David Spero

David Spero was a "rock-radio pioneer" in the 1970s and is a "high-profile" music manager and owner of the Cleveland office of Alliance Artists Ltd.
Radio DJ.
At the age of 13, before beginning his career as a DJ at WXEN (now WHLK), WNCR (now WGAR-FM), WMMS, M105-FM (now WMJI), and WNCX, Spero worked as a cue card holder on "The Upbeat Show" which his father, Herman Spero, produced. At 15, Spero was helping to set the order of songs as a co-writer and assistant producer of the show. In describing the show, Spero explained that it was like Dick Clark’s "American Bandstand" in that it featured the newest performers and their music, but unlike Clark’s show, which had just one act and mostly dancing, "Upbeat" had eight or more live acts each week.
At the age of 16, Spero got his start in radio on WXEN's graveyard shift. Shortly after WXEN, Spero moved to WNCR and then WMMS at around 19 years of age. While still living with his parents, Spero got a break at WNCR when radio host Don Imus helped him get promoted to the morning spot on the station. As a DJ at WMMS in the 1970s, Spero interviewed most of the rock stars who went to Cleveland. In fact, Humble Pie credits Spero for breaking the band locally in the US. And, although his fellow DJ "Kid Leo" is widely credited with breaking Bruce Springsteen, it was Spero who "told fellow WMMR DJ 'Kid Leo' about Springsteen."
Michael Stanley.
In the spring of 1974, Spero took a break from being a DJ and resigned as the afternoon drive host on WMMS to manage Michael Stanley's career. Spero managed the Michael Stanley Band during their early building process. According to Jim Girard of "Citi-Music Magazine", Spero used his influence to get the band a deal with Epic Records, although Spero credits Bill Szymczyk and Irving Azoff – Joe Walsh’s manager at the time, with getting Michael's new band signed. Michel Stanley's second solo album, "Friends and Legends", was the first project Spero was involved with as his manager.
Spero was managing Stanley when his band opened for the Eagles on tour, thus Spero gained valuable experience in managing a band and developed a relationship with the Eagles, both of which proved helpful to Spero's career.
In 1978 Spero returned to radio at Cleveland's M105-FM (now WMJI) both to avoid the travel since he was newly married and because he missed working in radio.
Columbia Pictures.
Radio felt increasingly corporate and no longer held the same appeal for Spero, so he again looked for a change in career. Even as he kept a foot in the door with radio via a Saturday show on WNCX, Spero left M105-FM and spent over ten years with Columbia Pictures. In March, 1984, "Boxoffice magazine" listed in its "On the Move" page that Spero was promoted to Manager of the Cleveland-Cincinnati branch office. He continued to work up through the ranks and was Columbia's Regional Managing Director in Independence, Ohio, when the film company relocated that office to Chicago.
Joe Walsh.
Returning to talent management, Spero became Joe Walsh's manager just before Walsh released his ninth studio album "Ordinary Average Guy". Spero and Walsh have maintained a friendship for over thirty years.
Spero produced 'The Joe Walsh/Glenn Frey Tour' – the precursor to 'The Eagles: Hell Freezes Over Tour' – after facilitating the reconciliation between Walsh and Frey which eventually brought the entire band back together. He describes the Hell Freezes Over Tour as "the coolest thing I ever did."
In the late 1990s, in addition to Joe Walsh, Spero was managing other musicians including the classic pop act Raspberries and Ted Neeley, a rock and roll musician well known for performing the title role in the 1973 movie and long-running road production of "Jesus Christ Superstar". He also was managing Harry Nilsson in 1994 when the Grammy award winning musician died in his sleep a few days after completing work on his album "Lost and Found".
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 2000, Spero accepted a position as Senior Director of Programming for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where he set up many shows and creative events including "MTV Live At The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame". John Mayer, Linkin Park, Avril Lavigne and Godsmack are among the artists Spero brought to the Rock Hall. Spero served as a member of their Board of Trustees into 2008. Among the many events he brought to the Rock Hall, in October, 2005, Spero recreated "Upbeat" in a benefit helping inner city teenagers.
In addition to his involvement with Cleveland's Hall of Fame, on October 7, 2007, Spero himself was inducted as one of the Radio/Television Broadcasters Hall of Fame of Ohio's Class of 2007. And when Graham Nash was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010 for the second time, this time with The Hollies – the first time was in 1997 with Crosby, Stills and Nash – Nash acknowledged the help and support of Spero during his remarks.
Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens).
In 2003, managing Billy Bob Thornton, Spero helped his "Edge of the World" album get off the ground with a summer tour. A few years later, in 2007, Spero was Yusuf Islam's manager, co-managing him with his brother David Gordon, for the Deluxe reissues of "Tea for the Tillerman" and "Teaser and the Firecat". David then did the A&R work for the former Cat Stevens' Roadsinger CD and put together his tour in Europe and the US in 2009 which was Islam's first full tour since 1976.
Spero was instrumental in bringing together Paul McCartney and Islam into the recording studio for one of the tracks. That track, "Boots & Sand," also features Dolly Parton, Islam's longtime friend and collaborator.
With his son Adam working alongside him, Spero continues to manage artists from his home in South Euclid, Ohio, representing Dickey Betts, Dave Mason, The Funk Brothers and many others. Like he did in the '70s with Michael Stanley, Spero continues to work with up-and-coming artists explaining "You need to mix the old with the new to keep up the variety of interests."


