Brandon Hall – Founder/Editor-in-Chief
Brandon is an award-winning screenwriter, filmmaker, and DJ. He recently finished a short film about a young man and his black Abraham Lincoln imaginary friend called Delusions of Love: A Case Study in Jealousy and 19th Century Formal Wear.

Brandon’s first favorite album was Boyz II Men’s Cooley High Harmony. His second favorite album was TLC’s Ooooooohhh…On the TLC Tip. Represent.

After four years in Los Angeles, Brandon now lives in New York City but continues to do all the things that weren’t making him any money on the West Coast. Brandon is a slow learner.

Sarah Braunstein – Co-Founder/Managing Editor
Sarah works in product development for a big tech company (she’s not sure if she’s supposed to mention the company by name but it likely powers most of your online searches*). She’s a professional aunt and drummer, and recently wore the same dress for a full month to help raise money for a good cause.

Some of Sarah’s favorite live music experiences include The White Stripes (@ the Masonic Temple in Detroit), TV On The Radio (@ the Magic Stick in Detroit), The Flaming Lips (always), and ATP NY (2009 and 2011). She is indefinitely counting down the days until she can see PJ Harvey in concert.

Sarah now lives in Chicago after a few years in Ann Arbor and a brief stint in Beijing. She is constantly struggling for the perfect work-life balance but also realizes that “perfect” would mean not working at all. Work is for suckers.

*ahem, the opinions on this blog do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of organizations with which Sarah is otherwise affiliated.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:

Ross Angeles
Los Angeles
Right, so, that’s probably not his real name. This is not a real biography. Ross is a writer and filmmaker, a lover of David Foster Wallace and impersonator of Chuck Klosterman. He also spins a pretty nice yarn.

Chris Atto
Detroit
Chris is a music freak who resides in the metro Detroit area. He is the founder of the nearly defunct music blog dailybeatz.com and can be found going to every gig possible on any night of the week.

Julia Barry
New York
Julia is an indie pianist, singer, and songwriter based in NY. Her newest album, Once, or Twice, features jazz- and blues-inspired tracks of wonder and longing. Media, live show dates, and more information can be found at juliabarry.com.

Megan Bowers
Chicago
Megan used to DJ techno music in the Detroit area but has decided to throw her life away in Med School at the University of Chicago. Waste. Of. Time.

Rchl Brwn
New York
Rchl is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker and vocalist in the metal band Archon. She works with youth in a variety of non-traditional educational settings around NYC and rides her bike everywhere. Even in the rain. Even in the snow.

Cutter Davis
Baton Rouge
Mr. Davis is an assistant principal at a middle school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He thought Teach for America would be fun, requested work in LA, and got stuck in Louisiana. Now he sweats for a living.

Zach Evans
Los Angeles
Zach is a film and television producer who left the midwest to live in sunny Los Angeles. In his youth he listened to “alternative” music extensively and started bands with names like Your Stalin. Now he sings Boyz II Men songs at karaoke bars.

Steven J Golliday
New York
Steven is an artist, video-maker, and musician from Long Beach, CA who now lives in Brooklyn, NYC.  You can check out his work at www.stevenjgolliday.com.

Jennifer Lao
Los Angeles
Aerospace engineer turned environmental consultant. She gets paid to get angry when people don’t recycle. (ed: And here I was doing that for free.) San Diego native, Los Angeles transplant.

Chris Mollica
Los Angeles
Chris is an actor, writer, and director currently living in the grotesquely hip Silver Lake area of Los Angeles. He has starred on stage and on screen, both big, small, and…um…computer. He’s in your internets. And now in print.

André Salas
New York
André is a Brooklyn-born writer/filmmaker, novelist, published film journalist, and D.J. specializing in the gothic/industrial genre.

Greg D. Schmidt
Los Angeles
Greg is a screenwriter living in Los Angeles.  He’s also the creator of the webcomic Jeez-O-Petes! www.jeezopetescomic.com

Natalie Snoyman
San Francisco
Natalie hails from San Diego, currently lives in Los Angeles, but will soon be movin’ on up to Oakland. She is an archivist which basically means she is really good at organizing things. Sometimes, she contributes ethereal keyboard accompaniment to the band the Finches.

Marites Velasquez
Chicago
Marites loves to pick up just about any instrument, figure out how to play it, and then write a song with it. She’s originally from Las Vegas but is currently a political organizer in Chicago who jams in lady bands. She often goes on epic adventures.

David Weintrop
Chicago
David is a computer engineer living in Chicago spending his days in grad school thinking about learning and learning about thinking. He has a banjo.