Our mission is to bring artists and fans together by capturing the live performance and encouraging people to live in the moment.
Meet the team
Dean Graziano
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Bio
Dean has more than 15 years of experience in entrepreneurial ventures, including as the founder of Visible Technologies Inc., an industry-leading online reputation management and social media software company located in Bellevue, Washington. Dean started Visible Technologies in 2005 in his apartment with two employees , and in four years expanded the company to 110 employees and $16MM in revenue. In 2009, Visible Technologies was voted the second-fastest-growing companies in Seattle/Puget Sound, listed #170 on Inc. Magazine’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies, and was a Top Performer in the 2009 Forrester Wave Report. Dean led the company to more than $50MM in funding, which included investors such as Joe Grano – Centurion Holdings, WPP, Ignition Partners, and In-Q-Tel.
In 2007, Dean was also part of the founding team at Reach Machines, a media-planning software company, which merged in 2008 with another local start-up called Fyreball. The combined company is now called Meteor Solutions (www.meteorsolutions.com). Meteor Solutions was acquired in October 2012 by Covario, a leading search marketing and digital agency.
Dean lives in Seattle with his wife Marian and their three kids. He sits on several advisory boards and is highly active in the Seattle start-up community. He is an inventor and holds patents in the social media Industry, patent #7,720,835.
In 2007, Dean was also part of the founding team at Reach Machines, a media-planning software company, which merged in 2008 with another local start-up called Fyreball. The combined company is now called Meteor Solutions (www.meteorsolutions.com). Meteor Solutions was acquired in October 2012 by Covario, a leading search marketing and digital agency.
Dean lives in Seattle with his wife Marian and their three kids. He sits on several advisory boards and is highly active in the Seattle start-up community. He is an inventor and holds patents in the social media Industry, patent #7,720,835.
Lee Marshall
Chief Operating Officer
Bio
Lee Marshall, chief operating officer, brings over 20 years of entrepreneurial experience in operations, business, sales, and finance.
Lee has been involved with, or consulted, six start up companies in New Zealand, Australia, the United States, and Canada. Lee will oversee all operations of the company, supporting all aspects of the company including the Lively Lounge.
Most recently, Lee was co-founder and chief operating officer for the Sydney-based agency start-up, NRS Media in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia. The company grew from two employees in the US to over a 200 worldwide with revenues over $20MM.
The company is now operating in 23 countries and has generated $800 Million in revenue for their clients.
He has been involved in consulting to WOMF an Internet Company recently in New Zealand and has recently been working in the production business in Seattle, working with Microsoft, Amazon, Alaska Airlines, and Intel.
Lee has been involved with, or consulted, six start up companies in New Zealand, Australia, the United States, and Canada. Lee will oversee all operations of the company, supporting all aspects of the company including the Lively Lounge.
Most recently, Lee was co-founder and chief operating officer for the Sydney-based agency start-up, NRS Media in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia. The company grew from two employees in the US to over a 200 worldwide with revenues over $20MM.
The company is now operating in 23 countries and has generated $800 Million in revenue for their clients.
He has been involved in consulting to WOMF an Internet Company recently in New Zealand and has recently been working in the production business in Seattle, working with Microsoft, Amazon, Alaska Airlines, and Intel.
Brian Hirsh
Chief Music Officer
Bio
Brian Hirsh, chief music officer, brings more than 15 years of experience in music, label relations and digital media to Lively and will oversee artist and label relations, licensing and venue partnerships. As a creative thinker, business strategist, content and media relations professional and marketing guru, he has had the opportunity to develop campaigns and marketing solutions for some of the largest brands in the world. Most recently, Brian served as the chief creative officer for the Los Angeles-based agency start up, Mirrored Media. Previously, he was senior vice president, creative services at PlayNetwork where he oversaw the creative, music, video, new media and label relations teams as well as founder and president of Retail Entertainment Design, an entertainment marketing firm in Seattle.
Geoff Walker
Chief Marketing Officer
Bio
Geoff Walker is a seasoned marketing expert with extensive experience in the entertainment, technology and sports industries and has held key roles in a variety of companies including Microsoft, RealNetworks, T-Mobile, e2k Sports, and DirecTV Sports Networks/ROOT Sports. Geoff joins Lively after running his own freelance event marketing company, WalkerRun Events. Recently Geoff held the title of Vice President of Marketing at DirecTV Sports Networks where he led the award-winning effort to launch the rebrand of three Regional Sports Networks in Seattle, Denver and Pittsburgh from Fox Sports Net/FSN to ROOT Sports. Prior to that, Geoff was the Director of Retail and Guerrilla Marketing at T-Mobile where he led the team that was responsible for field marketing efforts supporting more than 2000 retail stores across the country.
