Hear Nebraska Interns | Best of Fall 2014

This is a little insider-esque, granted. But I’m fine sharing it.

We made a conscious decision to travel light with the intern crop of Fall 2014. One of the observations I make most often about Hear Nebraska is there aren’t many traditions. Especially not for their own sake. Editorially, we try and make the decisions that result in the best work at that given moment.

So when we brought on only two interns for the fall — Andrew Stellmon and Will Stott — it was an experiment in focus and minimalism. And the results these two produced were terrific, two of the hardest working interns Hear Nebraska’s ever had.

For me, there wasn’t a lot of question as to whether Andrew Stellmon would fit well in the role. He’d already produced some of the most ambitious content ever undertaken on the site — this two-part oral history of Box Awesome — and done it for no other reason (apparently) than wanting to contribute to the music scene. It’s strange to say that was only the beginning of the work ethic he showed, but I can’t recall an HN intern who simultaneously worked a 40+ hour-a-week job. There may not be a better example of his drive than the fact that yesterday, in the waning moments of his internship, Stellmon produced two large and engaging feature stories. On the same day. His “greatest hits” are below, but you have to check out these stories on Black Heart Booking and Ritual Device.

As for Will, we often say at Hear Nebraska that the best interns are eager to learn by doing. Will was in the perfect situation as a UNL journalism student to undertake a position with us. From the onset, he explicated a strong desire to produce journalistic and narrative-oriented multimedia and to improve quickly. It was obvious straight away that would happen, just by keeping a camera in his hand and his creative instincts engaged. Will’s skills as a photographer markedly improved this semester, and watching him hustle around stages (and to different venues at Lincoln Calling) looked almost athletically motivated at times.

Put more frankly, they both gave a damn about the work. Often — it appeared — more than themselves. Here’s my favorite content they produced this semester:

We traveled light this semester, but safe to say @willstottphotography and @stellmoney were two of the hardest working interns we’ve had. Cheers, gents.

A photo posted by Hear Nebraska (@hearnebraska) on Dec 12, 2014 at 5:21pm PST

Andrew Stellmon

“Perhaps Freeman may never rid himself fully of Gene Ween. Maybe all he can do is try to eliminate the erratic, self-destructive behavior of his alter-ego while remaining the creative, experimental songwriter that was Aaron Freeman all along.”

-From an interview with Aaron Freeman, aka Gene Ween

“The folk and roots genres, more than many others, demand balance. The degree to which the individual members of a band are exposed makes it so.”

-From Lincoln Calling 2014 coverage

“Most importantly, the studio was the vessel which guided him and his brother David back together. In 2014, David, still fronting Remedy Drive, traveled to Lincoln to record ‘Commodity,’ a record informed by his time rescuing sex slaves as a part of nonprofit organization Exodus Road. It’s about hardship and hopelessness, freedom and redemption.”

-From a story on sound engineer Phil Zach

“With your eyes clamped shut, you may have forgotten that this is all in your mind. You are not in a haunted house, an abandoned cabin or a deserted forest. You are sitting in your living room, in the dark, with your headphones on. You are listening to the latest ROAM audiozine, Are You Afraid of the Roam. In all likelihood, you are terrified.”

-From a story on ROAM, an experimental audiozine

Podcast Appearances: