(Original Photo By: Spencer Flohr)
Think of the first time you listened to electronic music. Was it techno, house, dubstep, big room, trance, or something not mentioned? Did you enjoy it or did it give you a headache at first before falling in love with it later? Why did you feel this way? Well, for 22-year-old Rebecca Hable, the obsession with electronic music began when she was just in 7th grade. She was a gymnast and wanted to choose unique music for her floor routines – something that no one else had chosen and of course, electronic music is great “pump up” music for workouts and athletics. It wasn’t until a few years later though, that she started to really submerse herself in the electronic music culture.
When she was just 15, she started going to a small club in Minneapolis, Minnesota every weekend. She went so many times in the audience that she decided it was time to experience the music from behind the scenes as well. She fell so in love with the culture that she realized she wanted to pursue a career in the music and/or nightlife industry. She told herself that she would do whatever she had to do to climb up the ranks. So how do a lot of us start our careers in the industry? Becoming a street team member of course. She began doing promotions for the club and eventually became a go-go dancer as well.
Eventually, as many Midwesterners do, Rebecca chose to escape the unpredictable weather/extreme winters and moved to Arizona at the young age of 18. If you are from the Midwest then you can understand the desire to live somewhere much warmer. While she enjoyed the heat, she had little to no interaction with the music industry in Arizona. She had a hard time fitting in and befriending people who understood her and her love for electronic music. She became homesick and was tired of working a dead end job that didn’t involve her passion for music. She experienced a time of great confliction: do I stay or do I move back home? After 1.5 years of living in the desert, she decided it was time to move back home to Minnesota. Shortly after her arrival she landed a job with the main event production company in Minneapolis, Sound in Motion (aka SIM Shows). All was right again in her world. The job opened up so many doors, helped her gain a new group of friends and support system, and it made her realize that her dream was still to work in the music industry.
With SIM Shows, she started handing out flyers around the city. She took this job very seriously though and learned a lot from the experience. The owner of SIM Shows, Jack Trash, took notice of her hard work and asked Rebecca to be his personal assistant. In the assistant position she was helping with artists’ riders, managing the street team, tearing down/setting up the stages before and after shows, and helping to plan Summer Set Music Festival. Because of this learning experience, Jack has become one of her biggest inspirations.
Being a young female in a male-dominated industry, it can be difficult to earn respect from males and other females. I can only imagine how much more profound that disrespect is for former go-go dancers. It’s like having two strikes against you. A lot of people fail to take them seriously and think very little of these performers. They see go-go dancers as trashy or as girls who have nothing better going for them. Not true. Go-go dancing is an art just as much as electronic music. Anyways, back to the story.
Rebecca knows the stereotype very well and to this day she still struggles with being a young female and former go-go dancer. She has worked with record labels, agents, and artists from all over the world and sometimes to this day, she still stumbles upon somebody who doesn’t take her seriously because of her gender. She said, “To overcome the stereotypes, I just prove that I have the same knowledge as any male out there. I work hard and make sure that each record label, artist, venue, or agent is satisfied with the outcome of my work. If there is something I can improve on then I take their criticism as a lesson and apply it to my next task.” She advises other females to be persistent, to believe in themselves, and to never give up. You will always have haters. No matter what. You can’t please everyone; there will always be somebody who tries to tear you down. You can’t listen to them, though. Every time somebody has told Rebecca that she can’t or shouldn’t do something, she used it as fuel to her fire and worked that much harder. Channel the negative energy you receive into something more positive.
In life, we can’t get too comfortable. Curveballs are thrown our way when we least expect them. Even though she worked with Sound in Motion for four years, she was presented with a new opportunity this past summer. AEG Entertainment, one of the world’s leading companies in event production asked her to join their team and work in the box office. Since her dream has been to work out west and AEG’s main office is in California, the offer was hard to resist. However, the SIM Shows team had always made her feel like she was a part of something bigger. After another span of time with much confliction, she chose to accept the new opportunity. Unfortunately, due to a conflict of interest, she had to leave Sound in Motion behind. According to Rebecca, she still really misses Sound in Motion to this day, but has overcome this decision by talking to peers and hearing them remind her how important it is to follow her dreams. Without SIM Shows this AEG opportunity might not have been in the question. The team opened up so many doors for her and she aspires to leave an impact on this industry like that of her former boss.
In addition to working as a Guest Services Representative at AEG, she has also become a part of Big Gigantic’s “Lil G’s.” The Lil G’s are a group of Big Gigantic fans that not only support their music, but also help them perform philanthropic projects as well. For example, they partnered with Conscious Alliance to conduct a winter clothing drive a few weeks ago in Denver before Decadence, and have also hosted several food drives as well. The Lil G’s spread love and lend a helping hand whenever they can. She said, “It’s really amazing to see the EDM community as well as artists give back to people who are in need. I would love to get more involved with them and use my expertise to make these events more known throughout the country.” These philanthropic events have shown Rebecca how important it is to help others in a time of need. She wants to continue helping communities with hunger relief and do her part in solving world hunger.
Working with such well-known companies and artists has given Rebecca a world of knowledge. Each company has taught her something different. They have helped tremendously in her success and have always encouraged her to shoot for the stars. They have served as an amazing support system for this young female.
One of her greatest strengths is her interpersonal skills – her ability to maintain communication with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family. This will help her build lasting, meaningful relationships within this industry. As I mentioned before, one of her biggest dreams is to work for a large event production company somewhere out west, specifically Colorado or California. According to Rebecca, she has always loved the way the music scene in both of these states makes her feel. She says, “The people, the venues, and the promotion companies such as Insomniac and Global Dance make every single fan feel like they are welcome and that they can just be themselves when they are at an event.” She hopes to leave a similar impact on this electronic music culture and provide help to those who are just getting their start in the music industry. Ever since she attended her first Global Dance and Insomniac events, she has been working nonstop with major production companies and major EDM blogs across the country so that she can eventually find herself working with one of those two companies. She also wishes to travel the world as a tour manager in the future. Even though moving out west is a leap of faith for any aspiring music industry professional, she is willing to take the risk.
Who knew that the music she used for her floor routines in gymnastics would become the inspiration behind her greatest passion and life pursuit? I guess you could say that electronic music has that kind of affect on a lot of us. If you have a dream, follow it and do not give up. While Rebecca is still on the road to living out her dream, she has shown us how worthwhile it has been thus far to persevere and not give up.
