Decorated Youth Magazine #1

DECORATED YOUTH ISSUE #1

DANIEL SILBERT / THESE NUMBERS HAVE FACES / FAMILY OF THE YEAR

LAUREN RANDOLPH / MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK / YEP NASHVILLE

Fred Savage Decorated Youth Magazine | 1

General

Heather Hawke Founder | Editor & Writer | Layout & Design | Photographer

Info@decoratedyouth.com

http://www.decoratedyouth.com/

Press heather@decoratedyouth.com

https://www.facebook.com/Decora tedYouth @decoratedyouth

’ Physically, this print issue has taken around two months to put together, with coordinating the interviews, getting photograph permissions, and learning how to do all the design work from scratch, but mentally this print issue started when I first launched Decorated Youth last November. With your support (the readers) I now give you the first print issue of Decorated Youth Magazine. For this first issue we have seven very talented and inspiring people from varies fields in the entertainment industry and also in the nonprofit industry.

My goal for this magazine is to bring you quality articles and interviews with people who work in the entertainment industry (cinema/TV, music, photography) along with featuring inspiring entrepreneurs. I want to feature noteworthy up and coming acts and people who are doing good things in the world and who absolutely love what they do. I really hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed putting this together! My hopes are for many more issues to come.

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’ Thank you, to the people we actually had the chance to interview; Fred Savage, Justin Zoradi on behalf of These Numbers Have Faces, Lauren Randolph, Daniel Silbert, Justin Pierre of Motion City Soundtrack, Sebastian Keefe of Family Of The Year, and Andrew Cohen on behalf of YEP Nashville.

Just as incredible as the people we got to interview are the people who helped set up and coordinate the interviews with us for that huge part of the creation process, thank you.

Thank you especially, to all the photographers who let me use their stunning photos for our first issue; Ashley Brooke Photograhy, Daniel Silbert, Daniel Krieger, Lauren Randolph, Claire Marie Vogel, Paul Smith via Featureflash, ABC via Getty Images, FilmMagic, Cory Morton, Jered Scott, and Anthony Saint James.

Last but not least. Thank you, to everyone who’s is reading this. We couldn’t have decided to do this first print issue without all of your support from the very beginning.

I N D E X

Fred Savage starred in the 80’s hit television show The Wonder Years, as well as starring in the classic movie The Princess Bride, as the grandson. Nowadays, his focus is on Directing and Producing hit television shows like “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia”, “Modern Family,” “2 Broke Girls,” and “Party Down.”

Asides from doing major commercial jobs for companies such as Caesars Casinos, professional photographer Lauren Randolph has also made a name for herself on Instagram. In this interview she talks about her big move to L.A., along with the mentors that inspired her to get to where she is today.

Justin Zoradi started These Numbers Have Faces after he came back from Belfast, Ireland and South Africa with a moment of obligation. This organization helps African youth attend college, become leaders, and transform their countries from the inside out.

When Motion City Soundtrack found themselves label less at the end of 2010 they went into the studio for the first time ever without the 12 songs they were going to record.

Now, signed back on Epitaph Records they are ready to hit the road on this years Warped Tour. Justin Pierre tells us about the writing process and how he’s trying to relate to people more in their lyrics.

YEP Nashville started out as just a single mixer by Andrew Cohen and friends, it has now successful evolved into a comfortable environment for networking and a platform where all sorts of talented individuals can share their craft.

Although they’ve had many memorable concerts, opening up for Ben Folds in Oct. 2009 wasn’t a bad way to spend their third show ever. We talk to Seb Keefe about his musical upbringing, the bands writing process, and their encounter with Steven Tyler.

Photographer Daniel Silbert originally started out as musician in the band Steel Train, his subject’s consists of everything from music, fashion, places and people.

He started photographing the band FUN. during his days of touring with them.

He’s now had years of experience shooting them which led him to recently put together an exhibition called "One Night," from some collected photos.

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http://photolauren.com

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@laurenlemon

has always loved documentation, but it wasn’t until college that she decided to pursue the photography side of journalism full time. She has since worked with companies such as Sony Music Entertainment, Country Music Television/MTV Networks, National Geographic Channel, Delta/LA Kings, PUMA, Mercedes, Universal - France, Epitaph Records, Fearless Records, Photojojo, Glamour UK, Billboard, and Alternative Press. She has also attended three years of invite-only Phoot Camp, a creative retreat hosted by Laura Brunow Miner.

Lauren Randolph along with many other professional photographers have started using the popular social media photograph app Instagram to their full advantage; Lauren alone has 210k+ followers. One of her most recent projects she’s shot was Sony’s “Unedited” project, using their NEX-5R she took a total of 50 photos to representing her city (LA).

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Describe your path to becoming a Photographer.

I've always been obsessed with documentation.

I have journals dating back to elementary school, and started snapping pictures of my friends and travels as soon as my parents bought me my first camera. When I started college I knew I loved taking pictures, and was inspired by what I saw in entertainment and fashion magazines, so I began studying journalism. It wasn't until a year or so in that I realized I loved the visual side of journalism much more, so I switched my major and continued studying photography through school. My parents always encouraged me to do whatever makes me happy, so after college there was no question what I'd aspire to do, since photography was the one thing that made me the happiest.

What type of photography do you shoot?

What made you choose that?

I typically shoot portraits, probably since documenting people is what originally drew me to the medium. I love capturing personalities, and it thrills me when people love a picture I took of them. In college my style developed from just documentary and lifestyle, to more creative and staged scenes. I love playing make believe, and dress up. Through photography I can tell stories and create narratives that are inspired by the people I shoot.

What classes/degree did you take to get ahead in this field?

I got an Art degree, with an emphasis in photography. My school was more conceptual based than technical, which really allowed me to experiment with ideas and concepts over lighting and studio knowledge.

A lot of what I know in those aspects, I taught myself just by doing and practicing. There's really only so much you can learn in a classroom, the rest I believe comes simply by doing.

What was it like, at first, having a photo of yours published?

While still in college I worked for the two biggest local publications as a freelance photographer. It was great putting what I was studying to use in the real world, and gave me the confidence I needed to keep pushing through. It was exciting at first, and is still exciting now when I see a photo I shot published. I can only hope that other people respond to my photography, like I respond to good work that I see printed and published.

How did growing up in Reno, Nevada and now living in LA impact your creativity?

When I graduated college in Reno, I continued living and working there through the Summer. It was a great environment to be in, as I felt on top of my game. I was working fun jobs, constantly shooting, and was comfortable and confident enough to be creating work I was proud of. Although, I was ready for a larger market. My first year in Los Angeles was a bit overwhelming. I was suddenly surrounded by photographers I looked up to. I was still trying to get settled in the big city, but knew it was important for me to keep producing work. It felt hard at first to create the work I knew I wanted to be making, but because I was surrounded by so many people I was inspired by, I was suddenly coming up with bigger and better ideas than I had ever had in my hometown.

How would you compare the photography scene in LA to Reno?

How has the app Instagram changed the way people see photography?

The photography scene in LA is booming, it's constantly growing and changing and out doing itself. Reno is a great place for creatives, but it doesn't have the energy and drive that Los Angeles has. People move from all over the world to work in this city, so everyone who is here is here because they want to excel. It's an exciting feeling being here now.

I think Instagram has only opened the doors to the world of photography. Now more than ever people are actually seeing the world around them, and taking the time to capture it in an artistic way. For years people have been fighting to get the arts back into schools, but now anyone with a smart phone can practice the art of photography. I personally hopped on board right away - it seemed like the perfect social media for me to use, since I was already constantly shooting photos on the go with my phone anyway.

What was it like seeing one of your photos in Downtown Reno last year?

I'm always the most proud to show off my hard work to my family. It was great to have my first commercial work up in a billboard that I could send my whole extended family to go see. Plus, I had fun when I was home for Christmas wandering around trying to spot new ones.

Who’s a person (from any era) you wish you could have followed on Instagram?

I would love to follow Philippe Halsman, to see all the new celebrities he'd make jump.

What’s your favorite gear?

