Aside from my work as a freelance music writer, I’ve also spent the last nine years working as an advertising professional — six of those at “traditional” agencies and three at an exclusively digital shop. I recently returned to my very first agency to bring my digital experience to bear within an environment of integrated collaboration. Given that range of experience, I find myself engaged more and more on a freelance basis to offer digital marketing support and solutions. Here are a few of my past and current projects.

The Playback Workshop Theatre is a St. Louis-based improvisational theatre company that specializes in the art of “playback.” This unique style of theater requires not only the open and generous participation of the audience but also demands the best from this talented company of actors and musicians as they bring the stories of their audience members to life immediately on the spot. In 2006, I was tasked to build a simple CMS-based site. Now two years later, I’ve been re-engaged to not only revamp the entire site, but provide an overarching marketing vision and plan for the company. Needless to say, 2008 will be an exciting year for the PWT as they look to not only expand their amount of contracted engagements this year, but their entire community and client outreach activities as well.

The In? is a four-piece, St. Louis-based improvisational rock group. Following their recent debut release this past November, An American Cocktail, the Riverfront Times called the group “tight and inventive.” I was asked by the group to implement a content management system for their site that would allow them to (among other things) offer regular news updates to fans, post photos and recaps from gigs, and integrate with a simple PayPal shopping cart to allow them to sell music and other assorted merchandise online. Perhaps the most important feature of the site is an email list managment tool that allows the band to push out communications to those that have susbscribed for regular updates and info. Since the original implementation, the band’s list has grown to over 1000 subscribers.

A labor of love for Kansas City-based artisan Tim O’Neill, the Urban Lumber Company is an extension of his custom furniture and fixture business, Round Tree Design. The Urban Lumber Company is a small hardwood lumber retailer that produces beautiful, quality lumber from downed trees in the Kansas City area with the intent of providing an exotic local product that is both interesting to work with and makes efficient use of precious natural resources. I was approached by Tim to help him create a Filemaker-based inventory management system that also provided for the ability to track sales. As an added feature, the tool also allows for inventory updates to be easily published to his web site via a simple export.

Established in June of 2005, Patchchord.com aimed to be the online resource for the local music scene in the Kansas City area. From its comprehensive listing of upcoming shows and concerts by local and national artists and regular local artist spotlights with MP3 downloads to its podcast series and ongoing commentary on the local scene, Patchchord.com was a site intended for fans and musicians alike. In August of 2007, the love, care and attention required to maintain the site exceeded the time I could devote to it. Yet along the way, I learned a great deal about large-scale content management system implementations, online advertising integration and the production of new media elements like podcasts and online video.

Since its founding on Nov. 21, 1968, the Upsilon Phi chapter has upheld the ideals and pursued the goals of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia for nearly 40 years. During that time, the chapter has initiated more than 400 members into its proud tradition of brotherhood in music. Three years ago, I was asked to develop a web site that reflected both the professionalism and passion these young men have for their musical mission. From the graphic design of the site to the development of the site copy to the implementation of the content management system backend, I was responsible for this entire site build.

Be sure to check back here every once in a while as these sites continue to develop and new projects are initiated. If you’re interested in engaging Patchchord Media for web design or marketing support services, feel free to contact me!