Photo: hearherepresents.com
Hear Here Presents
Hear Here Presents
For the last seven years, Milwaukee-based nonprofit creative collective Hear Here Presents has sought to immerse and educate audiences local and abroad in all forms of arts and entertainment. Functioning like a Swiss arming knife, Hear Here Presents features a live music video series, recording and production studio, and an independent record label that helps local artists. As their website describes, the goal is to be a “destination for all things music, comedy, art, and culture in Milwaukee.”
“Hear Here Media, which is the nonprofit side of things, includes the live music videos as well as the educational opportunities,” says co-founder Ryan Holman. “We aim to offer [them] to the younger generation of people who are interested in finding their way into the music industry, but don’t always have an abundance of opportunities on the creative side of things.”
For Holman, that multifaceted approach is just how he’s wired.
“As a Libra, it’s never been possible for me to do just one thing at once,” he says. “I’ve always had multiple jobs and projects at once and with Hear Here things are no different. I am equally as interested in creating the live sessions as I am promoting and then going to the live shows.”
“I love being able to learn and create new things while also providing opportunities for others to grow and learn more about something they’re passionate about … Some of these things are easier to fund through a product or an experience and some of them are very hard to make money doing, so ultimately that is why I feel like we’ve got to be multifaceted to cover all of our bases.”
Inspiration Takes Seed
Prior to starting Hear Here, Holman and co-founder Jenny Vanderheiden had produced comedy and music shows at a variety of venues throughout the Milwaukee area. Holman also was opening for bands as a stand-up comedian, making him fall in love with the local music scene.
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As time went on, they found themselves producing increasingly more comedy and music shows. They realized they could be doing even more. Inspired by La Blogoteque’s “Take Away Shows,” NPR’s Tiny Desk, and KEXP’s live studio sessions, they decided to form Hear Here.
“After being inspired we thought that Milwaukee should have one of their own versions, and why should we not be the ones to bring our talented friends together to start it?” says Holman. “As someone who has always taken pictures and saved just about everything I’ve come into contact with, I really wanted to record ‘the scene’ in Milwaukee, for locals and eventually those who pass through town. Started with an idea, we watered it a bit, and it continues to grow.”
Backed by a team of creatives, Holman and Vanderheiden did their first video session in late August 2015, with the video coming out in mid-October that year. Holman is proud of the work they’ve done so far.
“It means a lot that we have been able to sustain ourselves over the last seven years, especially ‘through’ (used loosely) the pandemic, when so many independent music related collectives and smaller venues have not been able to,” he says.
“I knew I wasn’t reinventing the wheel on a national level, there were dozens of other smaller and larger ‘live music video series,’” he continues, “but I knew we could make something unique and valuable to our scene. I’ve got a fairly vast love of different styles of music and art that I enjoy, so I knew I would be able to keep it interesting.”
The Hear Here team has recorded over eighty session videos, including artists such as Neal Francis, Charlie Parr, Kikagaku Moyo, Mattson 2, Klassik, Dead Horses, Joseph Huber and Trapper Schoepp.
Holman says his fiancée Madda has been a big inspiration in recent years, helping him with pretty much everything.
“I call her the white glove, because it’s her attention to detail that continues to help elevate what we do,” he says. “She has a background in legal studies and wedding planning, not necessarily relevant info, but you can see how that helps a wook comedian like me. Madda has been in the picture for the last 3.5 years helping me get my shit together.”
Hear Here Goes Cosmic Country
Today, Hear Here Presents is premiering their session video with “cosmic country” Nashville based musician Daniel Donato and his band Cosmic Country.
“My sound is a product of my nature as a being,” Donato explains. “It is my emotions and philosophies of existence, my Honky-Tonk Nashville neon light late-night roots, and my personality of exploration manifested in improvisational approach. Cosmic Country is the amalgamation of these vehicles, presented with an aesthetic, a vision, and a band that can go to several dimensions and back.”
Holman invited Donato to the studio earlier this year (February 11) and they quickly bonded over music, astrology and more.