Dave Amels

Dave Amels (born 1960) co-founded music technology companies Voce musical instruments and Bomb Factory. Both companies are known for detailed and realistic mathematical models of complex physical systems. Amels also plays organ in The Reigning Sound, a garage rock band out of Asheville, North Carolina.
Despite being an inventor of influential digital products, Dave, a garage rock fan and WFMU radio DJ, is famous for only using analog methods of recording. He designed recording studios and custom analog electronics for high end studios.
As a musician and record producer, Amels has worked with Ben E. King, Lenny Kravitz, Mary Weiss of 1960s girl group The Shangri-Las, and Dennis Diken of The Smithereens.
In 2002, Amels collaborated with Dennis Diken to form the band Husky Team. They released the album "Christmas in Memphis" on the Confidential Recording label.
Dave Amels relaunched the Cryptovision Records record label in 2009. Amels worked in A&R for the label in the 1980s.


Linwood Boomer

Linwood Boomer (born October 9, 1955) is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and former actor. He is known for playing the role of Adam Kendall on the drama "Little House on the Prairie", and for creating the Fox sitcom "Malcolm in the Middle".
Early life.
Boomer was born into a lower-middle class family in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the third of four sons. He was enrolled in a gifted program at school. His mother is named Eileen. He was the middle child in his household. Boomer made a show based on his life story called "Malcolm in the Middle", which ran on FOX from January 2000 to May 2006.
Career.
Boomer began his career as an actor. After playing Adam Kendall on "Little House on the Prairie", Boomer began focusing his talents on the behind-the-scenes aspects of television.
Boomer's writing and executive producing credits include "Night Court", "Flying Blind", "The Boys Are Back", "Townies", "3rd Rock from the Sun" and "God, the Devil and Bob". He also created and executive produced the pilots "Family Business", "Nice Try", and the U.S. version of "Red Dwarf", and served as an executive producer under James L. Brooks for the pilot of "Big". He also owns his own production company Satin City.
Boomer negotiated with CBS on a pilot order for a project that reunited him with Gail Berman, the exec who shepherded "Malcolm" during her tenure at Regency TV and as programming chief at Fox. Boomer wrote the script and exec produced along with Berman and Lloyd Braun for their "BermanBraun" shingle and Universal Media Studios, where BermanBraun is based. Dubbed "The Karenskys", the multi-camera comedy would revolve around a daughter's return to the fold of her large, eccentric, ethnic family after her husband takes a job in her hometown. It was directed by Pamela Fryman and starred Annie Potts, Desi Lydic, Jack Thompson, Mather Zickel, Sasha Alexander, Tinsley Grimes, & Todd Stashwick.
"Malcolm in the Middle".
Although Boomer has created, produced and acted in many television series, he is best known for creating the Fox sitcom "Malcolm in the Middle", which was based on his life story. The debut episode of the series was watched by 22.5 million viewers, and the second episode was watched by 26 million viewers. The series ran for seven seasons from 2000 to 2006 and in total had 151 episodes. Boomer wrote two episodes, starting with "Pilot" and then "Francis Escapes" and directed five episodes -- "Opera," "Stilts," "Reese vs. Stevie," "Bride of Ida," and the series finale, "Graduation." Boomer received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for the pilot episode.


Lou Hamou-Lhadj

Lou Hamou-Lhadj is an American director, animator and writer at Pixar. He is best known for his work on film "Borrowed Time", which together with Andrew Coats, he directed, wrote and released independently through Quorum Films, LLC. Hamou-Lhadj is nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at 89th Academy Awards, that he shares with Andrew Coats.


