This interview is part of a series of conversations around building and sustaining Creative Community Research Partnerships in Athens, Georgia (USA). It was funded by the Teaming for Interdisciplinary Research pre-seed program from the Office of Research of the University of Georgia (UGA). This interview took place on December 4, 2023, on the UGA Athens campus.
The interviewee is Annie Leeth. The interviewers are Anna Abraham (E. Paul Torrance Professor; Director of the Torrance Center and the Creativity & Imagination Lab) and Eliana Gelman (Undergraduate Research Assistant at the Creativity & Imagination Lab). The interview transcript and recording were prepared for the Creating Creative Communities Substack by Hailey Covarrubias (Undergraduate Program Assistant at the Torrance Center).
Annie Leeth is a producer based in Athens, GA. She is the studio manager at Chase Park Transduction and tours in Faye Webster's live band. Her solo work is self-produced and has helped her to experiment with new sounds and methods, both live and in the studio.
Listen to the Full Interview Below:
Anna Abraham:
Well, thank you, Annie, for being here to do this. What I know will be a wonderful interview with me and Eliana as part of the Creative Community Research Partnerships TIR Project here at UGA. You're the third person we’re speaking to. And you came highly recommended, and we want to know why. So, if you could tell us...just introduce yourself, who you are, what you do, how you occupy yourself?
Annie Leeth:
My name is Annie Leeth, and I am a recording artist and producer. And I am based here in Athens, and I travel as a performer as well. I just kind of go in between the studio and live performance world.
Anna Abraham:
So, how long have you been in Athens? Or associated with Athens?
Annie Leeth:
I came here for UGA in 2015 and just...I lived in Atlanta for two years. It's kind of unfortunate timing because it was like during just the main years of covid. And then I moved back about a year and a half ago.
Anna Abraham:
Okay. So, can you tell us a little bit about your music?
Annie Leeth:
So, my solo work started as a lot of looping violins, and it started to turn into more of a bedroom pop type of thing. I have this sample pad that I use for my live stuff and it's kind of starting to slowly turn into the deejay world a little bit. I kind of try to incorporate live instruments as much as possible.
Anna Abraham:
So can you tell us about, well, you said you keep moving and trying new things. So, that’s...tell us a little bit about where your creativity takes you? On how it flows, and, you know, how do you know where to go next and so on. Just a little bit about your process.
Annie Leeth:
Actually, my clients, the artists that I work with...they help me a lot because, it's this funny thing where I used to think that I wanted one job. And then when I got into a world where I had one job, I hated it. And so now it's kind of been this thing where I have clients that I get to try these new production methods and stuff on, and then it kind of transfers into my solo stuff. You know, people trust me, and they have a different sound and then it just kind of evolves into this like, you know, this nice relationship where it kind of starts to help to inspire me with my solo stuff as well.
Anna Abraham:
Can you give us an example, if it's possible?
Annie Leeth:
So, I moved back here so that I could have a home studio set up. And so, whenever there aren't drums, or anything really needing an amp, I'll bring an artist in to record at home. And that just kind of has all of my stuff there. And so, it's always set up and it's the stuff that I know how to use the most and I've...for instance, when I first started getting used to making builds between sections of songs that I always felt like things needed more or like they didn't sound quite like the music that I listened to and enjoyed listening to. Like, my clients want these things and so they ask for them and they push me to do that, and then I know how to do it. And then I can kind of transfer it into just making my music sound better, I guess.
Anna Abraham:
That’s super cool. So how would you say your endeavors have changed through life? You've gone through different shifts, so where are you as a creative person of today? How did it differ from where you were five years ago and ten years ago?
Annie Leeth:
I mean, well I used to think I was going to be a symphony violinist. So, I came into UGA as a music major and I was in the performance and music composition world here. And I kind of had the mindset that I was going to go into maybe film scoring and just kind of stay in the classical realm. And then I was also at the music business program here and started to...my first internship was at Chase Park, where I work now.
”I realized that I could have a job that's in a non-classical world. I could still bring these elements than people who didn't come from that school life, just kind of make a different production than other people might be able to.”
Anna Abraham:
I don't want to interrupt, Eliana, because you want to just keep going. It's interesting because I...do you think there's a lot of crossovers from, like, the music school at UGA? To sort of the local scene? Because, I mean, we're trying to get a sense of, how does creativity happen? And in Athens and the communities, are they interacting? Are they separate? Why? How?
