We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kalli Melenius a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kalli, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright, let’s take a stroll on memory lane, back to when you were an apprentice or intern. What’s a memorable story from that time that you can share with us?
When I met my mentor, I had no idea that that’s who he’d end up being to me. We were at at dinner for a mutual friend and were seated beside each other. He introduced himself as Corey and said that he was a studio engineer and did live show production. I told him that I was studying to be a yoga teacher and was currently a barista at a kids play cafe. He laughed at me, out loud, and then asked me if that was what I really wanted to do. I explained to him that I really loved it. teaching little ones how to strengthen their bodies and ground their minds. It was a fun experience every time. He then asked me “If you could do anything in the world – money, time, experience… none of that matters. If you could do anything, what would you do?” I had never been asked that before. It took me almost two hours to come up with an answer and in the end, all I could say was “Music. I just want music in my life every day.” He looked at me in the eye and said he could work with that.
I’ve always loved music and have been singing since I could speak. After attending a Tea Party concert with my best friend when we were 12, I fell deeply in love with all things related to putting on a show. I grabbed every opportunity to perform and joined my highschool TV and Radio programs. Growing up, I’d never really been comfortable asking questions or taking risks but for the chance to be onstage or the airwaves… I was all in. The fire of love for performance and music tech that burned in me as a youth was smothered over the years and replaced with a more socially acceptable career path. I towed the line, kept out of sight, and worked myself at 100% for as long as I could at every job I’d had. Until my mentorship began, the only benefit to me for running in the rat race was a meager paycheck and constant adrenal fatigue mixed with depression and anxiety.
The day after that dinner, Corey called me and said that he was looking for help for a show coming up and asked if I wanted to learn how to do sound. I’d dabbled with AV in the past and I’d always wanted to work in show business but due to a lot of factors, until that moment, I’d never considered it a possibility for me. I jumped at the chance. That started a chain of events that changed my life forever. That first day was a whirlwind. New sounds, new words, new ideas were flooding my brain. It didn’t take very long for my fire to reingite. Eventually, I was working full time with Catalyst Production and I quickly found myself running shows and learning all I could about sound and video from my now close friend and mentor.
Corey’s no nonsense approach and undying belief in my potential has helped me to discover my internal motivators and having the opportunity to learn from him helped form me into the leader I am today. He questions me, challenges me to think outside the box, offers me opportunities to succeed and opportunities to fail. He has taught me the value of taking risks and believing that I will be ok whatever the outcome. Through his example, Corey has taught me the value of asking questions, being direct with my wants, needs and desires; He has inspired me to believe in myself and to take risks with sharing my personality with the world through my art.
About three years into my new life as a show tech, we were on our way up to Fort McMurray. I was set to projection map a huge stage and Corey was setting up the sound. He got a phone call and after reluctantly agreeing to something, he hung up and asked me if I wanted to do monitors for a band in Red Deer. He wasn’t keen on it and thought I’d do a good job. I asked who the band was and with a big grin while dramatically rolling his eyes he said “The Tea Party”, I freaked out. I literally screamed with excitement! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Two weeks later I was standing infront of the monitor desk, working for my absolute favorite band in the whole world with my mentor feeding me chocolate and standing by my side, A dream I’d had since I was 12 had come true.
Since then I’ve toured the world as a VJ and live broadcast producer. I’ve produced festivals and started four businesses. I discovered my passion and drive and began creating art. Along this journey, there’s been a lot of hard work and hard lessons but I’ve always had my mentor by my side or one phone call away. He taught me to take the opportunities that excite me when they’re presented and now I get to share that passion with my team. I strive to lead in a way that is welcoming, challenging and inspiring. I hope to inspire my team as much as Corey has inspired me and countless others.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Kalli Melenius and I’m a show and video producer, VJ/ Projection mapper, visuals artist and entreprneur. I started my business in 2016 after falling in love with production and finding that I had a knack for video and live visuals.
Prior to starting my production company, I worked mostly customer service and administrative jobs which gave me the experience I needed to run the dailies for my company. After that I spent a good amount of time working for the provincial government which gave me infinite amounts of patience and experience with the the need for not only diplomacy in the workplace but also a desire to work in an environment where people were respected for the work they put in and not for the title they hold.
Freebird Entertainment started as a way to invoice when I was freelancing and has turned into a boutique production company that offers a variety of show production services that range from basic sound set ups and projection for private parties, concerts, rock shows and raves all the way to custom created stage designs and content, festival production, tour and show management and more.
