they needed. “I took on the role of roadie as well, and assisted Black Canary in set-up and unloading. When their set ended, we had to quickly tear down, within five minutes, so we weren’t on the stage as the cameras started rolling.”
After the set, Goers and the band then attended the awards show as guests. A few celebrities approached them and complimented the band on their performance, she said. Others ignored them. “Hollywood is definitely a different beast. When you get a large group of well-known actors and musicians together, you are bound to have some big attitudes.”
A more typical day at Teahouse is varied, if not so glamorous. Goers oversees and runs the company’s day-to-day operations, responds to inquiries, cultivates business, runs events and manages all the company’s social media outlets. “In a sense, I do a bit of everything,” she says.
Teahouse hired her soon after she completed an internship at a booking and tour management company. The internship provided experience Teahouse needed, but Goers also credits her education at MSUM. She was vice president and president of MSUM’s Music and Entertainment Industry Student Association, and gained hands-on experience as a venue manager at Studio 222 in Fargo, a jazz club with strong MSUM ties. “I was also influenced and supported by professors in the industry program. It prepared me for many different aspects of the music industry.”
Goers encourages current music industry students to work hard, but avoid getting “caught in the rat race.” Her off-work outlets are mostly physical ones. She works as a coach for USC’s Women’s Lacrosse Club, hikes in the mountains and swims in the ocean. She also plays and writes her own music. For those who hope for a career in the industry, she offers this advice: “Be confident, but humble. Follow your dreams, even though it may be the hardest thing you do.”