Annie Leeth:
I think the music business program has a lot of crossovers. Like, I think that Barbe is really good at encouraging students to go out into the world and kind of experience what it's like to be around people that actually do music for a living, you know? I think that the music school is getting better at it. There's definitely, at least when I was getting ready to graduate, they were starting to do more stuff at Hendershots and kind of encourage being in venues. Honestly, like, the workload for a music major is so insane. Like, I remember hearing about like percussion majors having to practice like 6 hours a day. And so realistically, I kind of wonder if you have kind of this different path in mind for like you're going to go to grad school and then you're going to go to a Ph.D. and they're all going to be in different cities, it might be kind of hard to, you know, branch out into the city that you might potentially leave in two years, you know? So, I don't think that it's necessarily like the fault of anyone that the music school doesn't get out as much. It's kind of just the workload and the way that music schools in general kind of are. You know, unfortunately, because there's some of the best musicians I've met were at that school.
Anna Abraham:
I've read something recently. I can't remember the name of the authors, but I was looking at it in preparation for an event around music we had last month, and they were talking about undergraduate curriculum in music across the world and different thoughts and they were talking about how it was all of the problems with it. And one of the things that they pointed out was just the absolute lack of focus on anything that's really creative. So that undergraduates are not pushed to compose and not pushed to improvise. Did you experience those things? And I was kind of shocked by that. I just assumed that this is what music majors everywhere were doing.
Annie Leeth:
It's funny. I mean, I guess it kind of depends on the program and I don't really honestly know how much I can speak to the program now because it's been like five years, which is so crazy to say that. When I was there in the music composition program, they definitely encouraged a lot more improvisation. And it was funny because everyone seemed very uncomfortable with it, like to not have sheet music in front of them and stuff. That's something that I remember seeing from high school too, like we would have in youth orchestra, these group meetups with like the School of Rock, which was the thing that was happening in Richmond on more the band side of things. And, and these crazy good classical musicians would be without sheet music and, and it's just kind of, I think it's a different brain that you have to exercise and comes with its own practice. And I think it's something that if you're not looking to do that like it just kind is an exercise and turns into this like uncomfortable situation. I mean, I know that, like, the jazz program has gotten bigger at UGA. It was growing when I left, and I'm sure it's kept growing. And I'm sure that that's probably helped. And it seems like it's a very slow process, you know.
Eliana Gelman:
Well, I think also music majors at UGA...the first, at least two years, is just those requisites where you don't have any room for anything else.
Annie Leeth:
Oh, yes.
Eliana Gelman:
So even if you are getting to those stages of your, you know, creative pursuits that are more in tune with what you might personally be interested in, it's not until pretty late into your college career, at least from the music people I know. And I feel like it's hard to have like the grit to put up with it for the initial part.
Annie Leeth:
Yes. I mean, they literally have a weeding out process where their first two years you have like eight or nine A.M.s for five days a week. Just because they're like, okay, how much do you want to do this. I mean, the biggest struggle that I had was when I wanted to go into music business and the...because they're parts of different schools. The main class, I don't know if this is still the way that it is, but the main class that you have to take in MBUS is at the same time as the UGA Symphony Orchestra rehearsals. Seem to get knocked down in orchestra to the philharmonic, in order to take this class and your private teacher will hate it. They're like, you know, go for like, we know that's what you want to do. Like most of the professors do not want you to not be in symphony orchestra the whole time, you know, which is understandable. It kind of makes it interesting because you would want these people to have a background in music business in order to be in the music industry, but it just doesn't seem to overlap very well.
Anna Abraham:
I think I was speaking to someone in the business about it...that just absolute lack of focus that all music programs should do this, which is to teach kids kind of how to market themselves. And I was wondering if that...and John Snyder’s Tweed recording. In here. So, we've had a couple of conversations about this, and his idea was that...his sense was that when you talk about things like intellectual property and among, with artists, musicians, it... they’re repelled by this idea. There's something about this...using corporateish terms to refer to their work. And I'm wondering, do you think we need better terms? Because actually what was being proposed is things that will help you sort of keep going with your passion and become self-reliant and become someone who's really good at sort of, you know, putting yourself out there and protecting your music and, you know, doing the right sort of things, but at the same time, people shy away from it because of these words.
Annie Leeth:
I mean, I think that they're right too. Because, I mean, I remember hearing a few days ago actually because the, the SAG-AFTRA strike when it was ending... I saw, I forget who was, someone was telling me that that one of the reasons why these people were striking was because they didn't want their industry to end up like the music industry. And so, there's this level of like darkness to what the music industry has become. And I think that, you know, the classical music world kind of has its own version of that, too. There is a way to stray away from it if you go in that route and you don't have to even worry about any of the like Spotify stuff and not even dealing with intellectual property because all of these pieces are like from people that are from 200 years ago for the most part.
