Four score and over two years ago I started on a creation called AudioTheme. After successfully building a couple of audio centric WordPress themes for Press75.com and WordPress.com, I quickly concluded that building a WordPress theme geared towards bands, artist, and musicians was not an elegant process. While trying to keep features and functionality to only those offered in WordPress by default, I felt at times I was hacking a system that was really designed to do something else by nature; blogging and basic page management. Knowing WordPress harnessed greater powers in its content management capabilities, I wanted to streamline the process of creating audio centric themes from the design and development perspective to, more importantly, how content was managed from a users perspective.

As I started working on AudioTheme, I was aware there was a desperate need to improve upon what I would call the “lackluster designs” many bands and musicians were using, both big and small. I was also aware that I was by no means the cure-all, end-all to this design conundrum. With that in mind, I thought I would reach out to a few other successful designers and developers I followed and admired within the WordPress community; Erik Ford of We Are Pixel8 and Sawyer Hollenshead of Shaken and Stirred Web. Inspired by what Jason Schuller did with ThemeGarden (where I got my start and hope to see it back one day), Erik, Sawyer, and I started plotting out how we could build a Framework and Marketplace. The goal would be to get some of the best designers and developers to come together, build amazing music-oriented WordPress themes, and solve some of the underlying issues mentioned before.

With the idea in mind that this exclusive marketplace of AudioTheme authors would help build and support an audio centric Framework, we would ultimately all benefit from having a better product. Additionally, we wanted the majority (90%) of each theme sale to go back to the theme author. The remaining 10% was to go towards keeping the site up and running in addition to donating to various charities and open source audio projects, such as the Starkey Hearing Foundation and jPlayer. With the plot set, it was time to get busy!

Well, we all got busy, extremely busy, but not necessarily towards constructing AudioTheme. As you can imagine, we each had our own families, businesses to run, bills to pay, and lives to live outside the glow of an Apple monitor. Somewhere within a year of on again off again AudioTheme tinkering, I met Brady Vercher through a random, not well written, blog post of mine that no longer lives to see the light of a dimly lit but probably great smelling coffee shop. Brady had apparently read about AudioTheme on WP Candy which eventually led him to later visit and eventually comment on the blog post mentioned before. Together, Brady and I started working on a simple plugin to easily add post formats to the admin menu in WordPress. It didn’t take long to realize Brady was a “mad good” developer and very well versed in WordPress. After doing a bit of internet snooping, as we all do from time to time, it turned out Brady’s brother Brody was a damn good designer, too. It only made sense to see if Brady and Brody had any interest in what we were doing with AudioTheme. It turns out they did…

As former editors of The 9513, a popular online country music publication, both Brady and Brody were well in tune with what was happening in the music, web, and WordPress worlds. After a few brief Skype chats, side projects, and digital high fives, a revived AudioTheme had a new sense of urgency and renewity as two more members joined the conspiracy. With a new focus, direction, and fresh set of ideas, once again, with the plot set, it was time to get busy!

Well, apparently Brady and Brody also had lives of their own, families to enjoy, a business to run, and those damn bills to pay. After a strong new start to AudioTheme, things slowly became dormant and what was once an eager 3 month plan slowly evolved into six months and then nine months. Over that time, though not on time, we did have a pretty good start on the Framework; there was still plenty of small details to work out. With the Frameworks underlying code structure established and at least four or five different versions of the website created (you know how it is when you look at something for too long), it felt like we were somewhere but far from anywhere near a finish line.

It was obvious things were not going as planned and everyone’s schedules were only getting busier and busier. I had to find a way to make AudioTheme a priority; it was too good of an idea and too much of a needed solution to continue letting it die a slow death. After spending some time in the ponder pool (bathtub, TMI?), I concluded there just wasn’t enough “skin in the game” for everyone to dedicate their time and talents toward AudioTheme just for the greater good AudioTheme in hopes that it would all pan out later on. It was clear Brady was a major part of the Framework’s development considering its progress up to this point was all thanks to him. With that in mind and with Erik and Sawyer’s consent, AudioTheme, LLC was born via a partnership between Brady and Brody’s business, Blazer Six, and my business, CELTIC7. This ended up being the right decision to move the Framework, Marketplace, and AudioTheme in the direction it needed to go which was otherwise being limited by not having a proper owning entity.

Fast forward a couple of months, a few teasers, a Tweet or two, and enter the year 2013. Finally, after more than two years, AudioTheme had started to take shape. We now had a the website designed (for now), a Marketplace intact, the Framework completed, and a couple of themes developed. In the beginning of April 2013, the chance to show off what we have built came to fruition.  We started by offering a closed beta invite to a couple hundred email subscribers gathered over the course of the past two years of saying “Coming Soon!”. During the beta period, we gave all our subscribers a free trial of the Framework as well a free download of the Shaken Encore theme, designed and developed by Sawyer. While in beta, we received great feedback and an all around positive response. With that said, I’m happy (and relieved) to announce the curtain has officially been lifted and AudioTheme is Live! We’re really happy with how things have come together and would love for any feedback one has to offer. Now, let’s create some damn good music sites!

Introducing AudioTheme Visit AudioTheme →

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Aside from the great audio features, Soundcheck also includes other useful features like video support, unique image slider, galleries, post formats, and more. We’ve also included unique styles and functionality for a few popular plugins: GigPress, Gravity Forms, and Cart66.

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Brine:

• 3 Cups of Tendor Quick
• 3 Cups Brown Sugar
• 16 o.z. short of 2 Gallons of water
• 1 small container of Pickling spice (optional, for taste).

Time:

• Ribs – No more than 4 hours
• Pork Loin – 5 Days
• Bacon – 5 Days
• Large Ham – 14-21 Days

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