Editor-in-chief Roe Pressley has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Humboldt State University in Northern California, with a focus on arts and entertainment. While at Humboldt, he served multiple semesters as a writer, photographer, and editor of the university’s student-run magazine, Osprey. He had the honor of serving as managing editor and again as editor-in-chief during two consecutive award-winning semesters. The award given was the Society of Professional Journalists' Mark of Excellence award for Best Student Magazine (Published More Than Once a Year) in the 11th District, which includes California, Nevada, and Arizona.
During his time with Osprey, most of Pressley’s journalistic contributions put a spotlight on the Minnesota hip-hop scene.
“At the time, it seemed like hip-hop heads in Humboldt either didn’t know or were just starting to hear about Atmosphere and Rhymesayers,” says Pressley. “Other than that, they didn’t know a whole lot about Minnesota or Minneapolis. So I wanted to do my part to try and show ‘em that, hey, there’s a lot more happening here than what you see on MTV2.”
Article topics included the unprecedented Seven Days of Atmosphere concert marathon at 7th Street Entry (which eventually turned into eight days), the Rhymesayers 10th Anniversary Show, and the iconic Hip Hop and Harmony festival at Harmony Park.
The contacts he made doing interviews and writing stories about the local scene greatly influenced his desire and ability to continue covering Twin Cities hip-hop after college.
Pressley has always had a strong background in music. He began playing guitar at 11, inspired by his best friend, Marcus Lendway. Over the years, he became a more serious player, attending the Perpich Center for Arts Education during junior and senior year of high school as a student of music. It was then that he first bought a pair of Technics 1200 turntables, captivated and inspired by the DJs he saw at local raves. As he progressed as DJ SweeTooth (or Swee2th), his desire to improve his scratching, compounded with a growing interest in the local hip-hop scene, pushed him into spinning rap music more. Soon he was making beats of his own.
This coincided with his friend Marcus's aggressive fixation with writing during a time when both of them were becoming more engrossed in hip-hop. Soon they decided to start their own duo, calling themselves 2th & Nail. They worked tirelessly over the next year, despite Pressley being separated from his counterpart by 2,000 miles of mountains, plains, and desert, and eventually finished their first album in 2006. Entitled Simple Answers, the CD showcased the complexity in rhythm and rhyme of Marcus's writing and delivery. The beats, all created on a Roland MC-307 Groovebox, were relatively simple in structure yet expansive in their utilization of soundscapes and moods.
Marcus Lendway died in January, 2007, from an aneurysm in his spleen of which he was not aware. Pressley pushed on, creating a festival to honor his fallen friend and musical partner. The First Annual Pinnstock was held in northern Wisconsin at his parents' property on the Chippewa River. The two days of music featured artists by whom Lendway and Pressley were inspired, including Eyedea, Carnage, and members of Doomtree.
It also featured music from the people who inspired them most, their friends and family, including Marcus's father's rock/blues band, several DJs, and musicians with whom Lendway and Pressley performed. They also raised $1,400 for the Urban Arts Academy, a non-profit in South Minneapolis that organizes after-school and summer arts schools for innercity youth.
The second year saw many of the same artists returning to the new venue at Club Underground in Northeast Minneapolis, with new additions: Abzorbr, the Bill Mike Band, and DJ Plain Ole Bill.
Pressley has no plans of stopping. With an online and print magazine gaining prominence in the local scene, he sees an opportunity to expand on the relationships he has built with artists and organizations, as well as use the publication as a stepping stone to organizing and promoting not just future Pinnstocks, but a host of other concerts and events as well.
He knows it's what Marcus would want, as it was something they talked about often. But more importantly, it's what he wants, because it's what he loves to do.
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profile by Ashlee LeMarc
