contributors
c.g. smith
Contributing Entertainment Writer
C.G. Smith is a guy living in New Orleans, LA, with a lot of opinions and a deep love for music and film. He’s also a musician who's been in love with Rock ‘N Roll since he was very young, often standing on his tip-toes to put Rolling Stones records on his dad’s big JC Penney stereo, or playing tennis racquet guitar in the bay window to John Cougar’s Learn How to Play Guitar, which he eventually did do many years later. Then he wrote all the songs floating around in his head and recorded them. He's our man on the music & entertainment scene, and we have no doubt he'll keep you just as entertained as he does us.
Brent taylor aka "Shaggy chan"
Contributing Music Writer / Music Reviews
Shaggy’s musical journey started when he was just 16, and let’s be honest, who isn’t starting a band at 16? It’s like a rite of passage, right next to getting your driver’s license and attending prom. His band, “If Nothing Else” began touring the southern states shortly after he graduated from high school. His on-stage charisma didn’t go unnoticed, and soon he was spinning tracks instead of guitar riffs as an on-air DJ for Alexandria’s highest rated radio station. This gig turned into a decade-long broadcasting odyssey, where he would climb the ranks and eventually become the Program Director for not one, but several organizations, including the media giant iHeartMedia.
Nowadays, Shaggy’s swapped his tour bus for a home studio, where he’s cooking up new tunes and helping local artists find their groove. With his golden touch and silver tongue, Shaggy’s not just enhancing tunes; he’s amplifying dreams and doling out happiness like it’s going out of style.
chris pryor
Contributing Music Writer
Meet Chris, everybody. He’s quite the rockstar and hails from a small town in Louisiana called Sarepta, which is way up in the northern part of the state. In addition to his mad trumpeting skills as a child, he’s also quite the singer and over the years has had the opportunities to share the stage with country music legends Doug Stone, Earl Thomas Conley, and John Michael Montgomery. He even auditioned for American Idol back in 2009 but it wasn’t meant to be. That didn’t deter him, though. He went on to become lead singer of the Lil Whiskey Band and in May 2022 formed his high-energy classic rock/country band Chris Pryor & the Main Event. His unique blend of rock and country music, coupled with his powerful vocals, has earned him a dedicated fan base. It has also earned him a spot in our sandbox as one of our music writers.
david trahan
Contributing Music Writer
chad besse
Contributing Photographer
Chad is no stranger to creative outlets. After kicking around the local music scene in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for the better part of a decade, he decided it was time to switch gears and try something new, so he started making some pretty sweet props for cosplayers, which he also sold at anime and comic conventions and still does today. After joining the 501st Legion and hangin’ around the convention scene for a few years, he decided to pick up photography as a way to help cosplayers document their creations, because he’s a big ole sweetheart. Photography also gave him another outlet to express his creativity, and his specialty morphed into travel and architecture photography. Now, he’s returning to the music scene to document all the action and to take his skill set to the next level with this new medium. He tells us he’s happy to be documenting the journey of so many other creative people as a part of Mixed Alt Mag, and we believe him!
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rian nickels
Contributing Writer / Photographer / Show Coverage
Everyone say “hi” to Rian! Rian has been capturing moments as a photographer since 2012, but has known since 2008 that photography was her destiny, and we are so freakin excited to have her on the team because she is a multi-talented badass and mom. In 2018, Rian began doing photography for the local Hammond, Louisiana punk scene and realized she loved what she was doing, but soon discovered her true passion was in the editing of her photos. Not only is Rian a skilled photographer of music, skateboarding, and portraits, but she also does graphic design work, too. Rian aspires to design clothes and home décor in the future and own a storefront to go with it. With a love for all things creative, her hobbies include producing digital art, cozy gaming, crafting stickers, skateboarding, and planning live music events with her musician fiancé. Rian loves music and there is no limit to what she will listen to, but her favorites are pop punk, folk punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, indie, rap, house, and EDM. Rian’s favorite movies are Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, SLC Punk, and Girl Interrupted, but even better, her favorite TV show is Stranger Things. Rian’s dream bands that she would like to photograph include Neck Deep, Pierce the Veil, Mayday Parade, Twenty One Pilots, Mom Jeans, Roe Kapara, and Hot Mulligan. In the future, she hopes to shoot photos at alternative festivals, continue doing skateboard photography, and wants to take portraits of musicians for as many magazines as possible.
jason beard
Contributing Videographer
Jason is no stranger to being behind the lens and this beast of a Renaissance Man hails from Lafayette, LA where he is an established cinematographer, producer, photographer, sound designer, videographer and audio engineer. What does this man not do? As the owner of Sixto6 Productions, he is obsessed with ALL music...well...except for country and techno. Jason brings a wealth of knowledge and talent to the Mixed Alt Mag team and we are happy to have him.
