Staff
Ben was born in Pittsburgh during the summer of 1983 (the year Roxy Music disbanded). He has since inhabited Chicago, New York, and several Virginian cities including Richmond, where he prefers to spend the majority of his time. His interest in music sparked at age three when he began taking piano lessons. A passion for theatre and film would soon follow; he was known for acting in high school and college productions while focusing on the independent film scene in Richmond. Nowadays, you’re likely to catch him at a bar in the Fan or commuting to Fredericksburg where he works as a high school teacher/behavior specialist. Ben enjoys a variety of music, some long-time favorite musicians/bands include: Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, The Doors, The Isley Brothers, Buddy Guy, Tom Petty, David Bowie, and George Clinton.
Christine Stoddard is a writer and interdisciplinary artist who employs her words in the realms of poetry, prose, film, theatre, collage, and comics. Her art and writing have been published in multiple venues, including literary journals from Grinnell College, Howard University, Virginia Commonwealth University, George Mason University, and the University of Arkansas, as well as in books by Candlewick Press and Sabella Press. Christine has also won recognition from USA Today, The Poetry Society of Virginia, The Washington Post, the Virginia Cable Telecommunications Association, the International Cinematographer's Guild, and other companies and organizations. Her 'zines also appear in the permanent collections of Barnard College and Depaul University. Previously, Christine has interned for several arts and media companies, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum and The Washington Post. Christine is also the founder of the Greater Washington Indie Arts Festival (formerly the Neo-Indie Arts Festival). Currently she is studying Cinema (film studies and production) and English with minors in Creative Writing and French at VCU Arts in Richmond, VA. To learn more about Christine and her creative projects, visit christinestoddard.com.
CJ covers the Heavy scene.
Michael King returns to Richmond, Virginia after working four years in the music and television industry. He’s a VCU graduate thrilled to finally use his English degree for Magazine33! On road trips, he enjoys listening to indie rock, folk, and NPR. He digs the sound of a Fender Telecaster and is nerdy about guitar pedals. An ASCAP member, his music has been placed on MTV and Destineer video games.
Ratso is a Russian-American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Ratso is one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited about 500 books and over 9,000 letters and postcards. His works have been published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System (the sole exception being the 100s: philosophy and psychology).
Ratso is widely considered a master of the science-fiction genre and, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, he is considered one of the "Big Three" science-fiction writers. Ratso's most famous work is the Foundation Series; his other major series are the Galactic Empire Series and the Robot series, both of which he tied into the same fictional universe as the Foundation Series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those pioneered by Robert A. Heinlein and previously produced by Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson. He has penned numerous short stories, among them "Nightfall", which in 1964 was voted by the Science Fiction Writers of America the best short science fiction story of all time, an accolade that many still find persuasive. Ratso wrote the Lucky Starr series of juvenile science-fiction novels using the pen name Paul French.
Sadie Powers is the bass player for Nude Photos of Celebrities, a queer post-punk band based in Richmond, Virginia. She started playing violin in fifth grade to get out of math class and met the love of her life, bass, four years later. Powers has played in several bands, including the Richmond cult post-rock band Planar. She considers Miles Davis’ “Flamenco Sketches” and “Brian Eno’s “1/1” to be perfect songs. ‘Tomorrow Never Knows” isn’t too shabby, either. Her greatest achievements to date are meeting her hero, Steve Reich, running after Bauhaus’ David J in spiked heels and a red feather boa, and sharing a joint with My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields. Powers lives in Oregon Hill, RVA and restores porcelain in order to fund her music habit.
Steve Owen currently attends VCU School of Music, formerly a classical guitar major also with some studies in jazz. Since moving to Richmond in 2001 he has played with several bands from different styles including: The Rising Sons (now Duchess of York), Identity, and Th!nk. Since starting his own band in 2007, he writes, sings and plays bass for local electronic/funk/rock group The Silo Effect. He enjoys water, air, deep conversation (about anything), and all green things and doesn't really like the man at all.
Joseph Norris is an uber senior at VCU. He is affiliated with the band Spies, the photo team Duo Photography, and No Strings Music Group. He is also a level 45 brigadier in Halo 3 and is consumed by Mass Effect for the xbox 360. He wants to tie music and writing together as much as he wants to live in the UK. He also wants to be more professional about things.
Meredith Ripple is a recent VCU graduate living in Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom. She writes for a local marketing company during the week and frequents shows at local venues in the evenings and weekends (Cary St. Café and Emilio’s most often). Her dad introduced her to music from a very young age, ranging from the Beatles to David Benoit and she’s been hooked ever since. She’s lived in Detroit, eastern Pennsylvania and Williamsburg, VA before moving to Richmond four years ago. She’ll be covering Richmond’s active and energetic jam and folk scene for Magazine33, her first journalistic endeavor.
