Who We Are

Riot Act Media is a boutique publicity firm that expertly launches creative, communication-based campaigns for clients in the independent music, film and arts worlds—as well as for non-profit and corporate entities—through its offices in Brooklyn, NY and Portland, OR .

Joan Hiller, Owner / Publicity Director Twitter: @joanhiller

Joan Hiller started as all punk kids start out--playing house shows and publishing a crappy fanzine (hers was called Out of Order, and available through mail-order, at local Houston record stores like Sound Exchange, and via ads at the back of MRR and Profane Existence) around age 14. She began booking and promoting club shows while still in high school (thanks partially to a fake ID), wrote freelance music and political copy for other Texas fanzines, and eschewed homework to instead learn about how retail and marketing worked through her involvements with Grand Royal and Holiday Matinee.

After freelancing for weeklies, booking more small tours and playing in more bands, Hiller was introduced to Jessica Hopper, who ushered in what has become a 13-year-long career in music publicity. She moved from Houston to Chicago to work alongside Jessica at Hopper PR (handling publicity for Jade Tree, DeSoto, Tigerbeat6, Neurot Recordings and a slew of bands and artists from Isis to Iannis Xenakis), and to play in other bands (most notably and briefly, Jade Tree artists Owls). During a brief break from PR, Hiller focused on writing about music and pop culture for several publications, including Venus, RollingStone.com, New City, UR Chicago, Alternative Press, Punk Planet, Detroit Metro Times, Cleveland Free Times, The Stranger, the Portland Mercury and others.

In 2003, Hiller moved to Seattle and co-booked the legendary Crocodile Cafe' for under a year before being hired by the label that had always most deeply influenced her: Sub Pop Records. There, she worked in the publicity department on a slew of campaigns (including the Shins' Grammy-nominated, gold-certified "Wincing The Night Away", the Postal Service's gold-certified "Give Up" and "Werewolves and Lollipops" by Patton Oswalt--the one artist she signed to the label during her tenure) before joining and eventually acquiring Riot Act Media in 2007. She relocated to Portland in 2008, and, after four great years there, moved to Brooklyn, NY in 2012. When she's not being a publicist, she's painting like a maniac (www.joanhiller.com), studying astrology and spending quality time with her incredible boyfriend, as well as with Sheldon, her pet box turtle of 25 years.


Nathan Walker, Senior Publicist / Partner Twitter: @nathansariot

Born in 1976 to one of the Midwest's finest folk musicians, Nathan spent most of his teens failing to piss his father off by playing Body Count, Public Enemy and Run DMC as loudly as possible. Realizing that it was okay to love all different types of music even if you were a 50 year-old folk singer, Nathan began his long career in the music industry starting as a freelance photographer before eventually working as music editor for Seattle's Tablet Magazine (R.I.P., Tablet). A stint as music editor at Resonance Magazine (also R.I.P.!) was followed by working for the esteemed 2:30 Publicity firm for a couple of years before moving to the woods with his lovely wife to open a small, organic cafe.

Even living in a small town of 16,000 couldn't keep Nathan from taking part in the music industry. He booked a weekly Friday night show at his cafe, often hosting touring bands like Ladyhawk, Tiny Vipers and the Immaculate Machine, thus helping to corrupt the musical minds of dozens of teenagers. Two months after opening his cafe in Anacortes, he, along with Beat Happening's Bret Lunsford, resurrected the 20 year-old Knw-Yr-Own record label, releasing six albums in the span of two years. In addition, he helped to book, promote and run sound for the world famous What The Heck festival.

After eating a perfect pizza in Portland, Nathan, his wife and their two cats relocated and joined the amazing team at Riot Act Media. To date, Nathan has well over a decade of experience in the music industry and has helped with PR campaigns for Mt. Eerie, Basia Bulat, Visqueen, Electric 6, Grizzly Bear, Women & Children, Karl Blau, D+, El Capitan, the Lights, the Drones, Sea Of Bees, Whalebones, the Gift Machine, Stuart & Caan, Of Montreal, the Hold Steady and many more.