At RealNetworks, Geoff held the title of Sr. Director of Events & Productions. Geoff worked with the company for over seven years and was deeply involved in the launch effort for several products and services, including the Rhapsody music service. He has produced concerts and events all over the US and abroad, and oversaw the production for Rhapsody Originals and Rolling Stone Originals, both in studio and on location. He has worked with several artists, actors, executives, political leaders, and organizations and has produced events at Radio City Music Hall, House of Blues Las Vegas, SXSW, and even in an old airplane hangar in Roswell New Mexico for the launch of the Foo Fighters album In Your Honor.
Geoff has taken his love for events, sports, and entertainment, and turned it into a career that has had many twists and turns, which have given him the opportunity to sharpen his skills in events and marketing working with brands, products, and high profile individuals, artists, and athletes over the years, including Alicia Keys, Third Eye Blind, Kevin Spacey, dozens of NFL players, and many more.
At RealNetworks, Geoff held the title of Sr. Director of Events & Productions. Geoff worked with the company for over seven years and was deeply involved in the launch effort for several products and services, including the Rhapsody music service. He has produced concerts and events all over the US and abroad, and oversaw the production for Rhapsody Originals and Rolling Stone Originals, both in studio and on location. He has worked with several artists, actors, executives, political leaders, and organizations and has produced events at Radio City Music Hall, House of Blues Las Vegas, SXSW, and even in an old airplane hangar in Roswell New Mexico for the launch of the Foo Fighters album In Your Honor.
Geoff has taken his love for events, sports, and entertainment, and turned it into a career that has had many twists and turns, which have given him the opportunity to sharpen his skills in events and marketing working with brands, products, and high profile individuals, artists, and athletes over the years, including Alicia Keys, Third Eye Blind, Kevin Spacey, dozens of NFL players, and many more.
Brad David
VP of Business Development
Bio
Brad David is a business development and sales executive with an entrepreneurial approach to the wireless communications marketplace. He has in-depth expertise in developing companies, products and business development relationships. Recognized for his entrepreneurial drive and creative product and marketing ideas. He has built and funded companies within the mobile space and has been involved in creating innovative software products and services.
Early on he began his career working with wire-line data products such as Frame Relay, ATM and IP Services. Brad has also developed IP and Fiber Optic networks for many high-tech and Fortune 500 companies such as Clear Channel.
Brad has worked for telecommunication giants such as Sprint and Qwest as well as the wireless content & messaging pioneer, Ztango, Inc. (now RealNetworks). Most recently, Brad had been the Founder and CEO of Taylor Creek Associates, LLC. Taylor Creek Associates was a mobile content company focused on wireless services working with leading world-wide brands, content providers, major music labels, messaging aggregators, and wireless carriers for both on-deck and off-deck content distribution. Before closing in early 2013, TCA as it was known managed entire mobile storefront ecosystems for Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA.
Before founding Taylor Creek Associates, Brad was VP of Business Development for Dwango Wireless bringing such brands as Rolling Stone Magazine, ESPN and Napster into the mobile marketplace.
Brad lives in Kirkland, Washington with his wife of 18 years, Lena and his daughter Mackenzie.
Early on he began his career working with wire-line data products such as Frame Relay, ATM and IP Services. Brad has also developed IP and Fiber Optic networks for many high-tech and Fortune 500 companies such as Clear Channel.
Brad has worked for telecommunication giants such as Sprint and Qwest as well as the wireless content & messaging pioneer, Ztango, Inc. (now RealNetworks). Most recently, Brad had been the Founder and CEO of Taylor Creek Associates, LLC. Taylor Creek Associates was a mobile content company focused on wireless services working with leading world-wide brands, content providers, major music labels, messaging aggregators, and wireless carriers for both on-deck and off-deck content distribution. Before closing in early 2013, TCA as it was known managed entire mobile storefront ecosystems for Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA.
Before founding Taylor Creek Associates, Brad was VP of Business Development for Dwango Wireless bringing such brands as Rolling Stone Magazine, ESPN and Napster into the mobile marketplace.
Brad lives in Kirkland, Washington with his wife of 18 years, Lena and his daughter Mackenzie.