While a majority of my work has been music or performance art based, I’ve also got a love for extreme sports. Live broadcast production holds a special place in my heart and I love spending time producing shows for live or rebroadcast. From bullriding to drag queens, we never turn away an opportunity to document or augment events.
Our team has been carefully curated and is comprised of an amazing group of skilled and passionate techs that strive to offer our clients and audiences the very best experience, every time we come out. We work to build shows that will run smoothly and look amazing. We take pride in our work and invite our clients and patrons to join us on the ride as we learn, grow and soar the skies of our dreams, together.
The Freebird Entertainment company slogan is “Soar with us” because we want our collegues, staff and clients to feel confident that with Freebird, you will be a part of a collaborative team that supports one another as we continue along our creative journey. We don’t want to succeed on the backs of others failures. It is our mission to work with and support other creatives as we work toward mutual success!
I’m proud of our team and our past projects. We have built magical environments for festivals, beautiful stages for corporate events, and a whole host of music videos and film projects that highlight the diversity of our communities. I’ve got a special passion for sharing stories and working with people who have something to say. As a queer femme entrepreneur, I love stirring the pot and creating projects that are edgey, fun, colourful and push the envelope of what it means to be a human living an intentional life.
I’m a VJ at heart and projection mapping projects are always exciting to me. I love creating a live visuals experience that flows with the music and tells a story… and maybe a message or two.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
At the beginning of 2020, Freebird was set to have it’s best year to date. When the pandemic shut things down in March of that year, we lost everything on our books. 18 months worth of work and art were gone in the blink of an eye. I lost my first European tour and a North American tour. Within a week my business was devastated. The same day of the shut down, I got a call from a friend and owner of the Startlite Room in Edmonton asking if I could live stream The Real McKenzies on short notice. Alberta Health Services had shut the show down and the band had already been soundchecked. Devastated by the loss of that week, my partner Dan and I quickly drove there and got set up. We were live less than two hours later and I produced the first of many live streamed shows from the Starlite. It was a powerfully emotional event. All of us in the entertainment industry had just suffered a massive loss and were unsure of what the future would hold for us. Three years later, almost to the day, we were back in the Starlite with the Real McKenzies, broadcasting a live show with an audience. It was an incredible full circle moment.
Unitl covid, my business had been mostly comprised of VJing and visual work with live show production being the bread and butter of the day to day business. The pandemic shut downs combined with the incredible creative tenacity of our local art scene in Edmonton kept us alive and helped us quickly shift to a video and broadcast production focus. We were able to pivot quickly to adapt to the new socially distanced world and provide quality streams and broadcasts to our community for an affordable price.
I was also given several opportunities to create multlimedia art installations and several short film projections. All of this has stretched our capacities and challenged our ideas of show production and visual art.
Since the pandemic started, the trajectory of our business has almost completely shifted. We have built a private studio and event space that offers artists a place to create and perform without the pressures of the outside world. The majority of our business is large show production, video and broadcast production as well as the creation of many, and hopefully many more, art installations.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
My advice for managing a team and maintaining high moral is to take the time to get to know the values and goals of each of your team members. Encouraging our team to work toward their personal and creative is a key strategy for growth and success for Freebird. I truly believe that when people are allowed the freedom to make informed decisions in an environment where they feel supported and respected, creates the foundation for the success of each of our team members. When our team is successful, we are successful.
It can be challenging for some in leadership roles to let go and trust that your team will get the job done. This leads to micromanagement and can create a stifeling work environment. In my experience, getting to know my team members likes, dislikes, goals and dreams helps me to guide them toward the positions and roles within the company that suit them best.
I also firmly believe in fluidity within the workplace. People are moving and changing all the time just like their goals and tastes do. Staying in one spot for a long time works very well for some but can actually be detrimental to others. I’ve found that the best way to keep a team working toward a common goal is to respect that our personal goals and common goals are often complimentary. I make a point to check in with my staff often and ask them pointed questions that can give me an idea of what is working for them and where we can improve or get inventive with solutions.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.freebirdyeg.com
- Instagram: @freebirdentertainment
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreebirdYEG
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/freebirdkalli
- Other: Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user108624857
Image Credits
CONCERTSOCKS Photography Kalli Melenius Corey Johnson Daniel St-Pierre