I shoot with a Canon 5D Mark II, using the 24105 lens. I think that lens has to be my favorite, because of its wide range. It's a sharp lens that never fails. While I can't open up the aperture as much as I could with other lenses, I usually shoot with strobe or external lighting anyway, so I don't need to the extra F-stops.

What has been your biggest hurdle when setting up and working on a shoot?

One of the recent projects you’ve shoot was Sony’s “Unedited” project, using their NEX-5R you took a total of 50 photos to representing your city (LA). How did that come about? What is your favorite photo of that set?

Sony's "Unedited" project was a really fun thing to be involved in. I had a great time getting used to a new camera, but I love anything that allows me to explore Los Angeles. Based on my social media markets as a photographer, I was contacted to shoot what I felt best represented my city - without any editing on any of the photos. My favorite photo from that set might be from up behind the Hollywood sign. I've always wanted to see the city from that perspective, and with this Los Angeles assignment I finally had the right reason to hike up behind the Hollywood Hills.

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There is always so much planning and preproduction that goes into a photoshoot. Locking down a location always seems to be the hardest part for me, but often times the most important because I can be so heavily inspired by my surroundings. Since my shoots often take a lot of time from set up, shooting, to break down, I have to find places where I can sort of take over an entire area for a while. I'm a perfectionist, so everything from light, to costume and props needs attention.

What’s the best story behind a particular photography that you’ve taken?

One of my very favorite photos is of a friend, Laura Brunow Miner, sitting on a couch in an all yellow room. I think she looks so fabulous, and I couldn't have coordinated that photo better but it all happened by chance. Her and a few other friends were in town and we were all grabbing a drink at the Viceroy Hotel - we passed by this library room when it just so happened to be empty and set up a little scene.

The benefits of always carrying a camera with you is being able to capture moments like this.

Have to ask, if you could have a shoot with anyone dead or alive who would it be? Why?

What do you think is the biggest misconception about this job?

Lucille Ball has always been my all-time favorite.

I grew up watching I Love Lucy! I'd definitely love to shoot with her.

I think most people believe the photography business is easy - that anyone with the right camera can do it. Maybe everyone can snap a photo, but there is so much more to this industry in that. It's time consuming, stressful, and non-stop. Sure, I absolutely love doing it, and have a blast when I work, but making pictures is only half of being a photographer.

What is Phoot Camp?

Phoot Camp is an invite-only creative retreat hosted by Laura Brunow Miner (who I mentioned earlier.) Every year it's in a different location, and 35 photographers from all over the world come together for a weekend with the sole intention to create and be inspired. It's a great network of creatives who use different processes, techniques, and come from different backgrounds - but we all share a passion for photography and collaboration. I've attended three years, and it's still something I'm very honored to be a part of, but most of all we just have a good time, and I've made some really great friends out of it.

What do you prefer, film or digital?

I don't, they're both great. I'll shoot with any medium that seems best at the time. I gained interest in photography through film, it's what we practiced in school, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that digital opened up a whole new world of possibilities for my photography. “ '

What do you think has been your greatest accomplishment so far?

I hope to forever be outdoing myself, and that every year gets better than the last. My greatest accomplishment has to be my first major commercial job for Caesars Casinos, but I'm also proud of my fine art accomplishments.

Like getting flown to Bulgaria to present my work, and host a photography workshop. If I constantly strive do to better, then I'll always be setting and reaching new goals and aspirations.

What’s the biggest surprise about working in this field? Was it what you thought it would be like?

I went into the photography business with no expectations. I originally studied journalism, but pursued photography out of passion. I've always loved taking pictures, and as long as I'm doing what I love then I'm happy. There was so much to the business side of photography that I had no idea about, but have been learning as I go - although, that was never unexpected. I always knew any job I did, no matter how much I loved doing it, would still be hard work.

” – Lauren Randolph

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What other projects are you currently working on? Can you tell us a little bit about those?

Right now I'm just trying to work out some personal shoots I've had ideas going for a while.

Getting back to what I love most - shooting friends and people I know. I'm always meeting new people, and getting inspired by new characters, which makes me want to create a story for them and capture it in a portrait. But! The weather is getting great again so keep an eye out for me in the campsites, on the beaches, up in the trails - because that's just as important too.

Have you had any mentors along the way?

I've always looked at other photographer's work as inspiration. I studied the history of photography in school, and spent so much time learning about photographer's careers. But inspiration has always come from the people around me. I'm greatly influenced by my friends and peers, and feel that I strive with a little friendly competition. When I moved to Los Angeles I was in awe at the work ethic of everyone. People move here from all over to create, and I felt that if I took anytime to just sit back and watch, then I'd be missing out on my own creative endeavors. It's inspiring when everyone around you is constantly making new work.

Is there a moment that sticks out in your head that made you realize that this is the perfect job for you?

The first time I took a picture of someone, showed it to them, and they lit up and said, "Oh wow, I love this picture of me!" It’s fun making photos, but sharing them afterwards and getting a response from people is what keeps me doing it.

Lastly, what is the biggest lesson you’ve learned working in this industry?

I've learned that a photographer should never stop making work. If you're constantly shooting then you're constantly evolving, and people are always seeking for that next new thing. If you feel you're in a creative rut, then keep shooting and work through it, new ideas will come.

Photography is a very competitive industry, saturated with a lot of great talent. I don't expect to be the best, but maybe at least stand out a bit from the rest.

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http://www.thesenumbers.org/ @TheseNumbers

https://www.facebook.com/thesenumbers

had a lot of interest as he was graduating college in social justice issues, starting an organization like this wasn’t something he always wanted to do. In fact, when he was in college taking a business class his freshman year he recalls thinking, “I’m never going to start a business; this is the worst thing of all time. It’s so boring and stupid.” Even though he always knew he wanted to do something unique and something different in that space, he never thought he would start a company.

Growing up in Southern California around the beach culture and the skate punk bands of the 90’s, he remembers his professors and mentors telling him, “Look. If you’re going to change the world, you’ve got to get out of here. You’ve got to leave whatever this thing is that you’re into and this beach culture and your friends and family. You’ve got to do something with it, because if you don’t leave now you’ll get stuck here forever.”

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He then took those words to heart and moved to Belfast, Ireland and then to South Africa and got a huge eye-opening experience. Speaking about his move to Belfast, “The culture was totally intense, still western and English speaking, but I couldn’t understand them all that well. Going from a very beautiful place, to a place of destruction; there has been a civil conflict going on there since the late 60’s and it’s a lot better now. But when I was there, the rioting was super intense; people were shooting each other; it was gnarly. It’s a really gritty city, super hard, very, very different than the sandy beaches that I grew up on.”

About his time in South Africa, he mentions “Of course, the culture is even more intense and you’re talking about serious poverty, racial inequality, and post-apartheid state of South Africa.”

When Justin came back from South Africa and was living in Portland, Oregon he had a moment of obligation; he couldn’t deny for others what he demanded for himself. He felt he, as person of privilege, who believes in social justice and equality, had direct responsibility to take action, even though he had no idea what he was doing.

“

“After being in South Africa and meeting these amazing college students, I had just graduated from college myself, and feeling so connected to them, finding such a great friendship, great relationships there, I saw myself in them. I thought so profoundly about the fact that I was able to go to a great school that’s going to set me up for the rest of my life, and here are these kids that are way smarter than I am who are basically going to be going back to their home villages to farm. I was thinking, ’this is not right.’ There was a very strong sense of right and wrong, I knew that I had to do something.

The process of choosing this kind of thing wasn’t what I planned to do, but when you have one of those ‘moments of obligation,’ you simply can’t turn back.”

Justin then started the organization from his couch in his apartment, with his laptop, and a few friends around the kitchen table. Then began the research process. “My first step, I was in graduate school. At this time I realized I needed to do research and figure out how do you do something like this, how do you actually build a thriving company, and then how do you do it in Africa? With all the research I was doing I kept reading the same crap. It was all about how many millions of people are dying in Africa, how many millions of children have AIDS, or don’t have clean drinking water, and all the wars and all the terrible stuff. All those stats didn’t match up with the experience that I had, and the life, and the joy, and the hope that I felt.”