melissa "mo" thornton
Contributing Writer
Born in Redondo Beach, California, Mo Thornton aka “Melissa Ford Thornton” is Communications
Director for the Princess Theatre Performing Arts Center in Decatur, AL. A budding ukulele player and off-key singer who uses a spoon rest as a microphone, Melissa is also a professional storyteller, writer, poet, and music lyricist. She is a Moth Story Slam winner, and her writing has been published by Silver Birch Press, Good Grit Magazine, Alabama the Beautiful Magazine and frequently airs on WLRH Public Radio. In addition to the Moth, Melissa has told true stories on big stages including Southern Fried
Film Festival and Rocket City Reading Festival (Orion Amphitheater), Arc Stories (Birmingham, AL), Athens Storytelling Festival, Stories Under the Stars, Tin Can Stories, and Tenx9 Storytelling (Nashville,TN). In 2019, Melissa published her first collection of poetry and prose: “An Elegant Dispute of the Accidental.” She is a member of Alabama Writers Cooperative and Co-founder and Storyteller at Bramble Stories. When not writing, you can find her kayaking, paddleboarding, skydiving, or chilling
out with her rescue cats (who enjoy an eclectic playlist almost as much as Melissa does).
Nick Cline
Contributing Writer / Music Reviews
Meet Nick Cline. He is a man from 1200 miles away trying to contribute and make a name for himself. Born in West Virginia and a resident of Louisiana for 12 years, Nick has found his place in a scene that gives birth to a plethora of brilliant talent. He started playing music at a young age, and ever since, he has had dreams of becoming "something." A love of writing and music has led him to become a member of the Lafayette music scene through his band, Phantum Sun. Phantum Sun started in June of 2023 and has quickly evolved to a sound unique to themselves. His involvement has allowed him to contribute to other bands, festival planning, and everything in between in a very short amount of time. On top of this, he is working on his last year at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette. He will be graduating with a Mass Communications degree with a Journalism concentration and Criminal Justice minor. Only the future will tell what is next for Nick and his endeavors in music and writing.
jeff holmes
Contributing Entertainment Writer
Ever since Jeff can remember, he's had a passion for movies. Growing up with a love for cartoon, family, and superhero films, his tastes changed and matured the older he got where he developed an affinity for films of all genres, years, and countries. Jeff began doing reviews as a way to share his passion with others, and to showcase the films he believes are worth revisiting. Many movies are released every year, and as a result, quite a few hidden gems are quickly missed or forgotten, but Jeff hopes to help many of these movies get rediscovered, gaining them a new life. Get your popcorn ready and enjoy the show with this one!
Justin Hammer
Contributing Music Writer & Photographer
Justin has been a part of the NOLA metal music scene for 15 years now as a photographer, and has met some great people and equally talented musicians along the way. Initially, he began shooting live shows through friends of his that were in bands, since he was never able to get the hang of playing music himself. Knowing that he wanted to contribute to the scene he loved so much led to him discovering he had a natural talent for photography. That snowballed into a new love for music and capturing the energy of live shows. Justin's main focus has always been helping to expose exceptional talent in the local scene and giving back to the bands via quality images they can use to promote themselves. After recently relocating to Lafayette, Louisiana, Justin wants to continue to foster the talent in this state and beyond via his stunning images, and we are beyond excited to have him on our team so that he can continue to do so.
ryne HANCOCK
Contributing Writer
Coming SOON!
margo leblanc
Contributing Writer
Margaret Taissa LeBlanc is a woman of many talents, some may say. Born & bred in South Louisiana, Margaret was always taught that she must earn things that she would like to have by working as hard as she can as much as possible. She owes all her accomplishments to her single mother & grandparents, who are responsible for helping her be the best she can be. Her love for music, photography, movies, and writing is palpable, and she aspires to become a passionate photographer and writer. She also has a gifted eye ( & ear ) for loud music. She adores horror movies, especially ones that feature dark comedy. Her favorites are Jennifer’s Body, The Crow, The Craft, & Carrie (1976), which she can watch over and over again. In music, her favorite genres & bands are Soul/Blues ( Otis Redding, Amy Winehouse, & Janis Joplin ), Alternative ( Alice in Chains, L7, The Smiths ), Indie ( The Black Keys, Cage The Elephant, Dexter and The Moonrocks ). Margaret dreams of one day interviewing more prominent bands & artists such as The Struts, Johnny Marr, & Jerry Cantrell. With her love for her craft and hard work, she is on the path to a successful future in the media industry.
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shaun corley
Contributing Entertainment Writer
We have some entertainment writing royalty here, ladies, gents, and non-binaries! We call this pop culture enthusiast and comic book nerd Shaun Corley. He comes to us from the East Coast and is a big, important Screen Rant writer with thousands of articles to his credit. He also has many leather-bound books and his apartment smells of rich mahogany. A first-generation college graduate, Shaun holds so many literary degrees, we’ve lost count, but he is adorned in accolades, and we love him. Some of his favorite writers are Haruki Murakami, Jonathan Lethem, NK Jemisin, and Stephen Graham Jones, and his favorite directors are David Cronenberg, David Lynch, Richard Linklater, and the Coen Bros. He’s also a fan of sweet tea and he loves chocolate. We don’t feed him after midnight, though. Ever.