Brian Girard of Wheelhouse Creative

By Shelly Aucoin

What do you get when you mix a rock band, a children’s choir, a world-class string quartet, a high school marching band and Mexican folkorico dancers? All I Ever Wanted, the groundbreaking music documentary starring the band The Airborne Toxic Event.

Produced by Wheelhouse Creative, the film takes 100 hours of raw footage and cranks out an 88 minute rock n’ roll masterpiece. Shot over the course of three months and culminating at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, it follows the East LA band as they become the first rock band to play inside the prestigious venue.

Wheelhouse Creative is the creation of multi-talented Worcester native Brian Girard. The producer/actor/entrepreneur graduated UMass Amherst, where he was in every organization from Theatre Guild to Concert Production Crew, and spent summers working at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis.

Girard says, “Within that time [I] met some amazing people who worked in the business, both from LA and New York. So, after I graduated, I moved to NYC for about two years but I knew that was just a pit stop. Hollywood was next.”

Once there, Brian set out to create an artist community where actors, writers, directors and producers could collaborate: Wheelhouse Creative was born. “My idea is to be a creative services provider, to create an environment wherein anything is possible, where an idea can be realized.” Creating All I Ever Wanted sparked a whirlwind of success and established WC as innovators in the concert documentary world.

“Technology has evolved so much now that there is no excuse not to be taking matters into your own hands,” says Brian. “With the advancement of digital cameras and computer editing on the internet, you don’t need permission from anyone to make something you want.” His advice to any would-be-producers is to be tenacious, don’t fear failure, and remember that your best asset is your own humanity.

Girard grew up on Grafton Hill and still misses walking down Hamilton Street and over to South Plaza. When he thinks of Worcester, he grows nostalgic for his family, the 111 Chophouse, Regatta Deli and the Four Seasons. “My grandfather loves to tell me how that place was the *it* spot back in the day, where they would all go for dinner and dancing.”

WC has more feature documentaries and television ideas coming their way. In the meantime, we’ll see Brian acting in commercials over the holidays. He has no major film or TV roles just yet but with his current success there’s no doubt he’ll make good on his promise: “I will be coming to a theatre near you… SOOOON!”

www.wheelhousecreatives.com