Abe Claiborne
VP of Artist & Label Relations
Bio
Abe Claiborne is a leader in the entertainment business with more than 16 years of experience in artist development, management and marketing for top-tier entertainment companies. He has achieved and maintains an excellent reputation throughout the industry. Recently, he handled music strategy and licensing for major brands like American Eagle and Harley Davidson, working with hundreds of labels and artists. Prior to his current role, Abe served for several years as Chief Operating Officer of a record label for H.R of the Bad Brains. His duties there included: booking tours, A&R and developing brand partnerships. In his 10+ years with the Universal Music Group, most recently as the Director of Artist Development and College Marketing, he organized over 1000 marketing campaigns for major and independent label artists in every genre targeted to the youth market. His strategic approach to artist relations, licensing, business development, marketing, and creative content has built his exceptional reputation and allowed him to maintain leadership in the field.
Zach Varnell
VP of Audio Engineering
Bio
Zach Varnell has been recording since he was 13 years old, from a 2 track reel to reel in his parents basement in Denver to studios like London Bridge and Bear Creek in Seattle. In 2000, Zach was hired as the chief engineer at Harbor Studios where he worked with a range of visiting producers in contemporary gospel from Nashville’s Brad Duncan to LA’s Andre Crouch. In 2001, Zach was hired as a staff engineer at Tacoma’s Spectre Studios, where he became a partner in 2006, building a new campus in Renton.
In the spring of 2012, Zach partnered up with two other engineers to build The Castle, a destination boutique studio in a 19th century English mansion owned by Heart and Bad Company’s guitarist Howard Leese. Along with producing records out of The Castle, Zach is a staff engineer at Tacoma’s Pacific Studios and has recently worked with a number of video production teams, capturing live performances for bands like Pink Martini and Brandi Carlile. In 2011, Zach partnered with videographer/photographers Dylan Priest and Ty Kalberg to create Notes From Home, a web-based intimate house concert experience, producing and recording acoustic concerts for artists like Damien Jurado, Pickwick, Allen Stone, John Vanderslice, The Head and the Heart, and Drew Grow.
Zach began teaching Audio Recording at the Tacoma School of the Arts in 2004, and currently serves as the creative media director for Elements of Education, a non-profit funding arts and literacy initiatives in public education.
In the spring of 2012, Zach partnered up with two other engineers to build The Castle, a destination boutique studio in a 19th century English mansion owned by Heart and Bad Company’s guitarist Howard Leese. Along with producing records out of The Castle, Zach is a staff engineer at Tacoma’s Pacific Studios and has recently worked with a number of video production teams, capturing live performances for bands like Pink Martini and Brandi Carlile. In 2011, Zach partnered with videographer/photographers Dylan Priest and Ty Kalberg to create Notes From Home, a web-based intimate house concert experience, producing and recording acoustic concerts for artists like Damien Jurado, Pickwick, Allen Stone, John Vanderslice, The Head and the Heart, and Drew Grow.
Zach began teaching Audio Recording at the Tacoma School of the Arts in 2004, and currently serves as the creative media director for Elements of Education, a non-profit funding arts and literacy initiatives in public education.
Dan Horton
SVP, Product and Technical Operations
Bio
Dan is an experienced operations executive who brings strong leadership skills in technology management and product development. He has had senior management experience across multiple, functional areas of operations stemming from tenures as COO, CTO, and VP of Operations.
Co-founder and CTO of Who’s Calling, the company grew to $75 million in sales and over 350 employees in a six year period. The company was sold to Reynolds and Reynolds, a leader in automotive dealer management solutions.
Co-founder and COO/CTO of Humanity Interactive: Humanity Interactive developed highly realistic intelligent digital agents in web self service applications and interactive marketing roles. HI developed core technologies around Natural Language Processing, highly realistic character creation, automated animations processes, and real time Text-to-Speech animation processes.
Co-founder and CTO of Who’s Calling, the company grew to $75 million in sales and over 350 employees in a six year period. The company was sold to Reynolds and Reynolds, a leader in automotive dealer management solutions.
Co-founder and COO/CTO of Humanity Interactive: Humanity Interactive developed highly realistic intelligent digital agents in web self service applications and interactive marketing roles. HI developed core technologies around Natural Language Processing, highly realistic character creation, automated animations processes, and real time Text-to-Speech animation processes.
Joshua Batchelder
Executive Producer of Video Production
Bio
Joshua Batchelder is a creator of stories, commercials, and corporate campaigns. He shot his first film in the 5th grade on his friends VHS camcorder and a decade later co-produced a music documentary in West Africa. With more than 12 years of experience as a media producer, editor, and videographer, Joshua has traveled around the world meeting people and telling the stories of their lives. Recently, he has been producing visual content for some of the largest companies in the Northwest. His passion for music, connecting audiences to stories that inspire them, and his amateur DJ career are just a few things that keep Joshua moving.
