With birds chirping in the distance, the calming voice of this Chenango County resident seems to directly contrast the excitement and chaos she has made part of her professional life on a daily basis.
Rubbing elbows with some of the biggest names in the music industry, Jenn Federici explains how it is just another day at the office. Federici, like many children, dreamt of working with rock stars. The difference: she actually did it.
Growing up in Symrna, Federici’s mother says she never really thought her daughter would make that dream a reality. Jenn graduated in 1992 from Sherburne-Earlville school. After taking a year off to work, she found a music industry program at SUNY Oneonta that interested her. While at college, Federici says she was involved in the concert committee which brought in nationally-known bands and she was also a DJ for the college radio station.
She earned a four-year degree from Oneonta and soon took an internship in Los Angeles for a company called Interscope, which was the label for many famous bands Federici admired.
Following the internship, which lasted roughly three months, Federici worked in reception for just three weeks before being asked to work as an assistant to the head of the tour marketing department. Between 1998 and 1999, Interscope merged with Geffen and A & M labels and Federici remained on their staff.
Jenn stayed on the west coast and in time received a promotion into the ticket buys department. “My job is to make sure media outlets and promoters that want interviews with bands while they tour in the U.S have tickets and all the necessary arrangements have been made,” she said.
“Our goal is to get people out to the shows,” she said. By 2002, Federici moved into the position of director of the tour marketing department. “I handled schedules for bands, meet and greets for interested parties and work with band managers to set up interviews for radio shows and other media outlets,” she said.
Working with artists such as Sting, Sheryl Crow, Nine Inch Nails, Black Eyed Peas, Queens of the Stone Age and others, Federici says she has met all the artists the label represents at least once. “The greatest part of my job is getting to travel to the live shows,” she said. She also said she got the chance to go on tour with the band Puddle of Mudd for a week, which she says was a great opportunity.
In 2003, Federici says she was eager to move back to the east coast and be more accessible to her family. After some convincing, Federici says she was transferred to the Manhattan office where she says she is happy to be today.
“I get to attend more live shows,” she said. Being based in New York also means she can come home to Symrna much more often than in past years.
Seeing and working with some of the biggest names in the music industry, Federici sates she still gets awestruck when meeting them. “Working in this field is really a dream come true,” said Federici.
Looking ahead to 2008, Federici says she is anxious to see what may be in store for her. She says she is interested in traveling one-on-one with bands and may look into that venue. “It’s time,” she said.
Editor’s Note: “Chenango Stories” puts the spotlight on those people whose compelling stories you might not otherwise hear. If you know someone who is interested in telling their “Chenango Story,” contact Jill Kraft at 337-3075 or e-mail: jkraft@evesun.com.