THE MAESTRO
"Kristin is the most competent professional I've worked with in my five decades in the field. Highest marks in integrity."
Current Work
Marketing, communications, graphic design, publicity, booking, production design, and fundraising and research for the multimedia experience Anonymous Legends: A History of New Orleans Music.
The Road Here
In 2004 a colleague handed me a business card and said, “this musician just moved to town and needs a website.”
When I read the name on the card, I exclaimed, “Reggie Houston?! Reggie Houston! Do you know who that is?!”
In spite of his impressive credentials, Reggie had never had his own website - and in fact had never had a professional bio written. I set about doing both. After conducting a series of interviews with him, I wrote his bio. The only guidance he gave me regarding the design of his website was, “I don’t want a black website like all of those jazz cats have. I’m like a big kid, y'dig? I want colors a kid would choose!”
I've since designed countless posters, flyers and three websites for Reggie, including his current site.
Shortly after developing Reggie’s first website I received a call from him. He knew of my background in the music industry and needed help. An out-of-town organization had hired him for a pretty sizable and involved performance. He was bringing musicians in from Portland and New Orleans. The gig was two weeks out and he was concerned about the production side of the event. He asked me to call the venue for details.
I called the venue manager, and when I explained who I was she said, “oh thank goodness you called!”
The producer had booked the venue and the performers, but done nothing else. No sound outfit had been hired, no lighting crew, no technical details had been worked out at all. The gig required a 48 channel board and there was no 48 channel board in the entire town - at the time there were only a few in all of Portland, and the show was two weeks away!
Within a single week:
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I met with the producers,
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had proper contracts drawn up,
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secured necessary additional payment for all personnel involved,
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tracked down the needed A/V gear,
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hired a production crew,
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and spent a weekend holed up in a beach house working out the lighting, stage plots, timing and cues for the entire show.
For the next seven years I worked as Reggie’s manager. In addition to booking shows, I handled his promotion and graphic design needs. I also ghost-wrote the extensive liner notes for his 2010 release, Homage 1.
In 2011, Reggie was forced to take a break from work while recovering from cancer surgery. Within four weeks, I organized this benefit that netted him more than $10,000.