Michele Batchelder
Director of Venue & Events
Bio
With a creative, logistical mindset and an eye for detail, Michele directs Lively’s venue in SoDo and runs all events. Previous to Lively, Michele spent 9+ years at an international relief and development organization managing events, staff, public relations, and marketing campaigns. Michele spent much of her time as a spokesperson, traveling the country and world interfacing with donors, writing + speaking about humanitarian issues, and fundraising for a hunger awareness program with an annual revenue generation of $12million. Having started creating and directing events at the age of 13, event and project management come second nature to Michele. She thrives in new environments with fresh challenges every day and usually can’t keep a hobby for more than a week without becoming bored. This susceptibility to boredom and her motivation to create inspiring experiences made starting a venue from scratch with Lively a perfect venture for her. When Michele isn’t at Lively she’s hanging out with her husband in West Seattle and trying not to adopt more dogs.
Susie Brown
Director of Music
Bio
Susie Brown has a decade of experience in the music industry, focusing primarily on music licensing.
Prior to Lively, Susie was director of licensing and label relations for PlayNetwork, Inc. for eight years. There she worked with hundreds of brands to clear music that matched their brand sound. She has spearheaded dozens of Web sync campaigns for retail brands such as Nordstrom, Anthropologie and Forever21. Susie has strong relationships with all the major labels and publishers as well as thousands of independents.
When Susie’s not in the office or taking in a live show you’ll find her on the yoga mat.
Prior to Lively, Susie was director of licensing and label relations for PlayNetwork, Inc. for eight years. There she worked with hundreds of brands to clear music that matched their brand sound. She has spearheaded dozens of Web sync campaigns for retail brands such as Nordstrom, Anthropologie and Forever21. Susie has strong relationships with all the major labels and publishers as well as thousands of independents.
When Susie’s not in the office or taking in a live show you’ll find her on the yoga mat.
Scott Kawa
Director of Venue Relations & Tour Marketing
Bio
Bio coming soon…
Justin Tamminga
Artist Relations Manager
Bio
Justin has been a multi instrumentalist, a composer and a sound engineer for the last twenty years. He has played and toured in 3 different bands and recorded local acts from his home studio. The experience of live shows mixed with the passion and love of recording and songwriting made Justin focus in on licensing his music for television and films. Justin enjoys composing for films and has done the score and sound for 8 short films (one of which made it into Seattles’ International Film Festival), a documentary and a few online commercials. His music library has recently been used for an Internationally acclaimed BMX video and spots on the Kardashian Show. Justin also teaches guitar, bass and drums from his home studio as well as recording and writing music for many different music licensing companies.
Tor Caspersen
Audio Production Manager
Bio
Tor’s music education began at a young age, and after years of performing and touring, his focused moved toward production. After completing audio recording course at Tacoma School of the Arts, Tor’s education moved to Europe, where he received a Bachelor’s degree in sound technology from the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, a school which was founded by Paul McCartney. Tor previously was an assistant engineer at Bear Creek studio in Woodinville, WA.
Kathleen Tarrant
Marketing Communications Manager
Bio
Kathleen started writing about music in her high altitude home of Colorado in 2008, staying out too late for shows to meet deadlines for local blogs and the Denver Post. In her sleep-deprived state in 2010 she decided to relocate to Seattle, began writing for Sound on the Sound, forayed into tour managing, and continued her well-worn path of blowing out her ears for the love of the live show.
Writing bios for artists like Shelby Earl and Modern Kin, and interviewing a slew of artists including Daniel Johnston, Josh Ritter, The Lonely Forest, and others, she brings a passion for music that stretches from her new home in the Pacific Northwest to her oxygen-deficient roots in the Rockies, and beyond. She primarily listens to indulgently bummer albums, and loves how an electric guitar sounds in a big, empty room.
She has driven a van through the flattest parts of Kansas, stayed up for shows that started at 2 AM, has dropped a guitar amp on her toe several times, drinks too much coffee, and is guilty of overusing the comma in the persistent journey to help artists and fans connect with each other. She is currently writing the Lively blog, helping artists get their Lively recordings into the world, and listening to some sad music, probably.
Writing bios for artists like Shelby Earl and Modern Kin, and interviewing a slew of artists including Daniel Johnston, Josh Ritter, The Lonely Forest, and others, she brings a passion for music that stretches from her new home in the Pacific Northwest to her oxygen-deficient roots in the Rockies, and beyond. She primarily listens to indulgently bummer albums, and loves how an electric guitar sounds in a big, empty room.