“He was definitely one of the most down to earth cats we’ve had the pleasure of working with. We hung out with Daniel and his band through the session and after the show into the wee hours of the morning,” says Holman. “Chatting about inspiration and astrology at the Iron Horse until the sun was about ready to come up. Truly a killer musician and wonderful human.”
Photo: danieldonato.com
Daniel Donato
Daniel Donato
“Daniel’s one of the guys you just want to succeed because he’s got a damn good head on his shoulders and the skills to have a much larger ego if he wanted to.”
However, Donato would rather explore the world and make meaningful connections. Anytime he plays a new city, he feels it’s a “focused value” for him to “reach out and play with the community that is most tuned into the frequency of what Cosmic Country is and where it’s going. As life would have it, we scheduled a recording session!”
“The experience of recording on camera is a different dynamic than that of playing on stage. The Hear Here team combined both by bringing into the studio a live audience,” says Donato. “That variable, coupled with their sincerely unique studio space, along with delightful amenities backstage, the experience turned to be natural and inspired, necessary values for me when I play with Cosmic Country.”
Holman recently caught up with the Shepherd Express to talk about Hear Here Presents.
What was your goal with the session videos when you started creating them?
I’ve always been of the mindset that the sky's the limit, if we build it, they will come play. But I’ve joked from the beginning that My Morning Jacket is my ultimate goal. You hear that, Jim James?
Some of the videos feature a live audience along with the performer. Why's it important to have a live audience?
Honestly, it’s important to have them for all the videos if you ask me. I wouldn’t want to perform stand up for a bunch of camera guys, sound guys, and myself so I figure the bands want to have a little audience as well … It really seems to help the energy and the overall vibe we’re able to create in the room.
How do you hope to make each video unique?
We hope there is something a little different about each video. Whether it's the editing, the colors, or some sort of little psychedelic effect, we try to challenge our videographers and editors to get creative with each act depending on the sound.
How have your previous experiences helped you?
I think the things that have helped me the most are, first and foremost, my 10-plus years as a server at fast paced restaurants between NYC, Hawaii, and Milwaukee. I learned to anticipate people's needs and really just learn how to treat people in general. Prior to being a promoter or a producer and still to this day, I will go to about 100 shows a year between Jam music, Broadway Shows, and House Music.
So being an appreciator has helped me know what a crowd wants to see. I think my years as a stand-up comedian and having the opportunity to hang out in green rooms has helped me to create a fun and unique back-stage experience for all artists. Hear Here really strives to be the full package for everyone involved from our artists and our team to the crowd. We want everyone to have a great time. And they do.
What role do you have in making the videos?
I run the flow of each session, make and keep the timeline from load in to load out, then I run the flow of post-production with my partner Madda, so getting the final mix and edits from our team. Communicating with the band's team for release dates and approvals. It’s really a lot of juggling and staying on top of communication. I also make the poly-art covers for each session … So, I take a photo from the session into Adobe Illustrator and make tiny shapes over the whole photo to create the new poly-image. Honestly, it takes about five hours per face, so it’s pretty tedious, but also my artistic addition to each session, so I do rather enjoy it.
Any other favorite memories collaborating with musicians and creating the videos?
I have so many good memories that have come because of Hear Here Presents. Working with Kikagaku Moyo was amazing, becoming homies with the Mattson 2 brothers, hearing Esme Patterson play “No River” always stands out … Really the whole thing is about the experience, and I enjoy them all, so it’s hard to name just a few. Madda and me are also very proud of the Night Moves video, the first edit was pretty rough around the edges and with her notes and attention to detail, we were able to dial that one up and still to this day it is one of our favorite releases.
What are some things people can expect from Hear Here Presents in the future? Any specific goals?
We are 100 percent driven by goals and new ideas, so there are always new things in the works. We will be promoting more and bigger shows into the future. Look out for some more work with Cactus Club, branching out with more shows in Chicago with our friend Kyle at Sleeping Village. More releases from our artists, a patreon [page], maybe another Papa Holman show, more themed parties, more Disco Brunches with our homies from Brew City Bass. New Hear Here merch. The list goes on.
