Sweetwater Sound

Bob Bailey has a big gig to oversee each year, the annual Sweetwater Sound Gearfest! This is no small task as anyone of his friends on the NAMM staff can tell you, but Bob heads a strong team who are all dedicated to creating a fresh and exciting event for their customers each year. Back in the 1990s, Bob was a clinician for Gearfest when he worked for DigiTech. Over the years, Bob served as a product specialist for a number of companies and was seen often at NAMM shows behind the booths of BOSS and Cakewalk. Bob is also in charge of the Rock Camp at Sweetwater, which hosts 25 stu

Nick Bowcott is a founding member of the British heavy metal band, Grim Reaper. Nick put the band together in 1979 and by 1985 had gained commercial success namely due to Nick’s guitar skills and the band’s lead vocals by Steve Grimmett. While still with the band, Nick began writing about the gear he used and his views on the latest guitars. His columns appeared in several magazines over the years in the UK’s The Guitarist and Guitar World. He developed a strong relationship with KORG USA and later Jim Marshall, who became a close personal friend. After working for Fender/Jackson

Don Carr has fond memories of his father, an electronics enthusiast, recording him sing as a young kid. He played a number of instruments in school as his parents were always supportive of his musical interests. He was playing a regular club gig at the age of 15.  After college at Belmont in Nashville, Don became a studio musician and landed a sweet gig playing with the Oak Ridge Boys. He toured and recorded with the Oak Ridge Boys for 23 years, playing in the White House and around the world. In 2014, Don joined the Sweetwater team when Mark Hornsby called him asking Don to join

Vern Crews grew up surrounded by music. His uncle, Pee Wee Marquette, who was the master of ceremonies for the famed Birdland jazz club, gave young Vern a Hammond Organ when he was a kid. That organ inspired him to learn all he could about electronic musical instruments. During the MIDI boom of the 1980s, Vern became the manager of the keyboard department at Lentine's Music in Akron, Ohio. During his time at the music store, he learned first-hand about new products and the technology behind them by the reps of the most popular and successful manufacturers. Having this knowledge pr

Nick D’Virgilio grew up in the Los Angeles area and was exposed to music at a very young age. He was given his first drum set when he was 5 years old and was in a band by the time he was a teenager. As his career developed as a working musician, Nick played drums for several high-profile bands including Tears For Fears (for fifteen years) and Genesis, for which he recorded. When Sweetwater Sound was developing an in-house band for studio recordings, Nick was asked to join the team as the drummer and content provider for their website.

Scott Emmerman began taking guitar lessons in his hometown of Chicago when he was five years old. As a musician he toured and recorded with different bands and landed some great gigs, including, ironically enough, as a Boss demo artist at the 1979 NAMM show!  He later was hired by Roland as a sales rep and took a territory in the south-east.

Daniel Fisher has a long and interesting history in music, which began as a child when his parents discovered that he could play by ear at age 5. His education continued on a Hammond B3 organ when nuns taught Daniel in their convent and he began playing synthesizers starting in the mid-1970s. In 1980, Fisher studied on a Moog System 55 Modular Synthesizer at Northern Illinois University and later became the keyboardist for the United States Army Rock Band which toured Europe and the US.

Lynn Fuston was a junior in high school when he started recording the school choir. He had been singing his whole life but recognized the need to make better recordings. Following his passion, he journeyed to Nashville and started working in recording studios such as Sound Stage and the legendary former RCA Studio A on Music Row in the late 1970s. By his junior year in college, he was working full-time as a recording engineer and then at the age of 25 he designed and built Hummingbird Studio, which played an important role in the early days of Contemporary Christian Music in the '

Mitch Gallagher grew up in a musical family. His mother and her sisters sang three-part harmony for dance bands, encouraging all of the children in the family to get involved with music. Mitch followed his love of music throughout college and into a salesman job for the Sweetwater Sound retail store beginning in 1992. He grew in that position and helped with the marketing side of the business and writing for the company’s newsletter. Mitch enjoyed writing about the gear and in fact left Sweetwater for a time to become editor of Keyboard Magazine as well as EQ Magazine.