She has driven a van through the flattest parts of Kansas, stayed up for shows that started at 2 AM, has dropped a guitar amp on her toe several times, drinks too much coffee, and is guilty of overusing the comma in the persistent journey to help artists and fans connect with each other. She is currently writing the Lively blog, helping artists get their Lively recordings into the world, and listening to some sad music, probably.
Adam Argyle
Dev Ops
Bio
Adam is a Swiss army knife developer. He’s trained and efficient across a seriously wide array of technologies, languages, frameworks, and development approaches. He codes at work and at home, passionately gleaning and learning from the open source community. He stands on the shoulders of dev giants like Paul Irish, Chris Coyier, and Nicole Sullivan, who evangelize the web and best practices. Not only can he spin up NoSQL DB’s, hack on LAMP, NGINX, Node, and Python, but his UI and front end development skills are at their peak performance.
He also has a designer past, creating games, sites, apps, and 3D worlds. This helps him be pixel perfect in creation of UI, because his eye notices and appreciates the subtleties of good design. Nothing seems impossible to this guy, he’s the office enabler for experimental ideas and sturdy web application engineering.
And if it isn’t obvious, Adam is a gamer, an RPG head to be exact, and spends his weekends exploring dungeons, slashing monsters, and saving the girl.
He also has a designer past, creating games, sites, apps, and 3D worlds. This helps him be pixel perfect in creation of UI, because his eye notices and appreciates the subtleties of good design. Nothing seems impossible to this guy, he’s the office enabler for experimental ideas and sturdy web application engineering.
And if it isn’t obvious, Adam is a gamer, an RPG head to be exact, and spends his weekends exploring dungeons, slashing monsters, and saving the girl.
Jeremy Spyridon
Graphic Designer
Bio
After six years of graphic design training in Chicago, Jeremy took a leap of faith and landed in Seattle. For four years, he worked at a small studio where he led a team of designers to develop print and digital assets for professional services firms around the world. They rose from an unknown boutique to one of Puget Sound Business Journal’s 25 Largest Design Firms. As a freelance graphic designer he has had the honor of working with some incredible companies and organizations, including PATH, Premera Blue Cross, New Horizons, and Street Bean Espresso.
When he’s not designing, he writes a music blog called Icarus & Occident, which lets him explore how and where music finds us.
When he’s not designing, he writes a music blog called Icarus & Occident, which lets him explore how and where music finds us.
Amy Boyd
Public Relations Manager
Bio
An outgoing personality and a general curiosity of people have made Amy a natural communicator. Amy is driven by creating relationships and providing solutions.
Amy has previously worked as a senior account executive at Frause, a Seattle-based full-service communications agency where she provided strategic counsel and media relations execution for clients spanning the financial services, real estate, retail, and built environment industries.
Amy currently serves on the board for the Puget Sound Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America and is a member of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber’s Young Professional’s Network Creative Council.
A Washington State native and University of Washington grad (Go Dawgs!), Amy lives in Ballard with her husband, Tyler. In her free time Amy can be found binge baking, dabbling in the Seattle restaurant scene as a wannabe food critic, and attempting to master yoga.
Amy has previously worked as a senior account executive at Frause, a Seattle-based full-service communications agency where she provided strategic counsel and media relations execution for clients spanning the financial services, real estate, retail, and built environment industries.
Amy currently serves on the board for the Puget Sound Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America and is a member of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber’s Young Professional’s Network Creative Council.
A Washington State native and University of Washington grad (Go Dawgs!), Amy lives in Ballard with her husband, Tyler. In her free time Amy can be found binge baking, dabbling in the Seattle restaurant scene as a wannabe food critic, and attempting to master yoga.
Kristan Wright
Executive Assistant & Office Manager
Bio
Kristan Wright has been a part of Lively since the very beginning. Prior to Lively, Kristan worked in management for a large retail company where she was responsible for staff management and day-to-day business activities. She held several management positions with the company and assisted the staff and helping to grow the company. She has also worked as an Executive Assistant for Visible Technologies keeping order for a robust group of techies and executives. She is great at multi-tasking and keeping the peace. You can always find Kristan at the front with a big smile and helpful hand.
