Yup, still here.

Oh my goodness it has been too long since I wrote here. There is something therapeutic about getting myself to the point where I feel like I can write about my life and share it with others. I realized that I have been waiting for something like crazy amazing awesome to happen before I wrote and I was building it all up into this “thing”. The fact is, I’ve had some victories and I’m still on the hunt for more. Allow me to explain :)

Hard to believe that I’m already about to wrap my 4th semester at ACC. I’ve found some amazing mentors during my time there. Tim Dittmar, despite this being his first year as department chair, has really been a rock for me and I probably should buy him dinner when I’m all grown up in the entertainment world. Also need to call out Travis Kelley. I was in his inaugural class teaching Live Sound and he did an excellent job. Francis Preve gets a spot here as well. I learned so much from these guys and its not just book smarts but real industry knowledge.

So what am I even doing these days? Well I have been juggling two internships in different parts of the music industry here in Austin. One is music marketing for Austin’s tourism branch through the Convention Center Bureau. Here I manage twitter posts for upcoming shows with a focus on local artists playing in local, iconic Austin venues, and other random things. Its been fun to help my friends’ bands get a little coverage and also to get a sense of the landscape of Austin’s music industry. I can’t say its the most fun thing ever but damn if marketing isn’t really effing important if you want to put on shows.

The other internship is with Heard Presents, which has also been very interesting. I spend time at Empire helping with random things and I get to see free shows for it. I’m picking up some paid shifts helping bands load in and load out gear as well. Tim, the production manager, drops nuggets of wisdom on me constantly when I’m there. I actually really appreciate his energy and I hope I can absorb a good amount of it for my own future as a producer. Because oh my, do I have ideas……more on that soon.

I’m volunteering on a show at Austin Public and I’m about to start another show hopefully as the primary sound tech for a live broadcast. I’m also working with Scooter Holiday and Hayden Hoodoo for the happy hour open mic on Wednesdays at Dozen Street. I have been getting a lot of love for my sound work there and I might even be able to get some sound gigs for real for real there. Fingers crossed.

And of course, to actually make money, I’m doing event gigs with a couple of different companies. Keeps me active and I appreciate being able to leave my work when I leave my work, ya dig?

Finally perhaps the most exciting news is that I was able to secure an Art Grant to create a new art project for this upcoming Freezerburn. The project is called Synthesezia and we are developing a synesthesia themed experience using Ableton, Resolume, and DMX lighting through an ENTTEC midi to dmx converter. This will an interactive installment and I’m really hoping to make it a rewarding experience for the people who spend some time with it. You’ll be able to manipulate sound, lighting, and video effects in real time with thoughtfully crafted connections based on actual experiences of synesthesia. I’m really looking forward to posting more about this as it progresses.

I suppose that covers my life currently. Sounds like a lot and it is. I am working on simplification for sure. I am getting there. One step at a time I am definitely getting there. Thanks for reading. :)

Sean