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- Justin Zoradi

We hear all the statistics of how awful things are over there; with all the charts of war, diseases, famine, and slavery. While figures and data are essential tools to measure complex social issues, the people behind “These Numbers Have Faces” want to show others that there are actual people behind the statistics.

The numbers are difficult to connect with, but seeing those numbers as real people motivates us to action.

Justin explains the meaning behind the revolutionary organization name. “I just remember thinking one day, I was strategizing with my girlfriend (now wife). I was like my friends are not numbers, they’re not statistics, they’re not pie graphs, or color coded charts, or bar graphs, or excel spreadsheets. These numbers are people; these numbers have faces.

I was listening to a band at the time called “These Arms Are Snakes,” and that came up.

Then there’s this book by a writer named C.S. Lewis called “Till We Have Faces,” and I merged those a little bit, along with my ideas around this concept of I don’t want to just tell the how awful things are in Africa; I want to be about the hope and about the conviction and about the positive change that’s happening, all the great things.”

“Although the unique name can be tricky for some people to remember, it makes them ponder the meaning. “Wait, what? These “Numbers Have Faces.” What does that mean?

As opposed to something boring like “The Africa Education Project.” That’s been a helpful thing; some people don’t get it. Older people, like my parent’s friends, and older folks are like “These Faces Have Numbers” and “These Numbers Have Names.” They get it confused, which I fell sort of bad about. “ “These Numbers Have Faces” are able to fund scholarships for South African kids who can’t afford to go to college. They started by asking people to give small amounts every month ($20, $50, $100) which has since been built into their strong loyal donor base of a few hundred people it is today.

Justin speaks of other forms of funding. “We get a few grants every year from various foundations and family foundations. We link up with a few companies. We do a few corporate sponsorships. We used to do some merchandise. We’ve done a few events. We have a few churches that will pay for a few programs and things like that. We try to really diversify our revenue streams and just ensure that if one big grant doesn’t come through that I’m going to have a backup plan.”

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“Launching this thing in 2008 during the height of the fanatical crisis was a stupid idea, but having really wide nets of awesome supporters all over the world, in all walks of life, has really seen us through.” Currently the organization is in South Africa, Rwanda, and Uganda and Justin is heading to Zimbabwe later this year to kick off a brand new program.

Since starting a business is a huge commitment, Justin knew he had to surround himself with a community of good people. When talking about some of his mentors, he states, “It’s been everything; it’s why we do what we do, it’s why we’re able to function, and succeed, and be sustainable. From day one, I’ve had really great people come around me to help make this happen. It started with my parents, family members, aunts and uncles, and then it became college professors, and then it became people in the nonprofit social enterprise space. I can’t even count them; I probably have around a dozen mentors through this whole thing.”

He mentions that he just finished a social entrepreneurship called Praxis that is about developing great relationships with guys and with women that are 50-60 years old who can pass on some stuff to the younger generations.

He proceeds about talking about how we, as Americans, have developed an individualist type of spirit and how we think we can do everything on our own, which is totally ineffective. “We need other people to help us succeed and it’s so crucial that we as leaders are humble enough to be able to say “Look. I need some help with this kind of stuff.” Or, that we find other people who are also humble enough to say, “Yeah I’d love to journey with you on this.”

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“If you look at any of the important folks that are doing innovative work, all of them have come from a place where they’ve had people pour into their lives, because otherwise you just can’t make it, it’s just too hard. To do good in the world, especially to do anything creative, there’s just way to much resistance and dark forces that stop us from doing awesome things.

I think we need other people to help us through.”

Being 4,000 miles away from South Africa, the employees at “These Numbers Have Faces” have a massive challenge to every day try and affect the lives of all those people. It’s even harder for the employees who haven’t been there yet, or haven’t really connected to the students. Their team visits once or twice a year to reenergize themselves, to actually see it first hand and remember why it is they are doing this in the first place.

As the CEO of this huge organization, Justin Zoradi personally has had to understand what his role in all of this is. “As an American male in 2013, what is my job? My job is not to live in Africa and to run programs. My job is to hire people over there to make that happen because they are way better at it than I am. They speak the language. They understand the culture -the whole bit. My job is to be about controlling our brand, our vision, and strategic thinking. It’s about raising money. That really no one can do what I do in terms of raising funds, and we need money to exist. That’s an important part of my job. Fundraising for a living is really hard, but it’s a natural piece of what we have to do. I’m able to understand where my role is and where I stand, where I fit in.” He mentions that every few weeks he has to get someone on the phone or text with a few of their students to just reconnect with them.

In return for a university scholarship, “These Numbers Have Faces’” Students participate in their Community Impact Program where they do community service, attend leadership and financial literacy trainings. Also upon graduation, and employment, the scholars commit to giving one year of tuition back into the program for a new student behind them. As of this year they have 50 students enrolled in college across the whole span of Rwanda, Uganda, and South Africa.

While they are directly paying for the tuition and books for 50 students this year, their impact expands much farther. “We will impact about 250 students this year, with our training, with our leadership entrepreneurship, financial literacy training, and things like that. We’ve really developed our reach and our impact.

While we’re sponsoring a handful of students, there’s so many others, hundreds of other students that are also linking up with us.”

From Justin’s perspective, one of the biggest misconceptions about being a nonprofit is how people assume that the really smart people would be working for the for profit sector, as well as if he were a talented leader he’d be working for some big corporation rather than a small nonprofit. He mentions, “That may have been true in the past because people who maybe weren’t very good in business would go and take a much smaller salary and work for some local nonprofit.” But, he thinks that is changing. “Young people want to be involved in solving some of the greatest crisis and challenges of our time. People will take less money and less prestige to actually do work that has value and meaning. That’s been an awesome culture shift for people who are under the age of 35 or 40.”

He mentions another misconception, that can be a tricky subject, is that if you work for a nonprofit you’ll be poor your whole life.

Although none of them take home really hefty salaries, they’ve realized, “If we actually want to solve these issues, if we want to empower young people to change their countries from the inside out, we need to hire top talent and really innovative people and to pay them well.”

Justin hopes that in the next five- ten years, America will get to a place where people can impact and change the world working for a nonprofit, as well as being able to support their family.

When asked what a typical day running a nonprofit company is like, Justin begins by describing their office in Portland. “It’s kind of right near downtown, right near the river. It’s an old brick building with this cool loft space, with some big windows and all. It’s super hip.

We have a big open space so everyone works in everyone else’s space. We don’t do cubicles or anything. It definitely fits our vibe and the Portland culture.”

He proceeds to list some of the tasks of the day including a staff meeting every morning at 10 to catch up and see how everyone’s doing, along with talking about what they want to post on their social media sites that day to stay active in the community. He says that it’s a wide mix of tracking down how the programs in Africa are working, following up leads for funding, meetings, connecting with press and people who they can partner with. With a wide variety of daily tasks he mentions that’s why he loves what he does. “We’re all working toward the same goal, but we get to do a ton of different stuff to actually make it happen.”

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Being a people person, Justin has realized lately that one of his favorite parts about his job lies within the meetings and the networking he gets to do. “I get to go down to the bar with friends of mine, or colleagues, or potential investors, or just people I want to know and I get to hang out with people and talk about our work, which is great.” Even though the reasoning behind these meetings is because of “These Numbers Have Faces,” Justin believes that it should also be about getting to talk as friends. Justin believes it is his responsibility to stay updated with what is going on in his friend’s lives. “My whole job, it’s not about just trying to make money but it’s just about being a relational person who, over time, those folks are going to end up supporting. The fact that I get to do that for my job is amazing! It’s absolutely incredible! Just being able to have a very social side to what I do, that’s a really spectacular piece to it.” Of course, since he is the CEO of this organization, another great part that he feels very fortunate for is that he can take time off whenever he wants to and not have to ask anybody.

When asked what he feels is the greatest accomplishment for this foundation, he says, without hesitation, “Our greatest accomplishment is that we’re still doing it.

