DREW

sondeland

executive producer

Bass Guitar

Drew is known by the rest of the band as ‘the fundamentalist of funk’ who slaps, strums, picks, plucks, and pops those thick and juicy strings as the bassist of Ditch.

He grew up in a small farming town in Northern Minnesota, which instilled in him a strong sense of responsibility at a very young age, which is also why the band never misses a show.

For the past 10+ years he has been managing post-production for feature films, tv series, broadcast commercials, social media spots, music, gaming and even mobile apps.

He managed post production for the Food Network hit Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and was responsible for delivering nearly 150 episodes in just over 3 years.

He also produced the feature film Voice From the Stone which included managing editorial in Italy, sound mixing in California, Composing in London and final delivery for Domestic, International and VOD.

With over a decade of time spent managing teams of all sizes and projects of all natures, Drew has plenty of stories to tell and lots of experience to fall back on.

If he’s not grinding away on your projects you can find him on the golf course, perfecting his short game.

BRODY

howard

creative editor | owner

Lead Guitar

Brody is the founder, owner, and lead guitarist of Ditch.

He spent the majority of his early days on the run, (From what? We don’t know…) having moved 14 times and landing in 8 states before the age of 12.

Then, one sunny Summer afternon Brody found himself fired for, “mouthing off” to the upper management, of an Oklahoma radio station.

It was at that moment, Brody wisely decided on a new career path and spent his formative editing years at Fallon.

He then branched out for a bit to other markets, dabbling in a bit of this and a little of that, (A bit of, what? We don’t know…)

Needless to say, Brody’s decision to return to Minneapolis in 2008 to open Ditch, ended up being a pivotal one, indeed.

When he’s not busy creating comedy gold in the editing chair, Brody takes his greatest pleasure spending time with his wife, 3 sons, 2 dogs, and 150,000 pet bees.

JON

cruikshank

motion designer | creative editor

Drums

Jon says that playing drums for Ditch requires a specific understanding of time, which goes hand-in-hand with the rhythm and pacing of an editing sequence.

He began his career as a video editor on the agency side of things, where he spent nearly a decade editing creative and designing motion for a vast variety of clients.

When we asked Jon about his passion for sound, he told us that it developed in his younger years while writing music and playing shows accross the handful of local metal bands that he was in.

Upon making the decision to step away from the live music scene, he began composing music digitally, which led him to pursue a degree in audio production and engineering.

Honing in on his love for music theory and leaning on his technical ability, he produced countless tracks in many different genres including hip-hop, lo-fi, trap, dubstep, and good old fashioned rock ‘n roll.

You’d think that with all of the time he spent learning and developing his craft that he probably doesn’t get out much, however that appears to be anything but the case with Jon.

He’s a goofy-footed park snowboarder and street skateboarder, an ambidextrous studio and session drummer, an advanced open-water and cavern certified scuba diver and is also a part-time stunt-driver.

JESUS

yanez

director | editor

Jesus Yanez
Jesus Yanez

Lead Vocals | Rhythm Guitar

As the frontman of Ditch, Jesus plays a vital role in the overal sound and musical direction of the band.

Prior to joining Ditch, he’d been in bands since whe was 15 years old and was even nominated for an MTV Video Music Award in 2013.

His music videos have earned more than 190 million hits on YouTube, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg for Jesus.

He’s also a director and editor born in the border town of Cd. Juárez, México, and currently based in Austin, Texas.

He spent his early years between Cd. Juárez and El Paso, TX. Living in Mexico and studying in the US gave him a better understanding of how both cultures work and coexist.

He started his career while living in the border, editing commercials, branded content and music videos in Mexico and the US.

The next 7 years were spent as an agency creative for agencies in New York, Dallas and Los Angeles working on brands like McDonalds, PepsiCo, Tecate among many others. 

NICK

Mueth

VFX Artist | Colorist

Keyboards | Backing Vocals

From the elegant tones of the keys, to the smooth backing vocals, Nick does it all with a visual style unlike any other.

He claims that before joining Ditch, he had never even touched a piano or keyboard in his entire life.

If that’s not shocking enough, he also had no singing experience prior to Ditch, as he was soley a screaming vocalist for his heavy metal band.

Nick is currently handling his VFX/Color operations through Trapdoor and he is based in Dallas, Texas.

SCOTT

schmidt

director of business development

Band Manager

Scott has been revered by many as the backbone of the band.

He handles everything behind the scenes that makes the band possible.

As the point of contact, Scott provides the band with all of their touring and financials.

When he’s not making sure everything is in working order, he’s likely off shredding some gnar, inline-style.

There’s a lot more to the story, but this’ll have to suffice for the time being until we’re able to uncover more of the details.

Let us know of any new discoveries you may find, clues or theories you might have regarding the matter.

Our hope, is that the world may one day finally unravel the truth about the legendary life of Scott Schmidt…