Goldstar's Editorial Team
The Goldstar editorial team is full of creative people who not only write and design fun, easy-to-read summaries of the events on our site, but also offer an impressive array of talents and accomplishments outside of Goldstar. Our team includes professional journalists, stand-up comedians, novelists and graphic designers working together to help Goldstar members get out more to live entertainment.
Jason Dietz
I think things really started to turn around for me when I was born. In the ensuing years, I worked as a website designer, became a lawyer, founded a popular entertainment review website, attended Expo 86, wrote content for high school textbooks, spent 24 consecutive hours hosting a radio show, briefly piloted a blimp after an incident involving a turkey sandwich, consulted large corporations on state tax matters, sold a few artworks at a gallery show, and wrote an autobiographical paragraph containing exactly one false statement. (Hint: It rhymes with "blimp.") I have never seen Talking Heads in concert, unless I have already constructed a time machine in the future, in which case I've seen them several times.
Danforth France
I am a comedian and writer living in Los Angeles with two houseplants and a rusty-eyed cat. When I'm going out for a bit of culture, I like to soak up classical music, jazz, blues, theater, live comedy, and the occasional dance recital. I am a member of the Los Angeles Astronomical Society and the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific, and I have an annual pass to Disneyland.
Sandy Matke
Before joining the Goldstar team, I was a customer so impressed by Goldstar I just had to work here. I love live entertainment, particularly small theater and improv comedy, and occasionally take to the stage myself in plays, comedy shows and readings of my personal essays. I spent six years as a print and web journalist, including three years running a magazine, following a brief but exhausting stint as a high school English and French teacher. My main passion outside of Goldstar is working on my (hopefully) soon-to-be-published novel.
Grace Mathews
I am a graphic/web designer responsible for the event images on the Goldstar site. My favorite pastimes include traveling, music festivals and photography. Originally from the northeast, I currently live in Barcelona, Spain, with my husband, new baby and two kitties. I am hoping Goldstar will make its way to Spain, so I can go out more here.
David Montgomery
Although I started out reviewing movies, I became a book critic when I learned they would bring the books right to my door, just like Domino’s pizza. Since then I have written for a variety of publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today and the Chicago Sun-Times. I believe that The Godfather is the best film ever made, and if you bring up Citizen Kane, things are liable to get ugly. I’ve seen The Phantom of the Opera five times, but that's only because I really love my wife.
Erik Charles Nielsen
Born on Long Island, New York, I grew up in Florida before attending college in Boston. In 2004, I moved to Los Angeles to study English literature in graduate school; I now work for Goldstar by day while pursuing a comedy career at night. I've performed my stand-up at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen and on the History Channel's "History of the Joke" special; I'm a regular at the Hollywood Improv, among other clubs. You can also see me in a wide variety of Internet videos, including 60frames.com's "Erik the Librarian Mysteries," in which I starred alongside The Office's Mindy Kaling.