Anna Abraham:
That's right.
Annie Leeth:
So, I mean, it's scary and I can totally see why it would be something that you don't want to be a part of. It also comes with a lot of like great opportunities and I wouldn't be as happy as I am without it, you know?
Anna Abraham:
So, I want to ask you a little bit about your music business thing. What made you go from that? It seems an unusual thing to do, right, for most people. So, what...how did you hear about it? How do you...
Annie Leeth:
So, actually, I have to give like a little bit of a shout out to my mom for this one because I was coming from out of state. And, you know, there's state schools in Virginia, like, why would you go to a just different state school and my mom was the one that found the music business program and she was like this thing is growing here. And so, we kind of had this deal where it was like, if I went to UGA, I would need to at least look into this. Take some classes and I loved it, you know, and like, like David Barbe is my boss now. It’s very...like it's such a great like set up and then such a great set of professors there. So, I mean, she pushed me to do that, and it worked out really well.
Anna Abraham:
I can only see it as being an advantage in it and at least know everything about like, you know, to know the pitfalls and know the dangers and know the like...in order to be in the best position that you can be, you know. So would you say the music scene here...the well, community here...I mean I get a sense of the glow...when people speak about the music scene, they talk about the glory days of, you know, associated with the alternative music scene and so on. How would you characterize it now in Athens?
Annie Leeth:
It's definitely changed. I mean, especially talking from, you know, talking to people that have been here for a long time. I think that I came in late enough where I can see a little bit of change, but like how it is pretty much how it's been. I mean, the biggest loss I think, was Go bar for me. Like that was the place that had the most, like what you were saying, chaotic energy of like old Athens, you know.
Anna Abraham:
Can you describe it a bit?
Annie Leeth:
That place is funny. It was like there would just be these shows that had maybe like three people in the audience and it would just be this ambient...like sometimes, with a projection, like piece from a person that you've never heard of before. Then every once in a while, it would be something that like that had a huge following. And like, who is this person? I mean, like I do wish that I could have seen the secret squirrel era of Athens, because I can tell it was kind of like that. I don't know. I think that people have gotten more organized in a lot of ways. Like it seems like a lot of the music scene has learned from the way that Atlanta does business. And it's cool. I think that it's good because these people are getting a...they're getting signed to labels and it seems like it's allowing Athens to have more of like a visibility again. I haven't seen some chaos in a minute and maybe I'm not looking because I mean, there's you know, there's shows that flicker. That they have like ambient nights and stuff that are really great. Having like one venue where just this random stuff is happening every night...I haven't seen in a while.
Anna Abraham:
When did it close? Go bar? I've only heard stories about it.
Annie Leeth:
It was pre-covid actually. It was like a month before covid. I think it was, I want to say 2019, like December 2019.
Anna Abraham:
Goodness, I've heard stories. So, I was like, well, where was this place? Where was this place? And so on? It's kind of seemed very theatrical to me as well.
Annie Leeth:
Yes. I mean, so, the most random I can think of was a friend of mine was doing a VR night there one time and he hired another friend to whoop saxophone and just whatever wind instruments they had, like just in the background. While this VR night was happening. And then it ended up just the guy that put it together was the only person that showed up beside the three of us, or just this guy, like in Go bar, like with this VR mask on. It's like the saxophone is going. In the background for 3 hours.
Eliana Gelman:
He stayed in for 3 hours?
Annie Leeth:
He was living. Having a great night.
Anna Abraham:
That's great. This VR struck me in the…reminded me of AI stuff. Now that's all the all over the place. What does it mean for the music business, do you think? Are there other big...I mean, everything's changing about it. And I mean, music has been, at least contemporary music, and things, but as I've understood it in terms of algorithms and how they've been used and how people are listening to things. And what's getting pushed out is so engineered. Anyway, it's so top down rather than, you know, so and so we're entering this new phase now where it's going to be that on steroids. So, what do you think it would do to the music scene, if you had to guess?