Neil Hampton
Online Content Manager
Bio
What began as a mild interest in being “that boy who plays drums,” soon became a full-blown passion for music composition, audio production, and artistic expression of all kinds. Beginning his training at Tacoma School of the Arts, Neil learned the tricks of the audio recording trade from Zach Varnell (Lively VP of Audio). While he began working in the Digital Media department of Russell Investments (Seattle, WA), where he gained invaluable experience putting his creativity and passion for audio/video to work in a corporate setting.
Two years later, Neil moved to Los Angeles, California to attend SAE Institute of Technology, and graduated in the summer of 2011. Working as a freelance engineer in the frantic Hollywood music industry while running live sound at a Burbank comedy club for acts such as Tom Green, Christopher Titus, and Darren Carter, Neil soon found himself drawn back to the Pacific Northwest. In 2012, he began teaching Audio Recording, Digital Music Composition, and Physics of Sound at Tacoma School of the Arts. Neil currently produces music and sound design/sound FX independently for commercial, film, and corporate uses, as well as collaboratively with Seastock Audio. His passion for the arts, coupled with his technical training and musical upbringing have combined to drive Neil into new and exciting opportunities in the recording and live music industry.
Two years later, Neil moved to Los Angeles, California to attend SAE Institute of Technology, and graduated in the summer of 2011. Working as a freelance engineer in the frantic Hollywood music industry while running live sound at a Burbank comedy club for acts such as Tom Green, Christopher Titus, and Darren Carter, Neil soon found himself drawn back to the Pacific Northwest. In 2012, he began teaching Audio Recording, Digital Music Composition, and Physics of Sound at Tacoma School of the Arts. Neil currently produces music and sound design/sound FX independently for commercial, film, and corporate uses, as well as collaboratively with Seastock Audio. His passion for the arts, coupled with his technical training and musical upbringing have combined to drive Neil into new and exciting opportunities in the recording and live music industry.
Tyler Eide
Senior UI/UX Designer
Bio
Tyler Eide is a multi-disciplinary graphic designer who’s goal is to deliver unique, and creative solutions to help people communicate their ideas, and reach their goals. Previously, Tyler worked on the design team at Xbox, launching the Xbox One. Prior to that, he was a senior designer at the interactive agency, Ratio where his work there included a wide variety of of clients and mediums.
He still has hopes of reaching 6’-0”, and had a regrettable nose ring in the mid 2000’s.
He still has hopes of reaching 6’-0”, and had a regrettable nose ring in the mid 2000’s.
Matthew Dressman
Front End Developer
Bio
Matthew Dressman is a well-rounded creative professional with years of experience in a variety of roles encompassing software engineering, web development, marketing, project management, technical consulting and more. He brings modern approaches and attention to detail to all code he writes and enjoys producing flexible, robust, quality software.
Matt has been passionate about music for longer than he can remember. He’s worked in the music industry for many years, also serving as Marketing and Technology Director for the Seattle-based Decibel Festival of Electronic Music Performance, Visual Art and New Media.
Matt has been passionate about music for longer than he can remember. He’s worked in the music industry for many years, also serving as Marketing and Technology Director for the Seattle-based Decibel Festival of Electronic Music Performance, Visual Art and New Media.
Drew Rickman
Quality Assurance
Bio
Drew is a versatile professional in the technology field. He brings skills from a wide variety of quality assurance experiences and he always seeks to improve his skills. He has an eye for detail and loves to tackle complex issues. Drew has additional experience in web design, social media, usability, photography, and project managing.
Drew has been passionate about music since he was a kid. He remembers sitting in the car with his dad at an early age when the Led Zeppelin song “Stairway to Heaven” started playing on the radio. His dad, trying to impress him, told him this was the longest song ever recorded in history. Drew’s curiosity was piqued and he asked who played this record-making song, to which his dad replied, “The Moody Blues”. Years later, when Drew found out these things weren’t true, he vowed to learn more about music. This led to a passion for listening to and discovering new music.
In his spare time, Drew likes to hike the many mountains in Washington, attend Seattle Sounders matches, and perfect his headbanging skills at heavy metal concerts.
Drew has been passionate about music since he was a kid. He remembers sitting in the car with his dad at an early age when the Led Zeppelin song “Stairway to Heaven” started playing on the radio. His dad, trying to impress him, told him this was the longest song ever recorded in history. Drew’s curiosity was piqued and he asked who played this record-making song, to which his dad replied, “The Moody Blues”. Years later, when Drew found out these things weren’t true, he vowed to learn more about music. This led to a passion for listening to and discovering new music.
In his spare time, Drew likes to hike the many mountains in Washington, attend Seattle Sounders matches, and perfect his headbanging skills at heavy metal concerts.
