Category: Current and Notable Campaigns

Levi Kreis is one of the most honest communicators you will find. He executes his craft with profound vulnerability, a soulfulness that leaves you feeling as though you’ve experienced something deeply personal. In every area of his expertise, Kreis has been awarded for his commitment to the highest quality of entertainment. However, what people value most about Levi is how he makes them feel. To Kreis, art is a real-life conversation that is healing as much as it is entertaining.

In theater circles, Kreis is known for originating the role of Jerry Lee Lewis in Broadway’s Tony-nominated musical Million Dollar Quartet. The role won Levi the 2010 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, a 2010 Outer Critics Circle Award, and a 2010 Drama League nomination. Kreis began workshopping the piece in 2004, also arranging music for the show. His performance demonstrates that even the nuttiest of comedic characters have a human longing, a vulnerability that endears us to their struggle, a truth that offers us hope. Kreis recalls, “I’ve always been a meaning maker. I see art as an opportunity to convey something deeper, something spiritual. When you touch an audience at this level, they remember it forever.”

Other notable stage credits include the Tony-nominated revival of Violet starring Sutton Foster, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, and the national tour of Rent. Kreis’ interest in new works has drawn him to a few theatrical developments such as One Red Flower with Emmy Award-Winning director Paris Barclay and Mozart L’Opéra Rock with Tony-nominated director Lonny Price. These works have appeared at The Kennedy Center, The Village Theater, The Goodman Theater, and the North Shore Music Theater.

In film, Levi is best known for his role as Fenton, Adam’s brother (Matthew McConaughey) in Bill Paxton’s directorial debut Frailty (2001). Levi began his acting career with film and has recently returned to screen with roles in The Divide (2016), The Storyteller (in pre-production) and A Very Sordid Wedding (in pre-production)

Surprisingly, acting was never Levi’s primary pursuit. Kreis is a singer-songwriter whose piano-pop recordings have been featured in key moments on network television shows including The Vampire Diaries, Sons of Anarchy, So You Think You Can Dance, Mob Wives, The Apprentice, Days Of Our Lives, The Young And The Restless, and several films. With four albums to date and a 2009 OutMusic Award for “Stained Glass Window”, the theme song for the Del Shores film Southern Baptist Sissies, Kreis has built a humble but loyal following that continues to expand the reach of his own label imprint Vision 9 Records. Levi is currently writing his 5th album and developing a stage show to accompany the new release.

In the beginning, a 6 year old Levi came home from kindergarten graduation after hearing Pomp & Circumstance and started playing it by ear on the piano with both hands. Soon Kreis was writing his own original classical compositions. His mother held a phone over the piano as Levi played for a professor at Vanderbilt’s Blair School Of Music. A freshman in high school, Levi was given a full scholarship to study piano and composition at Vanderbilt University under a special pre-college program. Upon graduating high school, his credits were transferred to Belmont University where he studied music business. Kreis recorded his first album at 12 years old and began a life of touring. As a young songwriter, Levi had his first Top 10 hit with “Timeless” recorded by the Christian group Selah. Kreis confesses that, to him, songwriting is therapy. Consequently, his lyrics give remarkable insight to the complexities of life and reveal profound emotional intelligence, a distinguishing quality you can expect from all of Levi’s work.

Originally from Ashland, Oregon, Hollens began singing after his mother forced him to join the choir at the age of 14. Little did he know that his participation in that class would cultivate his love for music and change his life forever. He went on to attend the University of Oregon where he co-founded the first collegiate a cappella group in Oregon, On The Rocks. Hollens graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal performance, where he was classically trained as an opera singer. Upon his college graduation, Hollens traveled the world singing on cruise ships alongside his wife, Evynne. After their adventure abroad, he became increasingly involved with collegiate a cappella; including recording, producing, and judging a cappella competitions throughout the United States. While he continued to pursue music as a career, he largely remained behind the scenes.