Annie Leeth:
I think that it's not at a level now where it's scary to me, but like as it keeps getting better, I'm like, this is off-putting, like I heard the other day about like an unreleased Beatles song. That they just made it. And it just apparently sounded like a Beatles song. Then it's like in the back of your head, you're like they didn't want this released for a reason. And now it's out and it sounds like them, I guess. Not with the same decisions that they might have made. I don't know. It's...I think it becomes more of an issue for people that are at that legendary status. And it's like, what happens after you die? Do you still have your likeness? Does your likeness go with you? Are you going to become a hologram? You know, so that's where it starts to become weird for me. I'm not sure if on the production side of things, I've been convinced that it's an issue, because whenever I tried to make a song, just like out of curiosity, through any AI thing, there's like something off. Like there's not the artistry of, like the words are...you can tell it's a robot, a little bit. I mean, that might get better. And then, I don't know, I would never do that.
Anna Abraham:
I'm paranoid about this thing, especially as it affects human creativity. You know, because, I mean, I think Nick Cave has this...do you know this...red hat...red hand files. He has this news...like anyone can pose a question to him. And I suppose he can't answer all of them, but he answers some of them. And so, somebody sent him...something that an AI created and like create a song in the style of Nick Cave and sent it to him. And say, what do you think of this? And he recently wrote a letter to the...that was aired on Letters Live. It's this UK...was kind of a wonderful event where letters are read out by actors and so on, like just fantastic letters that artist sent each other. And said, essentially eminent creative people, different fields. And there was a fantastic one by Nick Cave to his fan who was writing, saying, you know, what about AI. And then it was just the need to stay away.
From it. I can't possibly capture what he said, but it's something that I emphasize in my classes and so on. Where I’m like, well when you...in human evolution we've seen every time we’ve taken a technology, whatever it is, it just erodes some part of you that's no longer necessary. So, our memories are not the way it used to be and so on. So, for someone who's very creative, this thought to keep using these things to generate. It kind of like weakens that muscle, if you want. And, and so I'm just wondering if more and more artists become...start to use it just to generate. It also affects your capacity to after a point evaluate.
Annie Leeth:
Sure. It’s already done.
Anna Abraham:
And then, so, I was just wondering if artists are having those conversations at all because this thing, like you said...in the case of the really famous people who are...but I think it's much more sort of insidious in terms of everyday stuff.
Annie Leeth:
I mean, it hasn't come up for me personally as much as I would have thought it would. You know, I have a few friends that are, you know, they're a little paranoid about it. I just haven't found it, at this point, I've seen it or heard about it being a creative tool, but kind of just as a tool and nothing else. And, as much as it is scary and there needs to be some sort of eventual like legislation about it. I try to also think about, like, what happened when the Internet was made, and everyone freaked out and around when like cars were made and everything and freaked out. And so, I feel like there is a part of this that could be useful. The fact that the makers of this have no boundaries, that's kind of the thing that gets scary for me. It's more the people than the technology, I think.
Eliana Gelman:
I'm curious about having moved to Athens during college and for school, but then the decision to kind of stick around. You know, in Georgia generally, but also Athens particularly, like what is it about here that you found has worked for you both, just like in your life, but also as part of like a creative community and just other things about, you know, why here, why Athens?
Annie Leeth:
Yes, totally. I mean, so, I moved to Atlanta thinking that I was going to get the support system that I had when I left. And it was a support system that was built organically, like throughout college and both through work and through the people that I like to go to shows with and like generally hang out with. And then I kind of realized a couple of years into living in Atlanta that I was trying to force this thing that I already had and like I had a job that creates these albums that can either help artists get signed for the first time or like, I had the opportunity to work with artists that are signed. And I think, in Atlanta, I had an issue where there's so many people you have to be so loud to make yourself heard. And it worked a lot better for me personally to be here because I find that people value a little bit more silence in a wayward kind of like a little bit more mystery, like you see...like I, of course, I have to say, like Michael Stipe. Like being downtown. And it's like, you know, that this person has done all of these things. He's not going to talk about them like, you know, like he's not going to like, go brag about all this stuff he's done because he doesn't have to. And I think that that's kind of why it breeds this sense of creativity, is that these people are around and they're so talented, but they're not going to tell you about it unless you ask. So, you have to like, be curious instead of like talking about yourself.
Anna Abraham:
That's super interesting. Self-marketing is not as...
Annie Leeth:
I think it's just maybe it's because it's smaller and maybe it's because these people are just kind of word of mouth start to know who other people are. I don't feel the need to, and I'm not personally good at it, so I don't like doing it. So, it's nice to not have to as much.