Dan Fromhart
Video Producer
Bio
Dan was raised by a vegan therapist and an ex-Jesuit priest. His childhood was punctuated by tofu, religious freedom, and basketball. He’s finally decided that he doesn’t like tofu, but he loves creating off-the-wall, mind-bending approaches to filmmaking that engage the viewer.
In October of 2013, Dan graduated from Los Angeles (both academically and emotionally/spiritually/conditionally) and now resides in the city of Seattle with his furry-haired partner-in-crime, Austin.
In October of 2013, Dan graduated from Los Angeles (both academically and emotionally/spiritually/conditionally) and now resides in the city of Seattle with his furry-haired partner-in-crime, Austin.
Joleen Winther Hughes
In-house Legal Counsel
Bio
As founder of Hughes Media Law Group in Seattle, Washington, Joleen Winther Hughes has assembled a world-class team of veteran media, technology and entertainment attorneys to provide holistic and customized in-house/general counsel services to Lively. Joleen was one of the first attorneys in the world to bring traditional media into the digital age and has been responsible for providing company guidance and developing licensing strategies at the intersection of entertainment and technology in music, games, apps, motion pictures and sports since the advent of media on the internet and devices. Joleen oversees Lively’s legal services and strategy including providing general overall company guidance.
Prior to her legal career, Joleen was an entrepreneur who owned a successful artist management, talent booking, concert production and special event business during the height of the Seattle music explosion representing RKCNDY nightclub, Susan Silver and Kelly Curtis Management (Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Screaming Trees) and many music production companies. If you visit her Seattle office at Pike Place Market, you will walk into a museum of rock memorabilia from this time. Her first real jobs in the media industry were as the marketing assistant at KING Broadcasting (radio/TV) and as a PR assistant responsible for publicizing films from Disney, Paramount Pictures, and Warner Brothers in the Seattle market. Joleen also is the proud co-owner of her husband’s authentic Irish pub, the Celtic Swell, on Alki Beach in West Seattle.
Prior to her legal career, Joleen was an entrepreneur who owned a successful artist management, talent booking, concert production and special event business during the height of the Seattle music explosion representing RKCNDY nightclub, Susan Silver and Kelly Curtis Management (Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Screaming Trees) and many music production companies. If you visit her Seattle office at Pike Place Market, you will walk into a museum of rock memorabilia from this time. Her first real jobs in the media industry were as the marketing assistant at KING Broadcasting (radio/TV) and as a PR assistant responsible for publicizing films from Disney, Paramount Pictures, and Warner Brothers in the Seattle market. Joleen also is the proud co-owner of her husband’s authentic Irish pub, the Celtic Swell, on Alki Beach in West Seattle.
Advisory Board
Maggie Finch
Advisor
Bio
Maggie Finch is founder and CEO at Creator Republic. Finch is a digital media executive and entrepreneur who has spent the bulk of her career building digital marketing firms and technologies. Finch began her career in traditional media working for shops such as Young & Rubicam and Wunderman Cato Johnson. By the early 1990s Finch turned her attention to digital media, executing some of the first online marketing campaigns. A few years later, Finch co-founded a digital media agency that later became the east coast contingent of Avenue A / Razorfish. For more than a decade, Finch served as general manager and vice president of media for aQuantive (now RazorFish), establishing the firm as one of the world’s leading digital media agencies.
After aQuantive’s acquisition by Microsoft in 2007 for $6 Billion, Maggie shifted her attention to digital publishing as general manager of Microsoft’s Publisher Solutions team. There, she focused on building technologies aimed at increasing advertising revenue and decreasing operational costs. Recently, Finch ran her own start-up, King of the Web, which became the largest online talent show focused solely on web-based entertainers, racking up millions of viewers every month. Aside from her own endeavors, Finch has advised several start-ups, ranging from search to celebrity gossip. She remains focused on helping young, digital companies develop winning products, strategies, brands, and teams.
Maggie has been an avid circuit speaker and corporate spokesperson. She has received numerous industry awards for her work including Ad Age’s Media Maven Award, B2B Magazine’s Best & Brightest Media Strategist, and MediaPost’s (OMMA) Media Planning/Buying Award for three straight years. She was recently featured in Cory Treffelletti’s book, Internet Ad Pioneers.
