Young Guarde Profile: Chris Connelly '04

May 12, 2008

Chris Connelly '04 might soon be one of those guys whose name will just roll off your tongue. "Yeah, I knew him before he was famous," you'll say in a few years. But for now, he's working for a ticketing agency in D.C. and mixes with names like Bruce Springsteen and Sting and Gwen Stefani. We were able to ask him a few questions about what he does for Live Nation, and about his band Soft Complex.

Tell us a little about what you do for Live Nation.
Live Nation (LN) is an entertainment company -- they're responsible for the most concerts, music venues, and music festivals in the world. They have satellite offices all over the world -- our office produces and markets live music and comedy events for the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore areas.

I started with the company in 2007 as a marketing manager. I had spent six months working for a small music venue in Vienna, Va., after spending just over two years as a research analyst with the National Center for State Courts focusing on jury administration. In the marketing department, our job is to sell tickets -- which is done in any number of ways. I manage budgets, place advertisements, arrange and execute promotions, oversee a design team, assist with publicity and interview requests, handle marketing and promotional inquiries on site at shows, among other things.

Any funny experiences that we ought to know about?
The best parts of this job are the experiences. I'm sure a lot of people in this industry like to play it off as though it doesn't phase them, but I still haven't gotten over how cool it is to wander around backstage, steps away from people like Bruce Springsteen or Sting or Gwen Stefani. I've had a conversation with Jimmy Fallon interrupted by Martin Short; I've picked up members of Earl Greyhound from the Tyson's Corner Circuit City to get them to a gig after their van broke down. It is an intense job with a lot of hours and high expectations, but even on the most stressful of days, I can step back and say, "Keep it in perspective -- you're getting to do things you NEVER would have thought you'd get to do." And it reminds me how lucky I am to have fallen into this job.

Has your time with Live Nation helped prepare you for the world of entertainment?
I was a history and government major that never took a marketing or business class in his life -- so Live Nation has taught me a world of skills that I never otherwise would have had. It has given me an invaluable glimpse into how this crazy world of live music and big time entertainment works. The sheer scale of it is incredible. But I never planned to be doing this -- so it is difficult to say that it is preparing me for the world of entertainment, as entering that world was never my goal. For now, I take it a day at a time and keep my mind open to whatever possibilities may float my way. It is what got me here and hopefully what will keep life interesting going forward.

Tell us about Soft Complex.
Soft Complex was originally founded in Richmond in 2002 by our singer, Shane German, who ultimately reformed the band upon moving to Washington, D.C. The current lineup, which also includes Mike Harbin and Rich Dejong, has been playing together since February 2005, when I joined the band. We do limited touring on the East Coast, playing the majority of our shows in Washington DC but also stopping through New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia on occasion. We released our debut EP -- Barcelona -- in October 2006. We're currently in the studio working on a full length album.

We're a bit different from many bands, I suppose, because we don't have any real aspirations of "making it." We're all professionally minded musicians that want to make music at the top level. We pursue it diligently and have been afforded some great opportunities as a result -- but our unifying goal remains to make music that we enjoy. Anything else that comes as a result of that is just gravy.

You're the guitarist and keyboardist, but what else do you do for the band?
It is a little different depending on the setting. Performing live, I play guitar. We perform with a sequencer which I'm responsible for as well. In the studio, I play guitar, keyboards and, on occasion, saxophone. We all work as a team -- but I've been responsible for a fair amount of our booking, publicity, promotions and Web presence.

The Washington Post reviewed Soft Complex's latest album, and said that your sound appeals to "both dance and rock fans" and one of the tracks evokes a "chilled-out hip-hop" feel. Are you experimenting, like many bands do in their early stages?
Soft Complex is made up of four people from incredibly different backgrounds. As a result, we all come from different places, musically and personally, which contributes to the variety in our sound. We love all kinds of music -- dance music, hip hop, rock, jazz, funk, soul, dub, folk -- and we're not afraid to try and inject elements of it into what we're doing. I think any successful band always continues to experiment -- that's the fun of it. Trying to push yourself to do something new and different is what makes it fulfilling.

I think that being a musician is a constant process of evolution -- everything you hear and experience as a musician colors your own expression in some way. Bands work similarly, and Soft Complex continues to grow as we've become more aware of how we work together. The minute we stop evolving is likely the minute it is time to quit.

How did your W&M experience affect your professional life?
William and Mary provided me with an outstanding foundation. From my many outstanding professors, to working with the Student Assembly, from my experiences helping to establish the Delta Chi fraternity chapter on campus, from my time on the rowing team, from long nights spent in Morton or Blair, from playing Homebrew or with my college band Starla -- I learned how to stand on my own and how to stand for something. But the single biggest thing that I can point to that enabled my current career and lifestyle was the DoG Street Journal giving me the chance to write music reviews for them. That outlet -- the ability to go to concerts or listen to records and share what I loved about them -- eventually opened up this entire world to me. It showed me career paths in the music industry, and also is a large part of how I fell in love with live music to the extent that I did.

What sort of things do you like to do when you have some free time?
I still love to go to concerts, even though it is my job. Nowadays, I try and explore new music as much as possible. I spend time with my friends -- I'm lucky to live with two other William and Mary 2004 alums. I've also retained a bit of my government department schooling -- I'm a political junkie. The 2008 presidential election has my complete attention. I just hope we don't screw it up.