That’s the thing I’m most proud of. For me personally, and for our office in Portland, the fact that we’re still going. I started this thing on my couch with my friends and five years later now it’s still plugging away, and we’re successful, and we have 50 kids this year in our program.”

“

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He mentions that at the office they have a photo of every kid who’s ever worked with them in a frame on one of their walls that he compares to ivy taking over half the building.

In a world where people are constantly bouncing back and forth between things, who are constantly moving on to the next better thing, and have five windows open as they’re online, Justin is proud that this company has staying power. “For us, I’m still showing up to the same office now, still drive the same route, I come in and put my head down and go to work.

I’m super, super proud of that! It builds a great leadership style in me and its built great virtues for us as an organization.”

In terms of the students, Justin is most proud of the kids who have grown up in the worse possible circumstances (parents dying of AIDS, parents being killed in civil war, growing up in poverty, unsure when they’re going to eat their next meal), who are studying their asses off and who are graduating college. He mentions, “They are the first in their families to even attend college, let alone graduate college. What we’re doing, we are combatting what they call generational poverty. If you think about it our students are going to lift their families out of poverty for the first time ever! I’m so proud of that. To see the hope that these students have because we invested a few thousand dollars and a few trainings, and just that we came alongside them and said, ‘you matter.’”

When Justin started “These Numbers Have Faces,” he didn’t have a specific backup plan like, “If I don’t do this, I’m just going to something else and it’ll be fine.” ” - Justin Zoradi

What he has learned from traveling and over time is that he is the most powerful person who’s ever existed. He mentions the reasoning behind this. “I’m a white American male with a Master’s degree. I have two parents who are married who are also highly educated. I have a great support system and I grew up middle class; which basically means, I’m the most powerful person that’s ever existed. I say all that to make it known that I can never lose. In the grand scheme of things, I will succeed in my life because of where I happened to be born and what color skin I happen to have and what gender I happen to be. That’s all random; I didn’t choose that; it just happened to come out like that and that is such a huge, huge gift.”

He explains, “I believe philosophical, theoretically, spiritually, that I am simply joining the work of what other people have been doing for centuries and that more people will do after I’m gone. I believe in the ripple effect; I believe that my work is planting seeds that I may not see the end of.”

He mentions his “backup plan” was getting to rely on the fact that he is an American who went to college. Because of this he knew he could take a massive risk and eventually everything would turn out okay. “I knew that I had family around me and I had people who cared about me and if I try this thing and it totally fails, I wouldn’t be out on the streets. I wouldn’t be homeless. I would be able to use my skills to find another job and it would be totally okay. So many people get bogged down of the fear, it’s all about fear, of “If I don’t succeed my life is over.” You just look at how blessed we are and how amazing it is to live where we live. It’s going to be ok. I definitely took that to heart and that was fuel for me to start something crazy and just go for it.”

When asked if he has any advice for people wanting to start their own nonprofit organization he said, “I would tell people if you have one of those moments of obligation where you feel like there is just something that if you don’t do, no one else will do, you have to start it. Otherwise, you will kick yourself; you will regret it your entire life if you don’t at least try.

If you can change the life of one person, a lifetime of work is worth it.”

From all the lessons he has learned over the years since starting this organization, one that he’s had to come to terms with to stay focused is that his work will be incomplete.

Previously, he thought he had to solve this problem and that it was his job to help a million kids in Africa go to college. He now feels liberated by realizing the fact that he gets to go into work and connect with other people and together they all get to move the needle just a tiny bit because someone else is going to come along and take it to the next level.

Another thing he mentions is that you need to start small, very small and to focus on doing one thing very, very well. Be smart and get the right people around you; you can’t do it alone. He mentions that while he is helping kids in Africa go to college his life has also taken a dramatic turn for the better. “I was a very, very angry person in college. I was in a dark place in many ways and doing “These Numbers Have Faces” has helped me liberate my soul and my heart through it and that’s an amazing gift.”

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http://motioncitysoundtrack.com/ https://www.facebook.com/motioncitysoundtrack

18 | Decorated@jcpmcs Youth Magazine // @MotionCityMusic

Pierre of Motion City Soundtrack was in Anchorage, Alaska chugging cough syrup to get rid of a sickness, which is totally understandable knowing the band has been on an extensive touring schedule for a better part of a year.

From going from the UK/Europe last April-May, to the US last June, Japan in July, back to the UK in September, US again October- November, Japan and Australia in February, Indonesia and the Philippines in March, and having just done a short 6 date run through the US they are now preparing to head out on the Vans Warped tour June 15- August 4.

One of those tours late last year was with the bands Now, Now and Jukebox The Ghost. Justin recalls, “That tour was incredibly fabulous. I had been a fan of Now, Now for years, but had not heard Jukebox The Ghost until the tour. All of those people are truly wonderful souls as well as top notch musicians. I know I am a better writer than performer, but playing with both those bands made me simultaneously want to get better as well as want to quit (that was meant to be a compliment to them).”

When asking Justin how Motion City Soundtrack tries to differentiated their tours to fans that go every time they’re in their city he states “we have always started with big plans and ended up with major compromises.” He claims “Mostly this is my fault as my memory is shit and I lose my voice easily, but in the last few years I feel as though we've mixed it up enough so that if someone were to travel to multiple shows they would see a handful of new songs in each set.”

At the end of 2010, Motion City Soundtrack was “label less” so they decided to write, which ended up being their newest album “Go.” It was then recorded sometime during Winter/Spring 2011 and released last Summer.

The writing process of “Go” was different than all of their previous albums because for the first time ever they went into the studio without the 12 songs that they were going to record.

Since being sober, Justin thinks the biggest difference in his writing is the fact that he can actually finish things and that he can look at his work with an unclouded mind. “95% of what I wrote drunk, the next day turned out to be complete shit. I really only got lucky with a few songs, but they were flukes. Some people can make being drunk all the time work for them. I couldn't. It no longer interests me. I'd much rather succeed or fail without the whole clichéd, boring, generic "I'm so clever while I drink myself to death" adage.”

The actual process of writing lyrics was really excruciating for Justin on this record. Justin explains that the writing process for “Go” (compared to their previous albums) as a freeing experience, but a total disaster when they were trying to stay afloat with around 50 possible songs. He recalls, “I went kind of crazy and was playing catch up at the end of the session once we knew what songs were most likely going to make it to the record. “ He also wanted to note that they’ve always had creatively freedom with Epitaph, but the difference between being on a label and not is that when you are he says, “They want to hear your demos, which means you have to record demos, then send them, then wait for people to listen to them, then respond to them, then move forward, and this all takes time. Having no label means you can just rent out a studio with your own money and hope the songs work themselves out. Which we did.”

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Justin Pierre has always tried to write things that could be enjoyed from different points of view and that have several possible meanings, but he says that he often ends up writing too specifically. He mentions about how he’s now trying to relate to people more in his lyrics, “I have a tendency to write for those 3 people who saw that one silent Yasujiro Ozu film from before the war. I'm now trying to write a few songs for the other 97.”

When the process of researching how they would release “Go” finally came around they started getting calls from labels, one of them was Epitaph Records. The main deciding factor for the band to once again be signed to Epitaph was Brett Gurewitz (Founder) and the rest of the staff. “We met with many and all were nice, but we had a previous relationship with Epitaph and knew them like siblings. It just made sense.

And I am so glad that it ended up this way.”

On the new Motion City Soundtrack album there’s a song called ‘Everyone Will Die’ that came together so easily it almost wrote itself.

Justin recalls how it happened, “One night I sat down with a goal in mind to write something relatable to EVERYONE and within a few minutes I had the main guitar part and all the words written. I recorded it into my phone as a voice memo and sent it to the boys. They all liked it as a concept and went to work figuring out how it could be a song. I feel like we tried a few different approaches, but the main idea came real quick.”

While recalling some of Motion City Soundtrack’s past memorable shows Justin says, “Every time I step onto the stage at First Avenue is a great memory. I still get bonkers nervous. Which I like.”

