I came to Milwaukee with a hugely inflated ego. I honestly thought, "They need me in Milwaukee!" I mean how many VPs of a global company live in Milwaukee? Well, there are many and I suspect many of them have better skills than I do.
Having spent the last 20 years establishing a career in the music industry - starting out as a publicist and winding up a VP of Label Acquisitions at EMI (I also ran V2 Records for Richard Branson in Toronto, CD) see my ego getting in the way again, I thought for sure I could, at the very least, work in the not for profit sector.
Which is exactly where my job hunt started. I got a call from Goodwill - I aced the phone interview, which led to a formal in person meeting. I got to the facility over by the airport - was greeted by a lovely woman who took me on a tour of the facility. Immediately I received a hug from one of the folks working in the jobs program where locals can come in and work on an assembly line, which can be anything from labeling Unilever products to wrapping soap bars. This would be great as I firmly support hugging in the work place.
So next, we went into a conference room and the questions began. The Goodwill hiring manager asked, "Where have you resolved a crisis situation?" Hmmm where have I not resolved a crisis situation! "Saturday Night Live" vowing to never have The White Stripes on again because they wouldn't play their most popular song, the singer of Grandaddy taking off right before going live on Conan O'Brien, hastily getting out a press release stating false accusations had been made against an artist, the list could go on and on. As I touch on some of these I soon realize this doesn't really translate to a crisis situations in a normal company because the music industry is not a normal work environment. Needless to say I got a form letter in the mail - "thank you for applying for blah blah position."
So, on goes my quest to find the perfect job in Milwaukee. As I lick my wounds I get a call from my pal Bob or as we call him B.O.B. B.O.B. used to be in a very cool band called Carolina - some of you reading this may know of them. He is now a floral designer and owns his own business -Marius Bell Floral and Events. He needs my help as it's wedding season and there are bouquets, boutonnieres and corsages to be made. I loved it and I even got to handle a wedding all on my own.
Did you know churches in Milwaukee can have three different names? As I arrived at the Three Holy Women, which can be referred to as any of the three under its umbrella St. Hedwig, Holy Rosary or St. Rita’s – yes I was confused - the wedding had already started. How can this be? It was an hour before the ceremony was supposed to happen! I call B.O.B. in a panic. He informs me it's wedding season and some churches will see up to four ceremonies on any given Saturday. Ah ha! A light bulb goes off - of course because summers are so short. I am sure winter weddings happen but I can't see that lovely photo of the bride dressed in full snowsuit because it's so freaking cold! I managed to get corsages on wrists and boutonnieres on lapels without sticking anyone and the ceremony went off without a hitch. I loved working for B.O.B and I can only hope to get the call again. I mean honestly who doesn't love a wedding?
Until then, the job hunt continues and I manage to find projects to fill my time. You should try my pot roast.
Sid McCain began her career as a publicist working for Susan Blond.
Over the years, she worked with most of the majors – Columbia, Capitol and Arista. Sid spearheaded media campaigns for everyone from Iggy Pop to Coldplay. As head of publicity for Richard Branson’s V2 records she was given the opportunity to manage V2 Records Canada, home to The White Stripes, Moby and Elbow.
Once V2 records closed its doors she found a new home at EMI Label Services in Canada and was then brought back to the New York. Her experience made her a natural to seek out label and artist opportunities for EMI Label Services/Caroline Distribution.
