Team

Kevin Arnold is a terminal music fan and music technology geek. In 1993 he created the seminal indie rock music festival Noise Pop in his adopted hometown of San Francisco, and for the past 14 years has watched it grow from a one night shindig to an internationally renowned sprawling week-long celebration of quality music, film, and independent culture. Somewhere in there he got a computer day job, worked his way through a stint at database technology leader Oracle, and eventually ended up at the online music company Listen.com. There he was able to combine his loves for music and technology by guiding the growth and development of Listen's complex music metadata database systems. While the prospect of creating compelling legal music services that catered to individual tastes in new ways was exciting, the realization that they would be focused overwhelmingly on major label music wasn't. In 2003, Kevin founded the Independent Online Distribution Alliance (or IODA), the industry-leading digital distribution company for the global independent music community. In 2004 Kevin was invited to join the Advisory Board of the Future of Music Coalition, a forward-thinking not-for-profit organization dedicated to educating the media, policymakers, and the public on issues at the intersection of music and technology. With IODA and Noise Pop Industries, Kevin brings his dedication to music and the independent community together with a unique understanding of the digital music world.

Jordan Kurland is the founder/owner of Zeitgeist Artist Management, LTD. Formed in 1999, with offices in San Francisco and Manhattan; Zeitgeist focuses on cultivating long-term careers for independently minded artists. The company’s roster includes Death Cab for Cutie, the Postal Service, Bob Mould, Feist, Matt Nathanson, Rogue Wave, Smoosh, Street To Nowhere, and producer Jimmy Tamborello and his electronic projects DNTEL and James Figurine. Jordan sits on the board of the Stern Grove Festival and the Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA). In 2004 he helped to curate and produce the “Future Soundtrack for America” CD and “Future Dictionary of America” which featured artists such as REM, Jimmy Eat World and Tom Waits as well as writers Paul Auster, Kurt Vonnegut, Dave Eggers, and Michael Chabon, raising over one million dollars for progressive causes around the 2004 Election. Prior to forming Zeitgeist, Jordan spent four years at David Lefkowitz/Figurehead Management where he worked with Primus, Charlie Hunter, Galactic, and the Melvins. Past artists that Jordan has represented include the Estate of Elliot Smith, Creeper Lagoon, Beulah and the founder of the seminal LA band X, John Doe.

Christopher Appelgren has been a part of the music business since 1989 when as a teenager he began working at a fledgling Lookout Records, the Northern California record company responsible for albums by Operation Ivy, Green Day and The Donnas which he owns with two partners. Chris was president of the label from 1997 to 2005 where his official duties included A+R, contract negotiation, business development, overseeing album marketing and promotional efforts. As Lookout's art director Chris has created memorable and well-known artwork, imagery and packaging for countless bands including Green Day, The Donnas, The Queers, Screeching Weasel, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists and more. He was responsible for original art and design and for albums, posters, print and banner advertisements and music video art direction. As a member of the bands The Pattern and The Peechees, Chris has released numerous independent albums and toured extensively in America and Europe. He brings valuable insight, industry experience and passion to his role with Noise Pop Industries.

Stacy Horne is a recent transplant from New York City with over 11 years experience in the concert and event production business. Stacy started out planning record release parties for ska legends The Mighty Mighty Bosstones which led to working out of infamous PR company, Nasty Little Man. An opportune meeting with the Beastie Boys resulted in working as one of the producers of what would become four of the largest fundraising concerts in history, the Tibetan Freedom Concerts. From there, Stacy went to work with legendary jazz promoter George Wein at Festival Productions on such esteemed events as JVC Jazz Festival and Newport. With this solid event production in her pocket, Stacy returned to the world of alternative music, joining the CMJ Music Marathon as associate producer for their established conference. In addition Stacy has produced large-scale sponsored events for clients such as Nintendo and MTV. At the other end of the spectrum, Stacy has produced large arts festivals such as the HOWL! Festival of East Village Arts, garnering international publicity and attracting a crowd of 100.000. Other notable productions include the Field Day Festival which took place in 2003 at Giants Stadium with headliners Radiohead; and the Hudson River Rocks Concert Series - a showcase for some of the best up and coming rock acts including the White Stripes and the Headhunters.

Bill Rousseau , a lifelong Bay Area boy, comes to Noise Pop as a web, print and design handyman. In the late '90s, Bill worked in staffing, recruiting designers, copywriters, art directors and other creative folk for advertising agencies and studios. By the early '00s he was working as a content manager for a video-on-demand company, where he honed in his design and web production skills. Eventually, he flew the corporate coop and began freelancing as a web and print designer as well as a project manager. In those 2+ years, Bill created IDs, launched several eCommerce sites, and designed a bounty of print collateral for clients including Lookout Records, Ted Leo, Death Cab For Cutie, Tokensoft, Capella University, Music For America, One Inch Round, and SustainLane. An accomplished musician, Bill's band The Monolith are proud Noise Pop alumni and his other musical escapades include recording and touring with John Vanderslice, Linda Perry, and a one-off with Persephone's Bees.

David Katznelson is a twenty+ year veteran of the music industry. He started as a lad, in San Francisco working for Bill Graham Presents, CD Presents, KUSF and KALX. After college, he worked as an A&R representative for Warner Bros., where he stayed for ten years, half the time as a Vice-President of the department. During his tenure, he signed: The Flaming Lips, Mudhoney, Nick Cave, Shane MacGowan, The Boredoms, Gina G, Tarnation, The Texas Tornados, and Spectrum. Since walking away from corporate life in 2000, Katznelson has run The Birdman Recording Group, which consists of a record label (artists: The Warlocks, The Modey Lemon, The Electric Prunes, The Gris Gris, Otha Turner, The Howlin Rain, Tarnation, the Nice boys, others), and a publishing company. Katznelson also created a consulting company two years ago and has already worked on several successful campaigns. Katznelson is also the founder of The San Francisco Appreciation Society, Programing Committee member of The Stern Grove Concert Series, and former governor of the SF NARAS chapter.