Name: John Murphy
Birthday: May 9,1994
Hometown: Duxbury, MA
Class: Junior
Major: “It’s a mouthful” (see article)
Residence: Off-Campus
Zodiac Sign: Taurus
Relationship Status: Taken
Her Campus: What was one of your favorite memories at UMass?
John Murphy: That would be performing for President Obama with the Doo-Wop Shop this December.
HC: Wow! How did you get that gig?
JM: The Obama gig we got around November when the White House contacted us. We had a crazy two days then because a couple days prior, Radio City Music Hall had contacted us to perform for their Christmas spectacular. Our business manager thought it was a joke that the White House asked us, but it turned out to be legit. We then asked what they were looking for, and later we were working on Christmas music. We had to arrange and learn five holiday songs in three weeks for the shows. For a lot of other ensembles, vocal arrangement is very intense. However, we definitely had the incentive to get them done quickly.
HC: How did you schedule those two shows?
JM: Both places asked when we were available so we could work with each other’s schedules. The Radio City Music Hall puts on multiple shows a day all throughout December, so it was just a matter of picking one. We ended up going on right after Michael Bublé, which was sweet. We did that on December 18, and on December 14 we sang at the White House.
HC: What was the show at the White House for?
JM: For a while, we didn’t even know what it was about, since the White House is very secretive and secure. We had to go through background checks and provide them with information. We didn’t even know whether Obama was going to be there, since they told us that he might not be. Understandably so, since he’s very busy. All we knew is that we were going to be background music for something. It turned out that we were playing at a dinner put on by the President to thank the Secret Service, and since he’s the benefactor for their work, he was there. At first, we only planned two 50-minute sets as background music. We finished the first, went to the green room, and then one of the aides told us that there was a change of plans and that we were going to perform for the President and First Lady.
HC: What were you guys thinking when you were called to do that?
JM: We were freaking out. We only had time to do a shortened version of one of our songs, so we just did a version of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” that we re-titled “Barackin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” so after shortening it out and making some last-minute changes, we went up and sang for the President and First Lady.
HC: What did they think of it?
JM: I think they loved it. We definitely brought the heat. When we were singing it, the Obamas were jamming out, dancing, and clapping. It was amazing, and it was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform for the president. After that gig, we went back to one of our singers’ houses in Philly to rehearse and party our faces off, since we were just 10 guys hopped up on just having performed for the leader of the free world.
HC: Wow, that’s awesome. What’s next for the Doo-Wop Shop?
JM: Well, those two gigs are pretty tough to top for us, but we’ll be doing gigs around Amherst as well. One of the things we also have to deal with a lot is our campus and social media presence, which is an obligation along with the music. We had a viral video a few years ago with a Disney Medley, and from that we have some crazy fans, who I think may love us a bit too much, and even some international fans as well. Thus, a lot of time is spent on the image, which is definitely important for the group. We also have to contextualize where we’re going, in moving forward from the video while paying respect to it.
HC: With those fans, have you gotten recognition on campus?
JM: Yeah, I guess. I’ve had some folks that I don’t know come up to me and talk about the Doo-Wop Shop and things like that. It’s strange-when I joined the Doo-Wop Shop, I didn’t think that they were that big a deal. The guys seemed pretty normal and cool, but I had no idea what I was getting myself into. That viral video, which was uploaded before I joined, went from 1 million to 3 million views during my freshman year. I don’t know, I’m grateful for the notoriety of this organization, but I never really sought the notoriety, it’s just kind of a funny phenomenon.
HC: OK, do you have any shows coming up?
JM: We just performed at Acapellacalypse at Hampshire College, but you can catch us on April 24 for our Spring Concert, which is always a good time.
HC: In addition to your work with the Doo-Wop Shop, you’ve been doing a lot of solo music recently. Can you tell us more about that?
JM: Yeah, I started working on a solo album over break where I’d have some of the musicians from UMass and the valley come in and collaborate with me on songs we’ve been writing, record it, and see what happens. I write a lot of music, but I kinda wanted something to show for it. My housemates and I built a home recording studio in our basement by pooling together our instruments and recording gear, and I figured that I’d have my friends come through and collaborate, because I definitely appreciate how other people write and think about music, and the best stuff comes out when you meet in the middle and connect with them. However, this semester’s been crazy so it’s kind of taken a backseat to school and things like that, but now that things are kind of returning to normalcy I’m looking at restarting this project, and I’m always looking for new musicians.
HC: So you mentioned your major was “a mouthful,” what actually is it?
JM: It’s a BDIC in music management and marketing, with a minor in Political Science, and a certificate in Arts Management.
HC: Interesting. How did you come upon choosing all of those things?
JM: I realized early on that while I loved to perform, play, and write my own music, I couldn’t really agree with the idea of being a professional musician and being uncertain of where your next paycheck will come from. For a while, I considered being a producer, but there’s that same uncertainty. There’s not a lot of money in music anymore, and home recording has taken off so much that I don’t see much utility in being a producer as a career. However, I took some classes in production to get involved with it. My band in high school, called the Sun Kings, had a drummer that taught drum lessons, and one of his students came to one of our shows. It turns out that that student’s father was a recording professor at Berklee, and he was so impressed with us that we got to record two songs at a studio there, which was awesome, especially because I’m definitely interested in production.
HC: So what drew you to management from production?
JM: Freshman year, I looked at my strengths and weaknesses, and knew I wanted to do something with marketing and music, since from my own experiences in groups I’ve seen how important marketing is with music groups. The BDIC process let me see what was available and figure out what I wanted to do with that. I think at least what I’ve picked out will give me a slightly narrow focus with school, but one that would be applicable to a broad range of jobs.
HC: What are you looking to do with that?
JM: I’ve been thinking about being a manager or a promoter, but I’ve also been looking at being an A&R (Artists & Repertoire) man for a record label. They’re the ones who choose which groups go into the studio and record, give people record deals and other financial backing from the label, and to suggest which bands should get record deals. Only in the past month or two have I been looking into A&R, but I’m definitely leaning towards it. How cool would it be to be the person who can help bands or artists take it to the next level?
HC: How about the Poli Sci part of it?
JM: I’ve heard that public policy and marketing are disturbingly similar, if not one in the same thing. It’s all about understanding the public, and the processes that govern their beliefs, tastes, and actions. Plus, I’ve always loved to hate politics, which helps.