My name is Yancey. I was born in Blacksburg, Virginia, and grew up on a farm near a small town in the Appalachian Mountains called Newport. The house was built in 1864.

I majored in English and Literary and Cultural Studies at the College of William & Mary. My dream was to be a writer. During college I started writing for Pitchfork. It was brief (they let me go) but exciting.

In 2000 I moved to NYC and my first job was as a writer for a radio news service. I began writing record reviews for places like the Village Voice. This was the first piece of writing I ever got paid for ($75 I think).

I was a Managing Editor at flavorpill before joining eMusic as Managing Editor and then Editor in Chief. I made a living as a writer freelancing for places like the Voice, City Pages, Spin, New York Magazine, and Entertainment Weekly. I started a fun baseball site called Yard Work (now defunct) with some friends.

At eMusic I started a record label called eMusic Selects. We released the debut albums for High Places, Breathe Owl Breathe, Crystal Stilts, Julianna Barwick, and Rural Alberta Advantage, among others. There are some great records in there.

I cofounded Kickstarter along with my friends Perry Chen and Charles Adler. The site launched on April 28, 2009.

I’ve lived in New York City for the past twelve years, but I try to get back home to Virginia as often as I can. If you want to get in touch you can find me on Twitter. Thanks!