Well, here goes nothing...

Hi friends!

Shocker, a brand new endeavor from me that may or may not actually pan out. Just like the rest of the cool ideas I cook up and then do nothing with.

Here’s some background for those who haven’t been keeping up or weren’t aware.

In January 2022, I was brought on to be a volunteer writer for KTXT FM - The Raider 88.1, Texas Tech’s student-run college radio station. In April 2022, after writing a handful of album and concert reviews, I got a camera and was able to get my first photo pass. Two years later, I’ve been all over the state covering concerts and festivals. I got to shoot basketball, baseball, and soccer games on campus as well. It’s the best job I have ever been fortunate enough to have.

However, all good things must come to an end and unfortunately, this is one of those things. As I write this, I’m currently 13 days away from graduating. That means that I will no longer be a student and thus means that I can no longer work as a student assistant at a student-run college radio station. That doesn’t mean I’m ready to give writing and photography up quite yet though.

I’m starting up this new little publication for two main reasons. The first is the obvious: I want to keep writing about music, I want to keep doing what I’ve loved doing for the past two years, and it’s infinitely harder to do that when you’re not under publication.

The second reason piggybacks off of that. In my time doing this, I’ve made a ton of photo friends who either tour or find work directly with artists. Most of the time, these are usually the same people who ask me how I’m able to cover shows of the size and artists of the stature that I’m fortunate enough to do. The answer is simple: I’m under publication.

The reason this publication is named “With A Little Help From My Friends” is because I want to be able to give those people the opportunity to cover the giant shows they can’t get hired for. To let them have the opportunity to shoot shows like I do. Get your three songs from the soundboard or the pit, if you’re lucky. If you’re even luckier, you’ll be able to shoot from in and around the crowd after those songs. While I will probably be writing the bulk of the material for this publication, I want it to be fully collaborative and I want my friends who want to get out of their comfort zones and cover shows that they might not have a chance to in any other scenario.

There’s also going to be a paid tier. Nothing crazy, it’s $5 a month, but hopefully, I can make it worth it. The most immediate perk is going to be that you get access to everything a day early. Right now, that’s just articles, but there are a few ideas I’m kicking around to make it worth it too. Podcasts, videos, playlists, merch… Okay probably not merch but the rest could very likely happen.

So, with a little help from my friends, we’re officially kicking this thing off. Pray that we can do something cool with it.