After aQuantive’s acquisition by Microsoft in 2007 for $6 Billion, Maggie shifted her attention to digital publishing as general manager of Microsoft’s Publisher Solutions team. There, she focused on building technologies aimed at increasing advertising revenue and decreasing operational costs. Recently, Finch ran her own start-up, King of the Web, which became the largest online talent show focused solely on web-based entertainers, racking up millions of viewers every month. Aside from her own endeavors, Finch has advised several start-ups, ranging from search to celebrity gossip. She remains focused on helping young, digital companies develop winning products, strategies, brands, and teams.
Maggie has been an avid circuit speaker and corporate spokesperson. She has received numerous industry awards for her work including Ad Age’s Media Maven Award, B2B Magazine’s Best & Brightest Media Strategist, and MediaPost’s (OMMA) Media Planning/Buying Award for three straight years. She was recently featured in Cory Treffelletti’s book, Internet Ad Pioneers.
Dick Wingate
Advisor
Bio
Dick Wingate is principal at DEV Advisors, acting as a bridge between the technology and entertainment industries – providing digital business strategy, content acquisition, licensing and distribution and access to key relationships. He also serves as president of BHI Music Group, a new independent music label and publisher. Wingate boasts more than 35 years of experience across recorded, digital music and interactive media. In addition to being an Advisory Board member of Lively, he also sits on the Advisory Board for leading digital music players Songza, MindPix (symbol: MPIX), StudioOne Media (symbol: SOMD), MyMusicCloud, LiveStage, Kkorus Entertainment Technologies as well as venture firms Digital Entertainment Ventures (DEV) and Cava Capital.
Wingate spent 20 years at major record labels Columbia, PolyGram, Arista and Epic Records in senior marketing and A&R positions, finding or building the careers of Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, Aimee Mann, Eddy Grant, and Sarah McLachlan, among others. He served as president, media development and chief content officer for Nellymoser, one of the earliest providers of rich media mobile apps, overseeing content and business development strategies and helped pioneer the digital music business during his years as senior vice president, content development at Liquid Audio, Inc., playing an integral role in the company’s 1999 IPO.
Wingate has also served as president, content and programming for DTM, Inc., an interactive systems provider for in-store delivery of digital products for clients included McDonald’s and 7-11. He was one of the earliest music industry supporters of digital interactive media and in the early 1990s held the position of vice president, market development for Intouch, developer of the i-Station, the first networked, interactive music-previewing kiosk for record stores. Wingate started his career at WBRU-FM in Providence RI, as music and program director while still at Brown University. Wingate is currently a member of NARAS (Grammys).
Wingate spent 20 years at major record labels Columbia, PolyGram, Arista and Epic Records in senior marketing and A&R positions, finding or building the careers of Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, Aimee Mann, Eddy Grant, and Sarah McLachlan, among others. He served as president, media development and chief content officer for Nellymoser, one of the earliest providers of rich media mobile apps, overseeing content and business development strategies and helped pioneer the digital music business during his years as senior vice president, content development at Liquid Audio, Inc., playing an integral role in the company’s 1999 IPO.
Wingate has also served as president, content and programming for DTM, Inc., an interactive systems provider for in-store delivery of digital products for clients included McDonald’s and 7-11. He was one of the earliest music industry supporters of digital interactive media and in the early 1990s held the position of vice president, market development for Intouch, developer of the i-Station, the first networked, interactive music-previewing kiosk for record stores. Wingate started his career at WBRU-FM in Providence RI, as music and program director while still at Brown University. Wingate is currently a member of NARAS (Grammys).
Andie Simon
Advisor
Bio
Andie Simon is president of Andie B Simon, Inc, a business consulting firm that provides services to senior management in the music and gaming industry. In addition to Lively, Simon’s current clients include Electronic Arts, Xbox Music, Soundcloud, and Linkin Park. Before starting her own firm, Simon was senior vice president of Interactive Media at Warner Music Group where she oversaw the video game business and Digital Business Development in the interactive space. Her responsibilities were to oversee all of WMG’s interactive media strategy, including spearheading interactive business development and leading product innovation.
Prior to joining WMG, Simon served as vice president of brand partnerships and interactive media for Warner Bros. Music where she was responsible for managing business development with the NBA and the NFL as well as interactive media and all video game publishing relationships. She also was responsible for coordinating marketing efforts among label, management, publishers including music licensing, preorder promotions, DLC, TV and trailer licensing, and press outreach.
Prior to joining WMG, Simon served as vice president of brand partnerships and interactive media for Warner Bros. Music where she was responsible for managing business development with the NBA and the NFL as well as interactive media and all video game publishing relationships. She also was responsible for coordinating marketing efforts among label, management, publishers including music licensing, preorder promotions, DLC, TV and trailer licensing, and press outreach.