ABOUT US
Fahntoosh Enterprises LLC is a small Austin-based, woman- and LBGT-owned event specialist company. We are live music enthusiasts who want to make the music scene accessible and enjoyable for everyone! We can provide a wide variety of event services, on both large and small scales. C3 Presents, Live Nation, Danny Wimmer Presents, and many others are all clients.
What’s in a name? Well, in the case of Fahntoosh Enterprises...not a lot. Long story short, a group of girlfriends were out for a night of revelry and live music in Austin, Texas. In waltzes a gentleman ("gentleman" being a generous term) who the ladies knew of but had never actually met. And they would make sure that they did not really meet that night. Rather than providing real names as introductions, our creative friend Daniele introduced everyone with names from the strange inner workings of her mind. Pointing to each friend respectively she said, “This is Roxie, this is Trixie, this is Fahntoosh”, and finally, “this is Francine Bonjourno.” Somehow Fahntoosh stuck as Cari’s nickname from that night forward. The others were spared….go figure.
Cari Wieland has been a part of the live music scene in one capacity or another….as a fan, a volunteer, a production professional, or event specialist… for 30+ years. She has worked or attended countless festivals, including Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits Music Festival, Bonnaroo, the Kerrville Folk Festival, Old Settler’s Music Festival, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, SXSW, Forecastle Festival, Firefly, Aftershock, Bourbon & Beyond, Louder Than Life, Grandoozy, Welcome to Rockville, Clusterfest, JMBLYA, the Napa Valley Film Festival, and many, many more! In fact, the list grows by leaps and bounds every year! She also worked full-time at SXSW in Austin, TX for 8 years, and continues to work the event each year in one capacity or another.
Cari’s professional life in the event management business began as a volunteer, but she is now proud to say it’s her full-time career. Before making the leap to event management, Cari was the Director of Special Education Assessments at the Texas Education Agency for 14 years. Before that, she was a high school principal and special education teacher. What a difference a few years makes! You’d be hard-pressed to find her in a business suit anymore these days!
After college Faith Cichon started her career as a Event Coordinator at Carlos n Charlie's on Lake Travis, Texas. Quickly her position grew into an event logistics role coordinating hospitality, ticket & retail sales, and staffing for their annual summer concert series. It was there she was able to merge her love of music with her career. In the off-season she began volunteering for SXSW and other large events around Austin introducing her to the Fahntoosh Family. Since joining the team she has lent her expertise to many events such as Austin City Limits Music Festival, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Louder Than Life, and Austin Trail of Lights, just to name a few.
When Amy Patton was 8 years old, her uncle Bill gave her a guitar for Christmas, and ever since music has played a huge roll in her life. Although her skills on the guitar only progressed to “camp fire level,” her love and appreciation of music, as well as those who make it, has only strengthened throughout the years. Amy has been attending live music shows most of her life, but her first camping festival in 2003 (Willie Nelson’s Picnic) opened up a whole new world. Since then, she has attended countless shows and as many festivals as her schedule would allow.
Amy has been helping people for almost as long as she has loved music. She started off in the Peer Assistance Leadership program in high school and realized that she had a knack for working with all kinds of people. After serving as an RA in college and volunteering with adults with intellectual disabilities, she started a career working with children and adults with psychiatric and behavioral issues. She has also volunteered with Special Olympics for multiple years, and has several special needs folks in her life. Her work experience and her love of music combined when she started volunteering at Austin City Limits Music Festival in their “Access Program” for patrons with mobility disabilities. This first volunteering experience had Amy hooked, and she found her calling with Fahntoosh Enterprises. Since then, her countless festival experience also includes Bonnaroo, SXSW, Okeechobee, Louder Than Life, and Forecastle. The list continues to grow and she can’t wait for her next adventure.
Tom Rogan’s life has revolved around both music and traveling for as long as he can remember, so it was natural for him to fall in with Fahntoosh. He started working music festivals for the free wristbands only to find that the world behind the curtain was where he really belonged, and quickly became a regular voice on the radio at events all across the country.
He's a jack of all trades and is the guy we rely on to “come over here and fix this," and "go do that over there." Tom is a musician and a craftsman who appreciates the world and everything in it. He has a big heart, and is dedicated to helping others and providing a positive experience for all festival patrons at every event he works.
Eric Gomez, or EGG which most of his friends and colleagues know him as, has immersed himself in the events and live music space over the past 15 years. Live music is in his blood and he lives to be around people enjoying great performances by all of the amazing musicians out there big and small. EGG has enjoyed the production of all events since he was a kid going to minor league baseball games in San Antonio. Where in the 7th inning you could find a child chasing down Henry The Puffy Taco around the bases as mid game entertainment.
EGG started his event professional journey as a volunteer with SXSW while attending college, he quickly became an integral returning member of their crew managers team building strong logistical and customer centric skills.
Ensuring all have a pleasant experience during their time in Austin, in addition to making sure his Promotional Materials crew ran smoothly year after year. His hard work and determination led him to a staff position managing a hotel venue during the conference focusing on the safety and making sure everything ran smoothly for all attendees and speakers.
His passion for creating and assisting with live events whether they be sporting, music, film, benefits or his own wedding (That’s right, he planned his own wedding) knows no bounds. That passion is almost as strong as his love for Texas BBQ & Tacos.
