YPSILANTI Mich. -- Rashon A. Massey is a mission is to focus on underrated musicians and talent. “Mainstream music always has someone to capture their every move on stage and off.” “But what about the others whose music is phenomenal just not mainstream? That is where we step in, said Massey, a co-creator of Roving Festival Writer, a Web site that is dedicated to “Documenting Music Just As” according to its motto by delivering insight to music worthy of exposure that mainstream has forgotten.
Massey who is from Flint, and co-creator Ben Landsman, who is from Birmingham,make a great match. According to Massey, Landsman is the traveling one. If nothing else he loves traveling to all the shows and festivals and rarely misses any. In the summer they both travel from fest to fest documenting, recording, and interviewing people and artists.
It hasn’t been easy for the Ypsilanti natives to get things up and running.
“We wanted to keep everything in our family,” Massey said.
The main goal was to keep this business friends and family. They figured with a few of their friends graduating from Eastern Michigan University with film, public relations, journalism, and telecommunication degrees, they would want to help out. However, that didn't work out and the duo separated for almost a year convinced they had been defeated.
Massey has taken the obligations of the Web and maintaining connections and networking their business. Recently, the RFW teamed with up sponsors and was invited to Michigan’s very own Rothbury Music Festival as guests of Madison House Publications.
“Ben and I were able to put together our own team for the first time, sure we could pay them but we just asked around and put messages onto Craigs List and created Team Rothbury 2009,” Massey said. "We chose to have two camera men, a journalist, and Ben and I as brand reps."
"Madison House Productions really came through for the upcoming company," he said
“The ladies of Madison House were very generous, they gave us a space to set up the photo booth, which was created for Rothbury, and donated by miphotobooth of Zeeland,” Massey said, “It was a great success.”
They also teamed up with Everybody’s Nuts who makes excellent pistachios in different flavors. Klean Kanteen whose main focus is to a food-grade stainless steel that contains no harmful chemicals or toxins. The RFW also tries to promote going green. Along with Klean Kanteen it made a new connection at Rothbury '09, E-Cooler, an earth friendly company. E-Cooler Michigan based company produces and distributes waterproof, reusable, paper coolers.
“It has been a pleasure working with Rashon, he has great ideas and keeps up with the technology we need to stay afloat. Granted we are starting out with hopes of earning a living with RFW I am confident with his ideas and work ethics, and my eagerness to explore and meet-and-greet, we will get to where we want to be soon,” Landsman said.
Massey said he is striving forward working harder than ever to get RFW on the map. Massey who will be relocating to Chicago after his performance as Lysander in "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" at the Blackbird Theater in Ann Arbor closes, vows to stay true to his roots here in Michigan.
“The great thing about the site is that I can work from anywhere,” Rashon said.
Video extra
Here is an example of his company’s videos taken from Rothbury Music Festival 2009. For more videos, click here.
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