Anna Abraham:
That's really interesting. I also wonder about whether being part of...is it because Athens is, you know, what is it about a college community that breeds that because I've seen it in other sort of small towns that are...but seem bigger than they are. This is typical college town and there's something about the humility in the air that has to be there, in a sense, because you're learning and you're you know, you're...and there's no need to necessarily market. That's an interesting thing to think about. So, what works well? So, you feel like there's less need for that here, but what else is it about Athens in terms of the spirit of it? Is it better now than you remembered it to be? And what would you pull out as the elements that like, for instance, is there some crosstalk between disciplines, like how the musicians are talking to the filmmakers or the filmmakers, you know, like, is there anything unique about this scene since you've been in so many places?
Annie Leeth:
Definitely. I mean, well, I feel like this is the place that I know the best. And so, I'm sure there are other examples of these things and the other cities that I've lived in. I get to interact with, for instance, my good friend LeeAnn Peppers, she's a great visual artist and makes a lot of these like really cool experimental video pieces that come with audio. She's also a musician, and so she'll put on these shows where it's a concert, but also at the end she has like a debut of a new video or audio piece that she's made. And with that comes, like her friends that are in both the visual and like audio art community. And I think that it turns into a lot of artists that also do music and musicians that make visual art.
“It kind of like inspires people to be like, you do this thing as your job, but you can also do this if you want. I think I see that a lot more here than anywhere that I've been.”
Anna Abraham:
That flexibility. That's pretty cool. And I said, I like this question that way. So, how is your sense of creativity changed as you've grown older? Do you think, like this...I mean, I'm imagining you feel all your life that you wanted to do something.
Annie Leeth:
Definitely.
Anna Abraham:
And is it something that, I mean, one of the professors in the partnership...is focuses on aging related to changes in the way we approach life and things. And so, this question kind of comes from her. Lisa Renzi-Hammond from the Institute of Gerontology. So, do you want to reflect on that a little bit?
Annie Leeth:
Definitely. I think that I was a lot more focused on just sound as creativity when I was in school, and part of that was inspired by whatever I was around. I think I tend to kind of mimic the people that that I'm around.
“Just kind of subconsciously and over time it's kind of turned more into making art more as a journal than exploring sound.”
Because as I've gotten better at production, I've gotten more comfortable with it. I started to want to make music that is like the music that I listen to, and I think that that's the main way that it's changed over time because I was exploring these sounds and making these pieces that I knew were like creative, but they weren't things that I personally would want to listen back to. I think I've just kind of grown to have that more as a goal. And then how it was. I guess like...I think I've honestly grown less comfortable with uncomfortable sounding things.
Eliana Gelman:
I think that makes sense. Like you, in any...you just have to know the tools on this like really intimate level before you can make something of them. And that's probably with that...that first part is, right?
Annie Leeth:
Definitely.
Eliana Gelman:
And do you have maybe, I don't know, three artists you can share with us that have inspired you? Or that you think match the sound that you like now?
Annie Leeth:
Definitely. I'm really inspired by the production of like Childish Gambino and honestly, like Charli XCX, her producer AG Cook. I have consistently been obsessed with Laurie Anderson...she's stayed consistent since school for me because she had kind of that classical element to her. And the same for Andrew Bird. He was the first time that I saw violin looping kind of happening and then Kishi Bashi as well.
Anna Abraham:
That’s cool.
Eliana Gelman:
I was going to ask about that, how your classical training and all those elements kind of...do they kind of persist in what you make now? Or was it just kind of what you needed then and what you need to work on now is entirely different?
Annie Leeth:
It's definitely helped. Like I kind of viewed school as making it easier to create because I was never like someone who could learn music theory from just YouTube videos and stuff. And there's a bunch of people that can, and I respect when people can. I'm not one of them. So, I think a lot of the stuff that I do now is based on that learning, but the style of it's changed a lot. I mean, I’ll still use the same tools in order to be able to like learn a new instrument or try to like build up a chord. And it was all necessary. It's definitely been used differently every time.
Anna Abraham:
I was also just struck by this thing you're talking about where you create music for yourself versus for other people. And it's interesting that, you know, because if you think about creativity as creating something that's novel and satisfying, then you're able to distinguish between...really have an empathy for what is satisfying to your client or...and that, I'm assuming, that's gotten easier with age or...but are you like protecting yourself from...you did say in the beginning that it influences you and so on. And I'm curious about that kind of openness towards things that are dissimilar or dissonate or don't fit...and how you sort of...how do you not..how do you do it?