During Peter’s adult life, it wasn’t until the unfortunate passing of his biggest fan, his father, that he was given some lasting encouragement. While fighting brain cancer in his ending stages of life, Peter’s father urged him to keep doing what he loved by sharing his music with the world. That was a turning point for Peter, who then began diligently pursuing his career in music in honor of his father. In 2010, he participated in NBC’s hit show, The Sing-Off, receiving acclaim from judges Shawn Stockman, Nicole Scherzinger and Ben Folds for solo performances. In 2011, he started his own YouTube channel, posting multi-tracked a cappella covers and music videos. He frequently collaborates on content with some of the internet’s biggest influencers. Hollens records and produces music from his studio in Eugene, Oregon, and has recorded for Sony and Epic Records as well.

After signing a record deal with Sony Records, he quickly learned that being on a label wasn’t the best route for him and bought himself out of their contract. Today, he continues creating entertaining content as an independent artist and is entirely self-managed. One Voice Productions was born out of Peter’s independence and freedom that he found after leaving Sony. To support his musical endeavors, he joined up with the newly founded crowdfunding site, Patreon, which he now advises. This platform truly is what allows Peter to create his art for a living while supporting his family. Peter is married to Evynne Hollens, founder of the premiere female a cappella group at the University of Oregon, Divisi. This group inspired the book, (and later blockbuster films) Pitch Perfect. Evynne has her own YouTube channel, posting music videos and occasionally collaborating with her husband. They currently have a son, Ashland James Hollens.

Identity, and the search for it, has long been a theme for alt artist talker. The name “talker” (intentionally spelled lowercase) stems from Celeste Tauchar’s given last name – notorious in her family for being misspelled and mispronounced. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, she grew up in Sacramento, California with a German Catholic mother and Jewish Agnostic father. Early musical influences ranged from Nirvana to Alanis Morissette to Led Zeppelin, whom her parents would play in the car and during family jam nights when she was young. Throughout these formative years, she grappled with mental health and feeling comfortable displaying her true artistic self. Over years of exploration, she went through different phases and musical styles – something she further experimented with while attending the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami.

After graduating, talker moved to Los Angeles where she immersed herself in the songwriting scene. Through a co-writing session, she met James Sunderland and Dan Sadin of Frenship, an electro-pop group formed and led by James Sunderland and Brett Hite, and was offered the opportunity to play keys and sing background vocals for the band. During her ongoing work with Frenship, she has performed on several tours and played to sold-out crowds at Lollapalooza, Life is Beautiful, Bonnaroo, The El Rey Theatre (LA), The Bowery Ballroom (NYC), and the famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado.

Playing with Frenship had her questioning her own role as a musician, singer, and songwriter, eventually leading to talker’s current project – something she terms “grunge-pop.” A hybrid of her musical influences, “grunge-pop” is heavily influenced by bands such as Nirvana and Soundgarden but with a more pop oriented sound, borrowing from such artists as Banks and Vérité. For her latest solo project, she collaborated with Dan Sadin (guitarist, Frenship), April Bender (Glassnote), and Phil Simmonds (Jessie J, Eryn Allen Kane). The first track talker released was “Collateral Damage,” a commentary on an emotionally abusive pseudo-relationship that she describes as autobiographical. It made its way to #5 on the HypeMachine charts, and saw coverage from a number of highly respected music publications including Grimy Goods and We Found New Music. talker’s second single is “Changes”, a personal song dealing with anxiety and trying (and sometimes failing) to take control of one’s life and situation. As a solo artist, she has played to a packed house at Hotel Café and Madame Siam in Los Angeles, The Troubadour, Lodge Room Highland Park, and has been a finalist in Guitar Center’s Songwriter 5 contest.

In a business where brand and persona are as important as the music, talker is authentic in a way that is instantly tangible, identifiable, and relatable.

From the beautiful central coast of California, Black Match consists of singer- songwriter duo of Hannah and Ian. They have been friends since childhood and grew up playing music together.

Ian comes from a rich history of musicians in the family that go as far back as his great grandfather while Hannah uses music as therapy to more clearly process the world around her. Their name and musical style reflect the coastal and woodsy landscape they have grown up in and they have aimed to create music that draws us into contemplation and wonder through honest and raw songwriting.