Andrew is originally from Boston, but has spent equal time in Richmond and considers both home. He recently graduated VCU with a B.A. in English and looks forward to seeing if his degree will be worth a damn. While attending Northeastern University, Andrew began covering music for the Zig-Zag Live website and tour campaign, which won him the undying affection of Bostonians because of his access to free rolling papers. He is fortunate enough to have parents with great taste in music and owes much of his musical sensibilities to them. Some of his favorites include the Beatles, the Clash, My Morning Jacket, Mastodon, Mission of Burma, all 70's R&B, and anything that can be considered "outlaw." Other hobbies include food, guitar, whiskey, hiking, Boston sports, and maintaining his beginner-level fish tank.
Mary Catherine Gaulding, a Richmond native, has been writing her whole life. She lived in Knoxville from 2000-2005, an invaluable experience, where there was never a shortage of great music from all ends of the spectrum. She transferred to VCU from The University of Tennessee, where she majored in English and wrote briefly for The Volunteer Voice. She is currently on sabbatical until the fall and is grateful for the opportunity to write about music. She dislikes confining her tastes to genres, and describes her favorite artists as anything from Rage Against The Machine to Dwight Yoakam to Tori Amos to singer-songwriter Neil Young. She thinks 1993-1995 were great years for music. Her favorite albums include Pink Floyd's Meddle, Bob Dylan's Nashville Skyline, and Radiohead's The Bends. She loves it when any band covers "Rocky Top." She will cover phenomenal and unconventional acts from Richmond's sweeping Experimental/Fusion scene.
Robin Marschak was born and raised in Richmond, but has only recently moved back after two years in California. He loves all types of music from Jimmy Rodgers to Daft Punk to Tower of Power and all things in between. He is currently a student at VCU and living in Oregon Hill. Some of his favorite artists include Old Crow Medicine Show, Mark Campbell, and Steve Earl. Other than listening to music and writing, Robin's hobbies include eating, sleeping, and an occasional guilt induced fit of exercise. You can follow his adventures in local music on Twitter @robinmarschak, or hear some of the non-local music that he enjoys at either last.fm/user/beerdo231 or blip.fm/beerdo.
Heather handles the graphics work of Magazine33.
Megan earned her BFA in photography from VCU and has studied art for over 10 years. She has been living with musicians for most of her 4 years in Richmond, often photographing band practices to take a break from her fine-art photography homework. Though she has no musical talent (unless you count some wicked finger-drumming), music has always been a strong influence in her life, and she almost never leaves the house without headphones on. She's been a die hard Tool fan for seven years, though she has an eclectic taste ranging from Cake to The Coup. Check out some of her other photography at wagnerme.com.
Kimie James hails from the Cap City, RVA. She enjoys records, cassette tapes, VHS’s and those oversized boom boxes people used to carry on their shoulders. She has recently made the switch to digital photography but can always get down with a disposable point and shoot camera. She likes to jam out to Michael Jackson, Tracy Chapman, Jason Mraz and Amy Winehouse. She one day aspires to dance like Shakira and take pictures like Dorothea Lange. If you dig her stuff, check out personal page at : IYQphotography.com
Brian is a photographer who has traveled the world. He resides in Richmond and works out of his studio there.
James has been an avid music enthusiast and photographer since childhood. At age 9, he attended his first concert with his parents, seeing Phil Collins at the Sky Dome in Toronto. He would consistently be found playing in his father's darkroom, but has received little formal training in his art. For James the fusion of photography and music occurred after leaving college to tour extensively across the country. James has returned to Richmond to finish his degree in Political Science and is an active force in the music scene. The beginnings of his comprehensive library of local and national acts can be found on his website: RichmondImage.com.
Kris is an outgoing, crazy girl with tons of love for photography! She loves going to shows and hanging out with friends. She is also an artist and musician. You can often find her writing lyrics or just drawing/working on something with photoshop. She lives in Virginia with her bf and hopes to start up a photography studio someday! She likes promoting bands and helping them to achieve their much deserved spotlight and she feels honored to be a part of team where she gets to do what she loves, going to shows and taking pictures. :) finsterdesign.weebly.com <<see some of her photography and graphic design projects! (contact info there too if you want something done!)
As a child, Matt’s interest in music and recording began with of his
older bother Shawn’s influences. Throughout high school, Matt became
more involved in music performance and theatre to which he then starting
creating his own music. Once out of high school, Matt decided to take it a
step further by obtaining his certificate in recording from J. Sargeant
Reynolds Community College. As a Richmond, Virginia native, he has provided the
city with sound reinforcement for over 12 years now and has aided in the
organization of 6 yearly festivals. He currently is free-lancing his
recording, live sound, and mastering services to local bands and
independent film directors.
myspace.com/widedyedaudio
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