 

Kelly McClure, Publicist Twitter: @WolfieVibes

Kelly was born in the Midwest under a thick patch of moss in the year 1977. Her formative years were spent in Southern California being goth, and then eventually finding her heart in every variation of queer/pop/punk/riot/indie/noise music imaginable. After graduating high school in 1995, Kelly hopped around several different states pursuing her love for writing, and music, and all the different ways those two things can mix. After graduating from college with a degree in journalism and a minor in media communications, she spent several years living in Chicago and freelancing for publications such as The Chicago Reader, Time Out Chicago, and New City. In the early 00's, she moved to Brooklyn to try her hand at being poor for a really long time, and eventually landed a position as Music Editor for Bust Magazine — which she held and loved for a very long time, until one day she received a call from Calvin Johnson offering her a job as the head publicist for K Records in Olympia, Washington, so off she went — with her cat — in a rental car — to Olympia. But alas, the PNW was not for Kelly, so she moved back to Brooklyn and took a position as Music Editor for VICE Magazine, which she left to join on with us. YAY!

Kelly has worked successful and stimulating publicity campaigns for such bands as: Angelo Spencer, LAKE, Arrington De Dionyso, Christmas, The Hive Dwellers, Chain & The Gang, Curious Mystery, City Center, Karl Blau, Mirah, Pine Hill Haints, Tender Forever, Eureka California, Orca Team, Tunabunny, Sourpatch, Bastards of Fate, Dead Dog, Eliza Rickman, Kleenex Girl Wonder, Young Things, and Zoe Boekbinder.

Kelly likes pizza, her girlfriend, her cat, and Swiffering the floor.

Annie Ostrowski, Publicist Twitter: @annieo25

Annie first began working with music in high school while volunteering for now-defunct music magazine Section M. Soon after, she and a friend started a small production company and brought some of their favorite bands to come play shows around Santa Rosa, California. After a few successful shows she began focusing on music journalism, and became further engrossed in the amazing local music scene right there in her hometown.

While in college, Annie reviewed local bands for The Sonoma State Star, and co-hosted a weekly radio show for the college station KSUN, eventually leading to an internship with San Francisco's legendary Noise Pop Festival. Around that time, she started playing bass in a band, touring the West Coast and playing shows in the Bay Area. It was on a Pacific Northwest tour that Annie first visited Portland, Oregon and decided it was where she wanted to be. A year after interning with Noise Pop, she assumed the roll of Noise Pop and The Treasure Island Festival's program guide editor and writer. After graduating college, Annie helped promote and book art and music events in Sonoma County.

At the end of 2008, she finally relocated to Portland, Oregon and has been loving it ever since. Annie currently writes for Myspoonful.com and and edits for the Noise Pop and Treasure Island Music Festivals. In June of 2011, Annie happened upon an internship opening at Riot Act and jumped at the opportunity to learn the PR ropes. After six months of interning, Annie joined the company as a Junior Publicist. She has since worked campaigns for PDX Pop Now!, Big Eyes, Pony Time, Lonesome Leash, Ash Reiter, Alameda, Denny and The Jets, John Heart Jackie, Johnny Headband, The New Trust, Shred Fest, What Hearts, Wow and Flutter, and more.

Matthew Kopel, Webmaster

Matthew Kopel has been working with Riot Act since 2007. He is one half of Doctor Sandwich Web Design & Development. You can find out more about Matthew at www.mkopel.com.

David Lewis, Founder Emeritus

After graduating from the School of The Art Institute of Chicago with a degree in Film & Video and working with Jessica Hopper and Joan Hiller at Hopper PR in Chicago, David Lewis founded Riot Act Media, handling PR for a slew of indie artists including Minus the Bear, Maps & Atlases and David Bazan. In 2008, David moved into higher education, working as Columbia College Chicago's Creative Industry Liaison. He has since been featured discussing the virtues of arts and music careers on All Things Considered, PBS, Time Out Chicago, New City, and as a panelist at the SXSW music conference. David brings the same entrepreneurial spirit and passion to his current position at the world-renowned McNally Smith College of Music, providing workshops, guidance, advice, dialogue, seminars and encouragement to the school's burgeoning talent. This photo shows Mr. Lewis looking pensive while taking a group of students on a trip to the Onion AV Club offices.