e.company, a client of RabbitHole Consulting
Jazz Fest is over. For most cities, that would mark a return to normalcy—fewer tour busses, fewer shows, and quieter nights. New Orleans, however, is not most cities.
The special bond the city shares with musical performance is not lost on visitors nor locals, yet it is not uncommon that the artists we enjoy curbside, corner side, and club side are working hard at day jobs to support their true passion by night- creating new music and sharing it with the public. For local start-up RabbitHole Consulting, passionate musicians having to eke out livings at jobs which do not celebrate their creativity is out of tune with the musical notes of New Orleans. Through exposure, education, and devoted client-consultant relationships, RabbitHole endeavors to help their clients-the musicians-make careers out of their passionate pursuits, playing the curbs, corners, and clubs of the city.
Born out of a senior thesis project for the Music Industry Studies program at Loyola University in the spring of 2010, RabbitHole Consulting was founded by three friends, David Buttrey of Nashville, Tennessee; Patrick Reagin, a native New Orleanian born and raised in Mid-City, and graphic designer Joe Fleming. As enterprising individuals who shared a mutual love for inventive and ambitious musical exploration, the three sought a way to create a business that made it possible for artists and musicians to ditch their day jobs and support themselves by pursuing their creative endeavors full time.
RabbitHole Consulting’s name references the answer to the question in Alice in Wonderland, “How far do you wish to go?” The company utilizes various techniques not only to educate the public about the musical talent of their clients, but also to educate their clients about the ways they can invest in themselves as a business.
“RabbitHole works with individual artists and bands to create tailored strategic plans to maximize exposure,” says Buttrey, through methods of branding, marketing, social media publicity, print media advertising, and website design. RabbitHole seeks to educate artists about the business side of their creativity, to help bands become aware of themselves as a business and avoid being taken advantage of by record labels.
Having partnered with a multitude of local musicians and bands such as e.company, Sasha Masakowski, and The Session at venues like the Degas House and The Maison on Frenchmen Street, the founders of RabbitHole Consulting are constantly revising, testing, and experimenting with new ways to further involve the New Orleans community in what could easily be their neighbor’s musical pursuit.
Buttrey and Reagin’s latest project, Same Art New Direction, or SAND, is a collaborative effort with saxophonist James Partridge aimed at bringing new music from experienced artists to soon-to-be new fans. Sponsored by the founders of RabbitHole Consulting and having commenced its first series of weekly musical events at the Degas House in February, the SAND Collective plans to host another series of musical events this summer to “connect musicians to one another, and then to spaces in which they can share their efforts with the public.”
Whether Buttrey, Reagin, and Fleming are drawing up business plans for musicians who seek to survive off their creative craft or managing bands like local quintet e.company, their driving motivation remains the same. “There are too many great musicians in the city who need to be heard, need to be paid, and need to be respected,” Buttrey states.
New Orleans’ biggest music festival may be over, but local companies like RabbitHole Consulting will continue to work to educate musicians on how to carve careers from their passions earning a living as well as earning respect for their creative offerings. And thankfully, companies like RabbitHole will continue to help guarantee that although Jazz Fest is over, both the music and the musician will never stop.
RabbitHole Consulting can be reached at www.rabbitholeconsulting.com. You can view their blog at http://rabbitholeconsulting.com/blog.
e.company (pictured above) can be reached at http://easycomusic.com/.
