In this instalment of our Featured Alumni series, we catch up with Music Production and Drums alumna Lexi Clark!
Lexi graduated from ACM in 2012 with a Degree in Creative Sound Design, which she completed following a Drums Higher Diploma course, both at ACM Guildford. She’s also currently endorsed by Zildjian, Evans and Promark.
Hi Lexi, tell us a bit about your background and why you wanted to work in the music industry?
All I’ve ever wanted to do was play music, there was nothing else I was interested in, so working in this industry was the only option for me.
I started playing in bands when I was about 15 and quite literally without knowing, life as a touring musician had begun – forever juggling tours around part-time work, College, Uni, etc. When playing with my band Hearts Under Fire I ticked a fair few things off my bucket list – I played some of the best (and worst) venues all over the UK, some of the biggest festivals such as Download, Sonisphere (RIP), T In The Park, etc, and got my first taste touring on a double decker bus.
At some point, I managed to secure myself a part time job at Capital FM as a runner assisting the Breakfast Show, which was so much fun and gained me a name for my CV. I then spent a few years working at an independent music school and afterwards went on to join Sound Performance, a CD and Vinyl manufacturer, in partnership with Sony. In this role, I’m in charge of placing CD and vinyl orders and new-releases for several record labels.
Tell us about what you’ve been involved with since leaving ACM?
Last year I joined a band called The Franklys and toured with Airborne playing all the O2 Academies up and down the country, which was incredible! Ticked Camden Roundhouse off my bucket list too! In March just gone, The Franklys were featured in an Apple Music ad and I finally got to say “LOOK MUM I’M ON TELLY!”
I worked briefly for a booking agent called 13 Artists in Brighton as a ticketing assistant, but I returned to Sound Performance in London, after realising that it was not the right part of the industry for me.
What are your aspirations for the future?
I would like to play the USA Warped Tour – I’ve wanted to do that since I was a kid.
How did your course prepare you for life in the music industry?
It wasn’t so much my course but the environment and my surroundings at ACM did. I made some valuable contacts and friends who now work in the music industry. You don’t so much realise at the time that you’re the next generation of the music industry and it’s amazing when you bump into your buddies from ACM at random meetings, events, gigs etc.
Do you have any advice for those looking to get into the industry?
Persevere, work hard and have thick skin.
What motivated you to come and study at ACM?
The tutors – some of the best musicians in the industry!! Absolutely blessed to have been taught by some of the top professionals.
What was the best part about studying at ACM?
Learning from the tutors – the skills I learned were and are still so valuable. I still use some of my ACM notes now, there’s some absolute gold dust in there.
Connect with Lexi on LexiDrums.com // Instagram
If you’d like to be a student at ACM to kickstart your career in the music industry like Lexi Clark, please call our Admissions Team on 01483 500 841 or visit www.acm.ac.uk/open-days/ to book a place on an ACM Open Day today.