Rob Garofala has been a devoted gearhead since childhood, a label he wears proudly. A drummer, guitarist, and recording engineer, Rob’s multifaceted background made him a natural fit for his role as product specialist at Gator Cases. Music runs in his blood—his father played accordion and keyboards, sparking young Rob’s fascination with sound and instrumentation. After experimenting with clarinet and bass in school, he found his true voice on the drums during his senior year of high school. His path led him deep into the live sound and studio worlds, where he became a skilled reco

Johnny Grabowski was just four years old when he began playing his father’s piano by ear. He took lessons a few years later and in middle school joined the choir. Music has always been a strong part of Johnny’s life, so it didn't surprise anyone when he studied electronic music in college while playing and writing songs on the side. After working in the men’s clothing retail world in Texas, he jumped at the chance to work in music retail back in 1997. The Mars Music chain had just opened its fifth store in Houston and Johnny was eager to grow with the company. Although the chain l

John Hopkins became best friends with Chuck Surack, the founder of Sweetwater Sound, thanks to one phone call. Running his own heating and air condition company by day and helping his classical trained pianist wife by night, John found himself answering an ad in a magazine to purchase a keyboard upgrade. The year was 1988 and when John called Sweetwater for the purchase, the founder and owner, Chuck Surack, answered. They became fast friends and in fact Chuck hired John in 1992 and the two worked together until Chuck stepped up to chairman.

Melvin Quinones has a fascinating backstory as to how he established Victory Musical Instruments in Puerto Rico. It all began with his love and passion for making music, which started when he played saxophone in his church at the age of eleven. Within four years Melvin was touring with a church band, which provided him the opportunity to purchase a Yamaha Saxophone. Melvin joined the National Guard for seven years during which time he continued to play and learn all he could about computers and technology. He later worked for Microsoft for 22 years.

Jeff Radke followed in the footsteps of his father, who was a saxophonist in the big bands. Jeff played sax in school and studied music and business in college. He attended his first NAMM Show in 1984, the year MIDI was introduced, which is a lasting memory for Jeff. While working at West LA Music, he managed the Pro Audio Department, which was a wonderful learning opportunity for him. He later became regional sales manager for AKG traveling over 13 states. Over the years, he met and became friends with Chuck Surack, the founder of Sweetwater Sound in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Chuck as

Phil Rich remembers sitting on the couch with his mother, who was a nurse during the day and a songwriter in her spare time, as she wrote songs.  His band directed the music at their church and as a result, he always had the passion for playing music.  He played guitar at an early age and into high school with his friends.  He also played drums in school and later he played in the Navy band as well.  After studying sound recording in Seattle, Phil landed his first job in the music industry with Guitar Center where he worked in the pro audio department.  He later focused on guitar

David Stewart remembers making a choice to go from playing music professionally to the technological side of touring and working as a sound engineer. He toured during the 1980s, working live sound for a company that worked with several performers such as The Coasters and Chubby Checker, among others. Along the way, David learned first-hand the ins and outs of the business and the roles of front of house and as a festival producer.

Chuck Surack is the founder and president of Sweetwater Sound, one of the landmark companies within the music products industry.  He formed the company in 1979 and worked hard to gather the brands his customers wanted and to provide the care and service he himself would want.  Chuck has supported music educational and advocacy programs as well as serving the industry in such roles as on the NAMM Board of Directors and supporting the NAMM Oral History program over the years.  With all that he has done, Chuck continues to perform his saxophone, just as he always has.

Abraham Wechter grew up listening to Yiddish music and took piano and violin lessons as a kid. He used to sneak a transistor radio under his pillow at night and listen to underground rock radio stations. His passion for building guitars came about when he was in a music store, looked into the repair shop, and saw the guys working on his guitar. That moment stayed with him his whole life and his hard work landed him a spot in the Gibson factory making guitars. After Gibson moved to Nashville, Abraham decided to stick to what he knew and started building his own brand of guitars. To