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Staff

Casey Whitman - Founder/Editor/Writer
caseywhitman@muzikdizcovery.com

I'm Casey, and I started this little website back in 2009. I wanted a way to let people know of those smaller bands that really deserved far more coverage, and I felt MuzikDizcovery was my best way of doing so. After about two years (with a long break in the middle) of doing it on my own, I finally decided it was time to move things to the next level and now we have a little MuzikDizcovery family. Starting the site was one of the greatest decisions I've ever made, and it's allowed me to come in contact with people that I have all the respect in the world for--that in itself makes this whole experience worth it.

My taste is rooted within pop punk and pop rock, but lately I've seen myself diversify to nearly every spectrum of the musical world. My favorite bands include Mansions, Copeland, Jack's Mannequin (and everything else Andrew McMahon touches) and Yellowcard, but at this very moment I'd pay more money than anything to see Kanye West live. I feel that I can relate to nearly everyone through music, and I hope that comes through based on my posts.

Rachel Ford - Editor
rachelford@muzikdizcovery.com

Hi! I’m Rachel and I’d rather spend my life in a cave than acknowledge the existence of the Oxford Comma.

I’m a recent graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. I worked on my university’s newspaper for two years, and I am basically as close to a grammar expert as one can be while still being newly out of school. My ultimate goal (this week) is to be an entertainment journalist and travel the country (or possibly the world).

I began my tenure with MuzikDizcovery in March 2012 when Casey was looking for an editor. I’m the only girl on staff, and I make sure none of the guys ever forget that means I’m in charge.

Although you will never see my name on this site apart from this page, I’ve gotten the honors of interviewing Ben Folds, Andrew McMahon, William Beckett, Aaron Carter, The Hush Sound and Tim McGraw’s former drummer, David Dunkley for my university newspaper. I hope to expand that list in the future, but for now, I’m just going to take it one day at a time.

I’ve been heavily involved in music, both locally and not, since 2006 when I went to my first real show in Cleveland, Ohio. Although I had been to arena shows in the past, that March 2006 night is what changed my life, in a way. Being in West Virginia, I’m required to travel to see most bands I like, but that’s what I call dedication to music, since it never comes to me out of convenience.

I love working for this website and with these guys and I hope you, the reader, enjoy reading what they write as much as I enjoy editing it.

Alex Newton - Writer
alexnewton@muzikdizcovery.com

Hi, I’m a music major at Roger Williams University specializing in classical theory and composition. In 2013 I released my solo debut, Taravana, on which I played all the instruments and sang. Any kind of music is fair game for me as long as it’s creative, thoughtful, and dynamic, but I focus my writing on metal and progressive genres. 

Beyond that, I live and breathe Red Sox baseball, play tennis and golf, and sail in my free time. Plan A was to become a rock star, but since that hasn’t worked out, I hope to eventually run a studio or write film soundtracks.
Ali Welford - Writer
aliwelford@muzikdizcovery.com

Hi, I'm Ali--Alistair if you happen to be my mother--and I live near Newcastle in the North East of England. I don't do long, indulgent intros, so I'll keep this brisk: I like Scotland, no nonsense football and taking a blunt, bullshit-free approach to life. I dislike, well, most other things.

As far as music goes, I listen to, and write about, more or less anything; miserablist folk, minimalist trip-hop, Icelandic afrobeat-jazz fusion... you name it. Having said that, I do operate with a slight emphasis on sounds emanating from north of the border, as well as those of my local scene. That's all. Thanks for reading!

Daniel Rhoads - Writer
danielrhoads@muzikdizcovery.com

Hey, I’m Daniel, and I write about indie rock, be it fuzzy or echoey or math-y or bleep-bloopy whatever crazy thing they’re doing now. I’m a sophomore at Virginia Commonwealth University in beautiful Richmond, VA (#RVAallday), which you should visit.

I’ve always loved music, but it only became a crippling infatuation during my junior year of high school when someone gave me the Replacements’ Let It Be, still one of my favorite albums ever. I am now an official devourer. I run a radio show at WVCW, VCU’s student radio station, called Strange Brew, and I spend way too much money on records, used, new, and reissued.