Speaking of that previously mentioned song ‘Everyone Wil Die,” there is even a string quartet on that track that wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for songwriter, musician and producer Ed Ackerson who had a huge influence on the final product of “Go.” Speaking of this talented guy Justin mentions, “Ed is an amazing human and a truly great friend. I've been a fan of him since the early '90's. All of his bands (Polara and BNLX especially) are huge influences on me. By the time we made ‘Go’ I had probably worked on no less than a dozen projects with Ed, so it was real easy! He's so fun and knowledgeable and likes to make strange noises! I recommend that everyone make a record with Ed Ackerson before they die.”

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When asked if he’s ever got caught up in the moment on stage when performing a certain song he says that he has, but it’s more about what’s going on that day rather than the song.

“Honestly, I'm so focused on hitting the notes and remembering the words that I have little time to think of anything else. I'm such a mess onstage, but luckily people seem to find it charming. Bless their hearts.”

For the True Romance music video Motion City Soundtrack enlisted the help of Josh’s brother Jesse Cain, who has made four videos for them over the years. “We had made a fun slow motion 1 take video with my friend Shane Nelson for A Lifeless Ordinary off My Dinosaur Life and I feel as though we wanted to up the ante this time (though I don't know that we ever said this out loud to one another). Jesse came up with this and it was so hard to explain to people in order for them to understand it.

You literally had to watch us film it and then play it back to get it. It was one of those ideas.”

As for their most memorable music video to shoot Justin would say ‘True Romance’ and ‘A Lifeless Ordinary’ would be his favorite to make because everything has to happen inside the camera and nobody can mess up or you have to start again.

The guys in Motion City Soundtrack have started their own label called The Boombox Generation. Although it’s still at the infancy stage of being a label they have released the Motion City Soundtrack/Trampled By Turtles 7inch, and have also partnered with Drexel University’s student-run label Mad Dragon Records to curate and produce a series of vinyl and digital releases called Making Moves. Justin says the ultimate goal of this label is to help anyone that they feel they can actually help get to that next level, but as of right now they are simply creating a wider audience for bands that nobody has heard or to put out their own “random brand of nonsense”.

As for the songs that Justin thinks represent Motion City Soundtrack the most he finds it impossible to make a list because of how ever changing it is.

“Right now it seems like The Weakends, Disappear, AOK, and When You're Around based on what we've been writing the past week. But the week before that it seems like The Future Freaks Me Out, Everything Is Alright, and True Romance. I think the only answer to your question is not a very inventive one: The total accumulation of all our lovely garden spoils divided by however you choose to do so.”

Although Motion City Soundtrack are fifteen years and five albums down they aren’t setting out to accomplish anything specific. In fact, the key is that they set out to do nothing. Justin explains, “With everything you do, there is always that next step or that next level to get to. You have to try and remember to look back and see everything that you have accomplished from time to time. Once you can look at each success or failure as merely things that happen, then it allows you to just create and truly be in the moment doing something you love instead of worrying about what might be.”

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for Crush Management, Andrew Cohen has founded Young Entertainment Professionals Nashville (aka YEP Nashville). YEP Nashville is a group that holds networking events, hosts shows, and who are constantly working on new ways to bring people together in a comfortable environment. The folks at YEP Nashville want to help out people that want to get their first job or get a better job in the entertainment industry.

YEP Nashville started out close to a year after Andrew graduated from Belmont in 2009. One night he and a friend were sitting at the Tin Roof and they got on the subject of friends of theirs whom at the time they didn’t both mutually know, so they decided to throw a mixer so everyone could meet. When 100 people showed up for the first YEP mixer at the Tin Roof and marked it a success they knew they were on to something. They kept on pursuing YEP Nashville and added in hosting showcases for friends they knew who were talented and putting together educational events.

How did you know you wanted to work in the music industry?

I was lucky enough to know from a really early age that country music was what I wanted to work in. I used to follow my favorite songs on the charts in Country Weekly. Some don't figure out what they want to do until much later in life but I had a set path. I was pretty driven. I didn't really have a backup plan.

What would you tell somebody who is conflicted between getting a degree and just jumping out into the work force?

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Attending Belmont allowed me to put one foot in the music industry without diving right in. I was able to figure out who the players were in town and it got me acquainted with the community. I have a lot of friends who moved to town after college and have done really well for themselves but I think getting an education in Nashville gives you a leg up on making connections in the industry before you're thrown into the job search.

http://www.yepnashville.com What have you found to be the biggest surprise/misconception about working in the music industry?

The industry isn't glamorous. It's a survival of the fittest kind of town and if you outlast the competition you just might win. It's about figuring out how to make a living and how best to utilize your talents. It's not easy and a lot of good people end up moving back home to their hometowns but the ones who want it most figure out a way to make it work. It's not easy but it's the path we chose.

How did this idea for YEP come about?

To be completely honest I was unemployed and needed to figure out how to meet more people to land a job. A friend of mine referred to someone she knew whom I didn't and I figured we could toss all of our friends into a room and all be better off for it. Three weeks later we had our first mixer and 100 people showed up. We knew we'd stumbled upon a need that wasn't there. We try to build a comfortable environment for networking and a platform for all sorts of talented individuals to share their craft.

Did you ever imagine it would be this successful when you started it?

I never really imagined YEP would be as successful as it is. It helped me create more relationships in the industry and figure out where I wanted to go in my career and it seemed as though it was doing the same for others so that's when I started to realize how important this organization could become.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/yepnashville/ @YEPNashville

I made it a point to ask people at every mixer whether they had met anyone new and the answer always seemed to be yes so that small victory kept YEP developing.

What kind of educational events does YEP put on?

We have done A&R and publishing panels as well as social media panels to benefit our members. In the coming months we plan on making the educational component a cornerstone of what YEP stands for. It's about becoming a professional development organization to benefit our members who are new to town as well as those who have been in the industry for a while.

YEP seems like a very positive environment.

What is it like having all these positive and talented minds around you?

It's extremely inspiring. There are a lot more brilliant minds out there than mine and if I can surround myself with people smarter than me some of that is hopefully bound to rub off.

We're all in this together. As a well-connected generation who root for each other we're bound to make greater strides than we can as competitors who step on one another to get to the top. There's enough of that in the industry without us contributing to it. A positive environment breeds success.

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Would you ever consider doing a YEP tour around the U.S for the people who are interested in being a part of the YEP experience but don’t live in Nashville, let only TN? We've got our sights set on expansion in the coming years. We launched in Nashville only two years ago and wanted to get off the ground before we became too ambitious. Ultimately I would love to have YEP chapters in LA, Chicago, Austin and New York to bring together the next generation of entertainment professionals in music, film and TV from all over the country.

What’s the atmosphere like at a YEP event?

It's electric! There's so much buzz in the room during a YEP mixer. We have everything from lawyers to graphic designers to artists to publishers to managers to producers and beyond in the room all making connections and figuring out how they can be a resource to one another. I'm incredibly proud of what we've built and never more so than when I'm in the room during a mixer.

What’s a story that sticks out in your head from a YUP event?

We put a friend of mine named Matt McGinn on a YEP Night at the Basement writer's round where we often feature up and comers that a lot of the town hasn't heard of mixed with big name writers. He happened to play in a round the same night at Shane McAnally and a week later Shane signed him to a publishing deal under his company. It was a big win for us to see one of our own get a break from being featured on one of our YEP nights.

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What do you hope to contribute through your work?

I'm learning an incredible amount every day in my job working with Ashley Monroe and Striking Matches. I am able to juggle a whole lot at once so that translates into YEP world as well. My boss, John Grady, is a legend in the Nashville music community and a huge supporter of what we do. He adds a touch of wisdom to what we do and helps us keep things on the rails. In management we've got our hands in a little bit everything and with YEP we have so many members in so many aspects of the industry that our connections can be beneficial to a lot of people.

What are you short term and long term goals for YEP? In the short term we hope to feature more educational opportunities. There's always room for professional growth and we hope to tap into that for the betterment of all of our members.

