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| The Chuck Hall Band |
There’s an old phrase; “Don’t give up your day job.” Well, many manufacturer employees have heeded that advice, even if it’s meant tongue-in-cheek. But even though they may not be famous rock stars, many are in great music groups. Let’s meet many of them. Let’s find out about their moonlighting gigs.
Let’s start with Michael Lille, a salesperson at Elixir Strings. Michael has been a guitarist since he was 15. In 1985, he joined SGGL (Speidel, Goodrich, Goggin, and Lille), an acoustic quartet that plays about 12 shows per year in the Washington D.C. area. The band opened for Kenny Loggins in April.
Dave Kurtiak, eMedia’s MI and educational sales manager, plays in How Now Brown Cow, a jazz/funk band. How does playing in a band help Kurtiak in his day job? “Since many of the dealers I am calling on are also musicians, it gives me a common interest to discuss beyond ‘Hey how are sales?’ or ‘How are you doing on stock?’” said Kurtiak. It helps to build a relationship with my buyers or also adds a little ‘street cred.’
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| Seth Wilks |
Scott Emmerman plays guitar in Equinox, a North Carolina-based jazz/blues band that has released two CDs. “I’ve played the guitar for over 40 years now, [and] played professionally for over 35 years. Performing keeps me tuned in to what this industry is all about,” he said.
You can check out Woody Moran’s alternative/folk rock songs on iTunes. Said the owner of Namba Gear: “There is nothing like the process of actually writing songs, rehearsing a band, performing in front of an audience and recording your own project to give you a true appreciation for the time, the passion and the commitment required to produce a “product” to share with others. It puts you on the front line and gives you an awareness of what our musical instrument and audio business is all about that is not possible to acquire in any other way.”
Chris Catero, director of artist relations/domestic sales for Krank Amps, has tons of stuff going on. He has been the touring bass player for former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman. He also is involved with Razer, a Phoenix-based radio-oriented rock/metal act that is negotiating with record labels. Said Catero. “It’s important in artist relations to actually be able to ‘relate’ to your artists by knowing what concerns, needs and situations they encounter while in the studio and on the road. And by being active in the music biz from a player standpoint you also have a better idea of what products or features would be cool to develop...nothing like necessity to bring forth the mother of invention!”
Troy Richardson, national sales manger for Tornavoz Music/Cordoba Guitars, plays bass for Patsy Crime. The band features Barbara Hall playing a Cordoba. Don’t know Barbara Hall? Well, she’s the writer, producer and creator of two former primetime TV shows, “Judging Amy” and “Joan of Arcadia.”
Marshall Electronics has three employees out gigging. Charles Eck, quality control supervisor, plays in The Green Mighty, which plays nearly every type of music. Ruben Cuellar, a salesperson/technical support employee for MXL Microphones, is a producer and musician with BAIRU, a hip hop act. Steve Silva, project manager, does audio engineering, post-production sound design, editing, and mixing for television, the Internet, and movies.
Nial McGaughey, founder of Solid Cables, is the guitar player in The Copperthief, a rock duo that performs long-form songs. “Playing music live and in the studio puts me at ground zero with what my products do, and how they can positively impact other musicians’ lives,” he said.
EMD Music Warehouse Manager Mike Fleming plays bass in The Steeldrivers. The band is so popluar in the Nashville area that it will be featured in a future movie starring Bill Murray.
When he’s not engaging dealers at the many trade shows he attends, the affable Harvey Levy, founder of Levy’s Leathers, regularly gigs and records CDs. “My CD launch was with a nine-piece band, all of whom performed on my album,” said Levy. “I perform only original material in the country vein. I perform solo as well as in the Martin Levy duo, usually at local bars, coffee houses and private functions. Because I travel so much I probably only do eight to ten gigs a year, mostly benefits. I write with two friends; one Lee Solomon, in Nashville, who I get together with once or twice a year in Nashville for a three or four day song writing retreat at his farm. I also get together once a week here in Winnipeg with Ray Martin for a writing session. I also belong to the Manitoba Independent Song Writing Circle. ”
Rainy days and Mondays may always get him down. But David Cradler, a sales associate at Full Compass Systems, always looks forward to Tuesday—well SuperTuesday—a Madison, Wisc.-based cover band that plays rock, pop, and country music. “I gain real life experience with the gear I sell,” said Cradler. “The band’s performance has a much higher level of production than your typical bar band and with that high level, there’s a lot more that can go wrong. I find out quickly which pieces of gear are keepers, and which will let you down at a gig. I can pass that knowledge on to my customers, which keeps them coming back again and again.”
Blue Microphones’ Southwest Region Sales Manager Ben Tompkins performs several gigs, including playing guitar for Terminal 6, a Los-Angeles-based hard rock band. Several of his songs have appeared on prominent television shows, including “Feather” and “Not to Hurt You,” which were played on a recent episode of 90210 on CW.
Fender has a huge number of employees still gigging. We have seven for you. Salesman rep Alan Dequina plays guitar, bass, and drums as a soloist and for the McLovins. Salesperson Chad Hines is a guitarist and vocalist for Truckers on Speed. Consumer relations specialist Bob Willocks plays bass for a plethora of bands. Matt Martinez, also a consumer relations specialist, plays bass in Landmine Marathon. Bob Desiderio, principal research and development engineer, plays bass and keyboards for both The Hype and Presence. Chuck Hall, product manager for Fender guitar amps, is a guitarist and vocalist in the blues-rock focused Chuck Hall Band. And Seth Wilks, Fender’s tax manager, crunches numbers by day and strums electric, bass, and ukulele at night rock/jam-based Jeff Hunt Band.
Marshall Moody, inside sales rep at Greg Bennett Guitars, is always in the mood to play at gigs. He’s been playing in bands for 20 years. His current gig is with Outta Nowhere and he’s also going to perform with The Millionaires, Samick Music’s showcase band, which will debut at The Greg Bennett Indie Dealer Jam 2009 during Summer NAMM.
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