I joined MuzikDizcovery in January 2013 after I wrote a probably-too-angry review of Foxygen’s We Are the 21st Ambassadors of Peace and Magic. I believe in, you know, the healing power of rock n’ roll and all that, and I always want whatever new album I’m listening to to be the greatest thing ever put to record. I think the listening public should expect nothing less from their esteemed songsmiths!

Jonny Hunter - Writer
jonnyhunter@muzikdizcovery.com

You probably don’t know who I am.

I’m Jonny, I come from Oxford and I’m an alcoho… a writer. I’ve been a fan of music since I was bouncing around to Queen and Lighthouse Family aged four, and just under two decades later the only thing which has changed is the type of music I bounce around to. Pre-teen Jonny got his kicks from emo, post-rock and the like, teenage Jonny discovered electronic and ambient music and the new-and-improved present day me is far more eclectic. A day in the life of my musical habits would probably fit in folk, experimental, techno and classical into one morning session. The result of this infatuation with all things musical is I get through the stuff quickly, and it’s always satisfying to see albums submitted to the MD inbox I have already listened to.

I currently study Philosophy at the University of Bristol, and hope to throw away this once-in-a-lifetime education in order to spend the rest of my days writing, going to gigs (Bristol’s the best place in the world to do it) and fitting in as many Oxford commas into my reviews as possible to wear down our editor.

The big boss here calls me elitist, but I think it’s only because I have better taste than him.

Max Puhala - Writer
emailcomingsoon@muzikdizcovery.com

Greetings, people of the Internet.  My name is Max Puhala and I joined the wonderful world of MuzikDizcovery just back in August of 2013.  As you astute readers can probably imagine, music is a pretty huge part of my life, and that’s not going to change any time soon.  My love for it began at a young age when I would dance with my dad in the living room to tapes of his favorite band, The Grateful Dead, which eventually grew into me composing and performing my own stuff.  Nowadays, I mainly listen and write. I’ve seen a lot of bands, played a lot of shows, and purchased mountains upon mountains of vinyl, but I’ve still only scratched the surface.  My tastes tend to gravitate towards progressive music with melodic tendencies, but I can get into almost anything other than Nirvana.  I hate Nirvana.  Anyways, I’m a college graduate, a huge Breaking Bad fan, and ridiculously overqualified for my day job, so please feel free to offer me better employment, or maybe just your band’s CD.  I will listen to it, and hopefully, one day I can make a real career out of judging your band from my parents’ basement.

Maxwell Harcsar - Writer
maxharcsar@muzikdizcovery.com

(BIOGRAPHY COMING SOON)

Moses Kim - Writer
moseskim@muzikdizcovery.com

Salutations! My name is Moses, and I'm currently a high school student in Seoul. Music has always been a huge part of my life: listening to it healed me and opened my eyes to the world, while performing in various marching bands and school functions helped me learn to connect and communicate with other people. As for writing about it, I started reviewing albums on a whim in 2011 and found it so interesting that I kept at it. I've been lucky enough to write for plenty of sites that promote under-the-radar artists, chief among them MuzikDizcovery. Though I still harbor secret daydreams of becoming a comedian or a famous actor, my real dream is to find a place in the world where I can use writing, art, and compassion to bring out the best in other people. How I’ll do that is yet to be seen, but I’m certainly excited to find out!

As for my taste, I'm down with all sorts of music, but I'm a sucker for anything big and sentimental and a little bit sad. (Brownie points if there's a brass or orchestra section. I love me a blast of trumpet or a stirring string melody.) Make of that what you will: I find a lot of my favorite artists in the realms of post-rock, indie-pop, indie-rock, and folk. And don't be afraid to send me an email if you ever want to share something great, ask for a dirty favor, or just shoot the breeze. Thanks for visiting our site!

Ryan Naglak - Writer
emailcomingsoon@muzikdizcovery.com

Hey! Ryan here. I am 23 and currently in optometry school. I graduated from The University of Scranton with a biophysics degree and currently reside in Philadelphia.

Music has always been a passion of mine and an important part of my life. I have played in multiple bands over the years ranging from ska to garage to indie, and I continue to write and record solo music. I enjoy almost all genres of music, while having soft spots for 90’s emo and 80’s punk. My addiction to collecting vinyl is a bit on the extreme side, but no drug can compare to the adrenaline of finding something rare.

I may be one of the newest writers to the site, and writing about music may be the only good writing I am capable of doing, but I’m very excited to contribute and add as much as I can.