Long term, we would ultimately love to have a professional development center where people can go to for advice on how to keep developing whether it's to find a publishing deal, book shows, or get into the professional side. We want to ultimately operate as the chamber of commerce to the entertainment industry. “

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” – Andrew Cohen

You said in an interview “When it comes to music, you can’t have a backup plan. You have to want to do this more than anything.” What does it take to make it through the day?

You have to absolutely LOVE what you do. At the end of the day, I get to work in the music industry. It's all I've ever wanted to do and I would never trade it for another industry. When the day is hard and I am at my wits end I can go into my library and listen to the most recent Striking Matches demo and I remember why I do this again. It's about music first and foremost. The rest is just the means to get it heard. The industry can be taxing but I'm surrounded everyday by folks who are more creative than I could ever dream of being. You can go out any night of the week in Nashville and encounter someone on stage in front of a mic who will remind you why we do what we do. It's a beautiful thing.

What advice would you give somebody who’s passionate about working in the music industry?

If this is the one thing you absolutely have to do in your life then do it with all of your heart and don't second guess yourself. It's a tough business to break into but those who outlast everyone will win in the end. Jump in and make connections and learn as much as you can.

Every day is a learning opportunity in this business. We just so happen to be in an industry where no day is like the last. It's exciting and terrifying. You have to want to be a part of it with no backup plan.

What albums are currently on heavy rotation?

Well, selfish plugs for the new Ashley Monroe record and Striking Matches and Kristen Kelly EPs of course! I've been listening to The Lone Bellow's debut for months now and finally caught their show last night in town. They're incredible live! I've got some songs off the new Pistol Annies record that's coming out in a few weeks and they're awesome. I spend a lot of time checking out young writers and artists and am real excited to hear new stuff from Ryan Beaver, Ben Danaher and Joey Hyde.

Lastly, is there a moment that sticks out in your head that made you realize that this is the perfect job for you?

Working with Ashley Monroe, I have been able to spend some time around Vince Gill who produced her latest album. We had a big group at lunch one day and I was sitting next to Vince and just leaned over and asked him how long he was in town before he got his record deal. He said "I never lived here. Joe Galante found me playing guitar for Roseanne Cash in Oklahoma."

It struck me how much the game has changed in the last 20 years and he ended up telling me how he couldn't imagine what it would be like to be a new artist these days as he's "had a song peak at every position on the chart." It reminded me how vital it is that new artists have a champion in their corner. It's a harder industry to break into than it was 20 years ago and whether you're on the business or creative side having someone go to bat for you is the biggest advantage you can have. It's a people business and we need one another to move up to the top.

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http://familyoftheyear.net/ @FamilyoftheYear 26 | Decorated Youth Magazine

https://www.facebook.com/familyoftheyear

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Sebastian Keefe (with whom this interview is with), Joseph Keefe, Christina Schroeter, and James Buckey.

Growing up Sebastian and Joseph Keefe had a room in their house with a piano, an old guitar or two, and various little flutes to mess around with. Their dad would play the piano and sing Beatles and Bob Dylan songs. Seb recalls, “As kids we went through typical school music lessons, I would come home from school and practice my recorder or violin with my mom playing along with her flute. Joe began taking pretty serious piano lessons quite young and had a knack for it, he quickly learned to play other instruments too, and he played brass instruments.”

Their dad then bought them cheap electric guitars with amps that had a button for distortion, which amazed Seb. Joe then started a band around the age of 12. Once Seb reached that age he did as well, but he soon realized drums were his real passion. Seb guesses he started pursuing music professionally around the time he dropped out of college when he was 18 to join Joe's band at the time.

The band members have come from varies backgrounds, Buckey is from Jacksonville, Florida, Schroeter is the Southern California native, and the Keefe brothers were born in Martha’s Vineyard, but they followed their father’s bloodline back to Wales during their formative years.

Sebastian speaks out on how the transitioning from living in Martha’ Vineyard to Wales and back again, has impacted their music. “Wales is a much grittier environment.”

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“I think it allowed us to have an authentic relationship with a lot of the working class angsty music we listened to growing up. On the converse, Martha's Vineyard is a very different place. I think that gave us a context to understand a lot of our other influences like 70's singer songwriter stuff, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell etc.”

Some of Seb’s biggest musical influences have come from classics like Zeppelin and 90's Britpop. Proceeding to say that Supergrass was his favorite group throughout being a teenager, “I just thought they were brilliant. Their drummer, Danny Goffey is one of my biggest influences, whether that's apparent or not.”

In October of 2009 just months after their formation, after maybe a half dozen – dozen shows together, FOTY were chosen out of 700 bands by Ben Folds and Keith Lockhart to open for Ben Folds and the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall in Boston. When asked how this came about Seb recalls, “We submitted our music and didn't think much of it. When we got the gig we kind of freaked out, it was so early on. It was our 3rd or 4th show.” Seb proceeds to say, “It's funny we're asked about this quite a lot. To us we've had many more memorable concerts since.” One of those memorable moments Seb says is when their first sellout show occurred in Paris, “We'll never forget it. It was the first time we felt like this may actually work, it was really validating.”

Although the Ben Folds opening experience was early on for the band, all of the band mates have been chasing this dream since the age of ten, in different bands, and playing out and touring other groups for a number of years, waiting for these kinds of opportunities like performing on Jimmy Kimmel and Conan O'Brien.

When asked if they have had a “we’ve made it” moment yet Seb says that while playing on TV and hearing themselves on the radio were definitely surreal, lifelong goals and they are very thankful for these opportunities, there is just so much to accomplish in music, and as people. He claims, “I don't think we are the sort of band that has "made it" moments. Or at least we are not that band yet.”

For their second full length album ‘Loma Vista’ (which came last July 10 via Nettwerk Records) the band, for the first time, decided to work with a producer outside of their own camp.

Together with producer Wally Gagel, the band completed 14 songs at his studio in Hollywood, 10 of which made it onto Loma Vista.

Seb describes their writing process, “The majority of ideas, musically and lyrically come from Joe. Whether it’s a song he completes or we complete as a group, it will start with him.

The more intimate songs are most likely solely from within Joe, ‘Hero’, ‘Hey Ma’, etc. The other side- the ‘St. Croix’s’ and ‘Living On Love’s’ are usually the collective.” The backstory behind their tropical song ‘St. Croix’ is that the song came about when James took a vacation to the Caribbean and they were messing around imagining what he would get up to on vacation.

“No one is ever going to take anything away from me again” is a line from their song "Diversity.” It came about when they were going through somewhat of a rough patch when they recorded the album.

Seb recalls, ‘Typical stuff, pretty broke, living on the cheap in a small apartment we all shared.

Nothing dreadful but it was a source of Inspiration and unity. ‘Diversity’ itself has its roots in people taking things that belong to you.

It's a bit of a mantra for pushing on.”

Another source of inspiration came when they received the personal endorsement from a rock 'n' roll icon. The story goes, when Steven Tyler (who is represented by the same attorney as Family of the Year) was getting a ride back to his place by said attorney and she had Family Of The Year’s first album (‘Songbook’) playing in her car, he called band mate Joseph Keefe to tell them how much he liked the group. A few weeks after the call Joe and Sebastian Keefe were able to meet Steven in person and he gave them a few pointers about stage presence, like developing a shtick of some kind to distinguish themselves as a band.

Although they haven’t come up with any shticks yet Seb thinks that by having no shtick that could possibly be the bands shtick. About meeting Steven Tyler Sebastian says, “It was great to meet such a legendary singer. He is one of a few that have experienced as much as he has. He had some great advice for us and was exactly how you'd imagine him to be in person.”

For their plans for the rest of 2013 Seb says that they’ll be on tour the rest of the year (which includes some summer festivals) as well as looking forward to writing more music. “Writing touring and having a good time.”

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http://www.danielsilbert.com/ @danielgsilbert

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https://www.facebook.com/daniel.silbert

he was known for being the guitarist in Steel Train, but what originally began as a way to document what he and his friends were doing at the time has now turned into a very successful career path. He recalls, “There were no thoughts about a future career or even if my photographs were any good. I don't remember when exactly I started taking photography more seriously. It was a gradual shift, but before I knew it I was obsessed.”

