Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter Strickland.
Hi Peter, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I began my creative journey as a musician, learning to play piano, guitar, and percussion instruments throughout my youth. By the time I reached high school, I was obsessed with playing and listening to music. My friends and I would spend our time jamming together to songs by Herbie Hancock, Jimi Hendrix, The Meters, and all kinds of classic funk, jazz, and psychedelic rock artists. I knew from those moments that I wanted to have a career in music/entertainment, one way or another.
For college, I went to Auburn University and majored in theatre, which allowed me to utilize my musical talent while fine-tuning my skills as a performer. However, I still found myself more interested in performing popular music rather than plays & musicals. During this time, I started to borrow my mother’s camera to learn how to photograph and film live events. I was surrounded by talented musicians who were constantly performing, so I wanted to participate in the community, even when I didn’t have a band to play in.
After college, I decided to move to Atlanta in the hopes of finding work in music, film, or theatre. I spent my first couple of years here doing all sorts of creative work, from playing drum set in musical theatre orchestras to shooting BTS photos for independent films and beyond. I was thankful for every opportunity that I was given because I knew that I was learning and growing with every project I worked on. In June 2019, I started PsychoActivision as a brand that I could release psychedelic visual sets and music videos from.
By late 2019, I was happily working for an Atlanta-based corporate event photography studio but was unfortunately laid-off in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many people, I felt the need to learn new skills or refine old ones during my newfound downtime, so I worked extensively on creating new psychedelic visuals and spec projects. As my skills grew, I also became interested in a medium that I had never worked in before: podcasting. After much planning and deliberation, I decided to start a musician interview podcast called PsychoActivision Presents. Presently, my podcast is my main passion because it allows me to combine several of my skillsets into one cohesive project that is uniquely mine.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I don’t believe you can be an interesting artist if you haven’t had struggles along the way. I’m thankful for the times in my past where I thought I didn’t have enough money or resources because it forced me to adapt and think critically.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a videographer, video editor, and podcaster. Under the PsychoActivision brand, I create psychedelic visuals, film/edit music videos & live performances, and film/edit/host a musician interview podcast called PsychoActivision Presents. While I love creating visuals and filming videos for musicians, I think my biggest passion at the moment is my podcast. I am very proud of PsychoActivision Presents because it encompasses several of my talents in one project. I do everything for the podcast including scheduling interview guests, setting up cameras/lights/microphones, hosting the interview, editing the final product, uploading to streaming platforms, and promoting new episodes.
Any big plans?
In the near future, I am going to be releasing another psychedelic visual set on my YouTube channel, hopefully by the end of this year. I also have some fun guests planned to be interviewed on the podcast later this year, which I’m hoping will help it reach a wider audience.
In the more distant future, I have always wanted to create a live studio music video series similar to Adult Swim’s Bloodfeast but with an interview component. This would be a fun way to feature my visuals and give artists a unique platform to perform new music and be interviewed in a casual setting. Other than that dream, I’m just going to keep growing my podcast audience and creating visuals and videos.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.psychoactivision.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/psychoactivision/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UC9OcUxXHmOZB6GYiIyc6AfQ
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/0h4rRKCR75hEr4y4gbt1qD?si=340b5c0fc5a349fd
Image Credits
Chase Anderson, Dante Everage, Paige Coll