Annie Leeth:
Well, it's worked out really well where the people that have come to me to do actual like production world work, they have kind of shared these similar inspirations to me or similar enough where I can see where they're coming from. Like if I can latch on to one artist that another artist listens to, and then that's kind of all I need because it's all kind of bridge into stuff that I haven't heard but that these artists like and, you know, kind of...it's kind of more seeing where they're coming from and then picking out the elements of those songs that you like personally. Just at least that's what I do to still keep it honest. Because sure, there's like elements of stuff that other people like that don't show me that I don't personally like, but there's always something in there that that you can latch onto.
Anna Abraham:
And what do they find interesting and why? That's very cool. I have some questions, but...do you want to take a stab at something else?
Eliana Gelman:
Well, that's just a hard thing that you're kind of touching on there. At least something that when I think about commercializing any, like creative pursuit. And it's something that is so personal and it's kind of like a part of your identity when you have to sacrifice parts of yourself for that or for a client or just, you know, to make your living. Like have you found I know you said you have a home studio now, so like, how do you balance, like your own practice and all that with still working with, you know, what you have to do to just make a living?
Annie Leeth:
It's definitely something I'm still learning because, like, for instance, I have not written like as much as I'm used to in the last month because I was just on tour for a month and then like Thanksgiving happened. So, it's kind of this weird thing where you feel like you're kind of off balance for a second, but then it's just like knowing that and being able to set aside that time to kind of like build it back up again, but then also just kind of trying to find those, those little parts because it's all linked. It's all like creating music and recording music and playing it. So just kind of trying to find those little moments where you're still feeling like you're being personally creative I’ve found is really important. Like even if it's just changing a little part on a, on a set one day and just seeing if anyone says anything.
Anna Abraham:
That's cool. What would your recommendations be for people to better support, you know, artists and what they do? We were talking before we got started here about flagpole verses, you know, where do you find out where, how, when to go? I mean, I think the issue of access is always a problem here. I just had a student in my office just before I came here meeting and he's like...there’s only one degree of separation between him and me was a mutual student. He didn't know about this big event on music that we did last week, last month, and it was always and it's a thing that keeps coming up. How do you know...how can one be informed so that one doesn't learn about things too late? And also, what can we do to support local musicians? Like what are the right things? Places we can go, things that will be appreciated...and so on?
Annie Leeth:
I mean there will most likely be a show at Flicker every night like I used to just like, walk in and, just because I lived down the street at the time, and just kind of see what's happening. And all of the venues, like the main venues, are so close by each other. I feel like just walking around the block, honestly, here is fine. The smaller stuff though, I mean, Flagpole does still help me a lot, but I am actually trying to get back on that list with Mark Callahan, because...
Eliana Gelman:
He actually just emailed me back in your own...
Annie Leeth:
Lovely because that too I've been missing the events that have been happening as I go because sometimes...I don't know the thing with the flagpole calendar that messes with me sometimes is that it's mixed with all of the...it's like generally all the things that are happening throughout the day...it's like day, night and like the children's thing. No, that list was always really helpful for me.
Anna Abraham:
I think we're almost out of time now. Do you have any questions? Is anything else you'd like to share about...well, I mean, this is about creative community research partnerships, and I'm wondering whether the community looks to the university in any way? And or the university, whatever we do can feed in better, because, in some ways, a lot of people who become part of the artistic community here went to college here. And I just wonder if...there seems to be a flow this way. You know, any thoughts on the flow the other way around? I mean, like, for instance, I study creatively. I'd like to do work that's more meaningful to artists, you know, ecologically valid work, whatever you want to call it. I just, I just see it as a sort of one-way street very often. And I could be naive, I mean, I don't know, but, you know, it doesn't seem to me like other sort of bigger cities where you have more of an active flourishing between the university contexts and the local community. In your view, is this something that could be done better, like if you looked at the scene, what could be improved? Even if it's not involving the university directly, but if you could get more, if there was something to improve what would be the thing to improve?
Annie Leeth:
I think that well, so one thing that's been really cool since graduating has been able...being able to participate in stuff like this where like...being asked to be back on campus to like talk to a class or to talk about what you're doing now. I think like the more of that the merrier. Like if there's a group that's doing a recording class, like bringing in a band and like paying them for their time to be their educationally and stuff. I think the more people from in town that you can bring on campus in a professional sense, it'll kind of make it so that that transition into town maybe is less scary for people and it's kind of more of a symbiotic relationship for sure.
Anna Abraham:
Thank you so much, Annie, for taking the time with us. This was super...
Annie Leeth:
Thank you for having me!
Website: annieleeth.com
Instagram: @annie.leeth