His subject matter consists of everything from music, fashion, places and people, but since he started out shooting people and live shows, that’s what he’s most drawn to, he says that the documentary style of shooting comes very naturally to him.

Even when Steel Train was actively touring and recording some members also had second careers; Evan with being a screenwriter, Jack with his band fun., and Daniel himself with photography. Daniel mentions that finding a balance between the side careers and being a musician was the easiest thing to do. “Everyone was able to do their side projects alongside Steel Train. Evan wrote in the van, I took pictures everywhere we went and Jack spent time with FUN whenever we were off from tour. It somehow always worked out.”

Since Daniel Silbert and Jack Antonoff of fun. were in Steel Train together he mentions that the transition from performing with him, to shooting him and the rest of fun. was seamless.

“Even when we were playing in Steel Train together, we would play a lot of shows with FUN. and I would photograph them. It really seems like I have been photographing them since they began.”

Since having been a musician himself he knows from personal experience what shots band members themselves love, “Usually bands just get the typical pit shots (which sometimes can be great) but when the perspective is unique, the band is always excited.”

Recently Daniel had his opening for his photo documentary of fun. titled ‘One Night’ that exceeded his expectations, “I was honestly hoping that the gallery wouldn't look empty so when a bunch of people showed up and stayed throughout the night I was so excited and honored.”

When asked what photos from the “One Night’ set are his favorite he mentions that they change constantly but as of right now his favorites are the photo he took of Nate Ruess warming up in the mirror (because he still notices new things in the photo), along with the very dark photos of Jack, Nate, and Andrew (Because they remind him of the jazz photography of Herman Leonard, who’s his biggest influences).

Speaking about his favorite story behind a particular photograph he says,” During the encore I took a photo of Nate and Jack. The photo is fully black and they are wearing their Knicks Jerseys. Nate took a second to acknowledge the sold out crowd and I love their expressions.”

“

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The decision factor on taking photos that are spontaneously or planned out depends on what he’s shooting. He says, “If I am shooting for a client (fashion, portraits, editorial) then I usually have a vision and plan. Sometimes the best shots are taken instinctually in those pre planned moments. There are other times that I just walk around with my camera and everything I shoot is instinctual, but really having a camera is just a tool to capture a specific moment in time, planned or unplanned.”

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Daniel chimes in on his perspective of how apps like Instagram are changing how people see photography, “I think it is a great thing.

Photographers like to come down on them but now everyone has a camera on them at all times. Professional photographers are still in demand and a good eye will always show.”

When setting up and working on a shoot Daniel mentions that weather has always been his biggest hurdle. ”You can plan for a shoot for a week and then on the day you’re supposed to be on location it begins to rain all day. Most situations can be planned for, but weather is never a sure thing.”

Speaking about his favorite If he could have camera to use he says that photographed anyone (from the Leica M9 is his favorite any era) he says he would camera to use in any have loved to shoot a live situation. The reasoning Jazz performance of Chet behind this is because it’s Baker or Ella Fitzgerald with feels like he’s always Herman Leonard. “I love his shooting film which makes photographs beyond words. him think more about each His use of light and the way shot beforehand. “The he finds and shapes it is quality of the images I get exceptional. He makes his from my Leica are photographs iconic and exceptional and unique.” He timeless. Something I says he also uses a Nikon D4, continually aspire to do.” but that’s totally a different kind of camera.

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The biggest misconception about being a photographer Daniels says is probably how easy the editing process is. “People love to throw around the work Photoshop but most people don't know the first thing about it. If they did they would know how much work is involved in editing a photo, especially a portrait.”

Just like when he plays music, when he takes pictures he release his creativity and that is how he knows this is the perfect job for him. “I know that I need that in my life and I am so happy that I am able to do it for a living.”

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They say that you’re supposed to surround yourself with people you want to aspire to; and with some of Daniel Silbert’s best friends being Director/Actress Lena Dumham, Fashion Designer Rachel Antonoff, and Phototographer Lindsey Byrnes you know the inspiration is limitless. He mentions, “I really have the best friends in the world. We are all so supportive of each other in everything we do. It’s nice when the people you surround yourself with continually inspire you.”

For his last words of advice to aspiring photographers he says, “Never stop being inspired. Always have a camera on you. If it's not on you, you can't take a picture.”

@thefredsavage

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The fact that he has other siblings and that his parents had to drive him downtown (which wasn’t convenient because of how far away it was) was a major drawback. After a few auditions his mom started getting hesitant about the commute, but the directors told his mom to tell him it was for the Pac-Man Vitamins.

Kevin Arnold in the 1988 television series, “The Wonder Years,” and as the grandson in “The Princess Bride.” He has now become a director and producer of numerous episodes of television series such as “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia,” “Modern Family,” “Party Down,” “Happy Endings” and “2 Broke Girls,” truly proving people wrong about past stereotypes of childhood stars.

Of course, when Fred found out what the commercial content was he jumped at the opportunity.

The start of his acting career was neither a planned out move by him nor his family. His first acting job was for a Pac Man Vitamin commercial. He recalls “I was 6 years old, I was living in Chicago and there was a product called packman vitamins, shaped like characters from Pac-man.” He mentions that if it wasn’t for the Pac-man content he probably wouldn’t have gone to the audition; “it wasn’t something I always wanted to do, it wasn’t a big plan. When I was a little kid, I wasn’t ‘Oh I want to be an actor!’ There were auditions being held at our local community center near where I lived, and I went as something fun to do, instead of going to the park with my friends. Nothing came of it, but the same director remembered me and called me back a couple other times. “

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Through all the auditions he’s been to, the only ritual he’s ever had was to throw away the sides (the scenes) after every audition to keep from thinking if he’ll get the part or not. He explains the reasoning behind this, “You can drive yourself crazy as an actor thinking about well did they like me? Did they not like me? Could I have done something different? Did I get good feedback? What did they say?” Especially when he started directing more he’s learned that there are so many factors that go on to getting a part that you have no control over, such as “Are you too short? Are you too tall? Is your hair too brown? Is it not brown enough? Do you look too much like the other person you’re playing opposite against? Or do you not look enough like them?”

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– Fred Savage

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Since there are so many factors you can’t control, he says the only thing you can control is being prepared, putting a lot of work into it, and executing it the way you want to. “Once it’s done, that’s it; you leave it in the room. Let the people who have to decide, decide.”

In 1993, as “The Wonder Years” was ending, his brother’s show (“Boy Meets World”) was just starting. He mentions how happy he was for his brother and how “The Wonder Years” ended at just the right time for him. “He had done a lot of little pilots that hadn’t gone forward or were on for a short time. I was thrilled for him. For me, “The Wonder Years” ended at the perfect time. It was right at the end of my junior year in high school so I got to go back and experience regular high school, for my first uninterrupted school year since I was in 2nd grade. I got to go experience high school and go into college and not worry about working. It ended at the perfect time for me and it started at the perfect time for Ben.” When asked how he feels about the spin off “Boy Meets World” called “Girl Meets World,” he says, “Ben’s excited about it!

They shot the pilot a few weeks ago. I haven’t seen it, I haven’t seen anything, but Ben feels good about it.”

After college in 1999, Savage began his directing career in which some of his directing credits include “Boy Meets World,” “Zoey 101,” “Drake & Josh,” and “Big Time Rush” for Nickelodeon, as well as “Even Stevens,” “That's So Raven,” “Hannah Montana “and “Wizards of Waverly Place” for Disney Channel.

When asked if being a childhood actor himself influenced his decision to start directing Disney and Nickelodeon TV and to start working with kid actors, he responded by saying that it

was more of a move towards the stories he wanted to tell and not necessarily the people he wanted to work with. “The reason I started over at Disney when I started directing is that it wasn’t so much because I wanted to work with child actors, but at the time I wanted to do single-camera, half-hour comedy and not a lot of people were doing that. It was all sitcoms, like multi camera live in front of audience sitcoms, on network television. The Disney channel and Nickelodeon were the only ones doing single-camera, half hour.

“Malcolm In The Middle” was just starting, maybe “Scrubs” was just starting but there was not a lot of that on networks. That’s what I wanted to do; I wanted to do single-camera, half-hour comedy. I went to the places that were producing those kinds of shows and, as luck would have it, it was these younger networks. I had a real affinity for young actors and I felt like I could work with them very well.

As luck would have it, that turned out to be the case. It was the format that I wanted to work in and it just so happened that it featured these younger actors that I had a really good rapport with.”

On the subject of this generation’s childhood stars (like Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez), he admits that they are getting smarter than his generation and the generations before them.

“This current generation, they have to deal with so much more than we ever had to deal with; there’s so many more cameras pointed at them, and video phones pointed at them, gossip sites and gossip magazines, and places that are just really hungry to dissect any misstep they have.”

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“That’s why they’re smarter; they’re able to navigate this landscape and take advantage of it and build these global brands, particularly the two names that you mentioned, it’s really incredible! I think this generation of young actors, they’re smarter, more savvy, and connect with their audiences better. I’m really, really happy for them!”

Turning the tables and talking about who approaches him more – “The Wonder Year’s” fans, “The Princess Bride” fans, or fans of his directing, he mentions that there’s always going to be fans from the previous two (which he loves how something he did when he was younger still resonates with people), but lately he’s been getting complements about his directing work.

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“Whether people love ‘It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia,’ or ‘Party Down,’ or they love my work on ‘Modern Family,’ or any of the shows I do, they come up to me and are so complementary about my directing work. To me that’s what I’m most proud of, just because that’s what I’ve really been working hard at trying to establish and make my name in and put my stamp on; the fact that people are really starting to take notice of that means a lot to me.”

This successful transition from acting into directing and producing actually started when he was still a kid on set. He recalls, “I was always talking to the camera guys, taking apart the camera and trying to figure out how it worked, what different lenses do, and about the film stock. I fully immersed myself in that. I was really interested in it. It was something in the back of my head that I always wanted to do.”

“I kind of understand what they need or can anticipate what they might want, or how they liked to be talked to.”

His first directing opportunity came when he was still in college and acting on the NBC show, “Working.” When they asked him to direct an episode, he mentions he was terrified because if he did it and he wasn’t good at it he wouldn’t know what to do. When it did go well he then moved on to directing a couple episodes of his brother’s show, “Boy Meets World.” He mentions, “when you’re starting out you just kind of beg, borrow and steal; you just try to get any opportunity you can. The fact that I had a TV show and my brother had a TV show was a really great place to start. I just took it from there, but it was because of my acting that I was able to get into directing.”

“For a director, you’re interacting with so many different, incredibly talented people from the actors, to the cinematographers, to the costume designers, to the production designers, to the hair and makeup people, to the editors, to the writers. There’s so many people that you’re interacting with and sharing ideas and collaborating with, that it’s really energizing, I really love that aspect of it. I love the collaboration and getting to match wits and getting to put yours heads together with some really talented creative people.”

He then acknowledges that his experience as a childhood actor has greatly affected his ability to become a better director. “I definitely think I have a really good rapport with actors as a result of being an actor before I was a director.

People come to directing from a variety of different backgrounds. They’re editors, writers, cinematographers, actors, or they came from film school; whatever you come from you bring a special set of tools from that area that you can apply to your directing. For me I bring this special set of tools from having been an actor. I feel like I have a short hand with actors. I feel like I can work with actors very well.”

Since acting is, a lot of the times, a very solitary pursuit (“you go home, you learn your lines, you sit in your dressing room, you wait to get called, they bring you in you do your scene”) he mentions that his favorite part about directing is all of the collaboration.

On the subject of his recent directing jobs he mentions that he just wrapped up two new television pilots for CBS titled “Jacked Up” (a traditional multi-camera sitcom) and “The Mccarthys” (a single camera half hour comedy).“We’re going to turn them into the network and next month they decide which shows they are going to move forward with and produce more episodes of. I’m very excited about that; that’s what I’ve been working on for the past few months.”

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–Fred Savage

He is also set to work on a film with Charlize Theron towards the end of the year. “I’m going to be doing a film called “Ladies Night” with Charlize Theron who’s producing and starring in it. I’m going to be working with the writer of that movie, David Caspe. He and I are going to be working on the script and getting that ready to go forward at the end of the year.” In between he’ll be flying to New York in July to work on Michael J. Fox’s new show for NBC. This time of year is what they call development season in television so Fred is currently going around to various places and pitching a lot of shows and working with writers to come up with more ideas for shows.

When asked if he’ll ever stray from his beloved genre of comedy, he says, “I really like working in comedy. I mean, maybe. For me, I love going to work and laughing and trying to be funny and try to make other people laugh, it’s a really fun way to spend a day. I watch a lot of different television shows, but for me to go and be around drama all day there’s enough of that in the real world.” He starts laughing and willingly admits, “I don’t need any help with drama. I want to have some comedy. It’s a nice way to spend a day.”

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Since having been an actor in a classic 80’s TV show that’s still talked about, he now speculates about what television shows will be classic 20 years from now. “All the obvious ones… “Modern Family,” “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad.” On the comedy side, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” people will be talking about it 20 years from now. The reemergence of the sitcom “Two and a Half Men” and “The Big Band Theory,” whether you like them or not, they’re really popular and people think they’re great and people are talking about them as far as marking the return of traditional comedy to the networks. They’re going to be talking about “Community” in 20 years; I do not know what’s going to happen with that show but I think that show is incredible! “Arrested Development” for sure. I can’t wait for that to come back. It’s a real golden age for television, there’s a lot of very exciting shows, going on in comedy and drama.”

It truly is a golden age for television, but with the evolution of the internet and social media webisodes have now began to compete with actual, live television shows. He proceeded to talk about a new television show on Netflix called “House Of Cards” that he loved watching and then mentioned that Amazon had just released eight or ten different comedy pilots as well.

No matter what industry you’re in, finding a way for content to get out and to successfully have other people see it is still a huge obstacle.

He mentions that one of the most exciting things about the film/television industry right now is the expansion of how content is being delivered -- online, on your phone, traditionally, or through Netflix.

He’s witnessed the incredible power of online streaming of television first hand. “I did the show ‘Party Down;’ no one even heard of it when it was on television and then it was on Netflix and it gained this incredible following.”

He continues, “As a content creator you just want people to watch what you do and enjoy it, so the more opportunities and the more ways there are for people to enjoy the stuff you put out there the better. You just want to share what you do with as many people as possible.”

“It’s very exciting! There’s obviously really great stuff being put out there. Even “Burning Love” is great! Or you see something like “Children’s Hospital,” which started out as little webisodes and now is a fantastic show on Adult Swim. It’s not just an incubator anymore. With the webisodes, it’s a real marketplace, a real business and a good place to find good content.”

He mentions that even though some webisodes even go viral, it is still very democratic. “If it’s really, really good, people are going to find it and send it to other people and have it become viral. Or if it’s really, really bad they’ll do the same thing. It works itself out. The stuff that hits hits for a reason; it’s because it’s really good or really terrible.”

While recalling some of his favorite episodes from the television show’s he’s directed, he mentions “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” Christmas episode from a few years back along with the episode of “Modern Family” from this year, when Gloria gives birth. Shooting “The Modern Family” episode was especially special because his wife was nine months pregnant at the time. So whenever he’d get a call he always thought “this is the call.” He continues to say how each and every one of them is special because he tries to pour himself into all of them. “They turn out great or bad, it doesn’t really matter, you work so hard on it and try to pour everything into it. I did an episode of “Hannah Montana” when I was first starting out that I loved! I was like “this is going to be the best episode of Hannah Montana ever,” and I loved it! I thought Miley did such wonderful performances and I was so proud of that episode. You try and pour enough of yourself into each thing that you can hopefully walk away from feeling proud of something; some camera move, some performance, some piece of business. You try and give yourself something to walk away from feeling good about, because if you can’t do that then you didn’t do a very good job.”

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