Ted Henning

Ted Henning is an American video game and animation producer, and former stage, television, and film actor, producer, and screenwriter.
Acting and writing career.
Early roles - Stage acting and voice work.
Early acting work includes the Off-Broadway stage play "The Moon Dreamers" (1969), and several roles (St. Augustine, Mailman, Dragon, Alvin) in the Broadway production "Gloria and Esperanza" in the ANTA Playhouse (1970).
He provided the English voice of Lung Tai in "Blood of the Dragon" (1971).
Television and film.
Acting.
His feature film roles include playing Robert Campbell in "The Lincoln Conspiracy" (1977), Mr. Wetzle in "Our Winning Season" (1978), Jimmy in "The Prize Fighter" (1979), Ted in "The First Turn-On!" (1983), and Fabian Marks in "Livin' Large!" (1991).
On television, he was a regular cast member on "Tush" (also known as "The Bill Tush Show"). Other roles included Chip Taylor in the unaired CBS sitcom "The Elvira Show" and Darrel Gordon in "Port Charles".
His guest-starring roles on several series include "Guiding Light, CBS Summer Playhouse, Matlock, In Living Color, Northern Exposure, Babylon 5, Melrose Place, Murder, She Wrote, Crisis Center, The Burning Zone, Early Edition," and "The Pretender."
TV movie roles include "Unconquered", "A Winner Never Quits", "Miss America: Behind the Crown," "Lucky Ed's Tabloid News", "When Will I Be Loved?", and the television adaptation of the children's book, "A Pocket for Corduroy".
Screenwriting, producing, and award nominations.
As a screenwriter, he wrote the 2008 movie "Uncross the Stars" starring Daniel Gillies, Barbara Hershey, Ron Perlman, and Irma P. Hall
He also co-wrote "" (2002) (earning him a DVD Exclusive Awards nomination in 2003), "Piglet's Big Movie" (2003), and "Winnie the Pooh: 123s" (2004).
He was a director and writer on "The Showtime 30-Minute Movie," earning him a CableACE Awards nominee in 1995, and produced the children's storybook CD, "Storytime Favorites."
He was nominated for a Cable ACE award for "Two Over Easy" and was associate producer on the Hallmark Hall Of Fame TV movie adaptation of the novel "Calm At Sunset, Calm At Dawn".
Education and other work.
He graduated from Lehigh University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He was working on a Masters Degree in Education Technology at National University.
He was one of the founding partners of online animation studio "Scream Therapy," where he created and produced games, music videos, and animated shorts. He was also a creative producer at Gigawatt Studios, where he produced "Expedition: Mars", a popular post-ride attraction at the center in Disney World. He has produced games for Mattel, Radio Shack, Microsoft's GameZone, and Sony. He also worked at XLT Studios, a combined game and animation company. He was most recently director of product education at Athenahealth.


Ricky Harris

Richard George Harris II (October 5, 1962 – December 26, 2016) was an American producer, actor, and comedian. He is known for his role as Malvo in the UPN/The CW sitcom "Everybody Hates Chris".
Life and career.
Harris played his first movie roles in "Poetic Justice" in 1993 and "Murder Was the Case" in 1994. He also had minor roles in Michael Mann's 1995 crime film "Heat" and Mikael Salomon's 1998 action movie "Hard Rain".
Harris was the voice of DJ EZ Dicc, TaaDow, and Saul-T-Nutz from various skits featured on albums from Snoop Dogg to Tha Dogg Pound.
In 1993, Harris starred with Todd Hunter in the single episode of "357 Marina del Rey" produced for the television series "Danger Theatre", playing private detective Clay Gentry. From 1996 to 1998 he played the role of Javon "J. W." Willis in six episodes of the UPN situation comedy "Moesha".
In the 2001 film "Bones", Harris played alongside Snoop Dogg and Pam Grier.
In 2004, Harris lent his voice to various characters in the video game "". In 2007, he played the role of Cousin Fred in the movie "This Christmas". From 2006 to 2008, Harris played Malvo, a recurring character in the sitcom "Everybody Hates Chris".
Death.
Harris died of a heart attack on December 26, 2016 at the age of 54, according to his manager, Cindy Ambers.
Among those who paid respects were Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Chuck D, and Cedric The Entertainer.


Jay Dittamo

Jay Dittamo (born May 30, 1959) is an American drummer, percussionist, music composer and record producer. He has played with acts such as Junoon, Band From Utopia, Willie Colón, Jimmy Webb, Chuck Berry, The Duprees, The Crests, The Marvellets, Bucky Pizzarelli, and Gloria Lynne. He has performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the United Nations and for the 2010 New Jersey Hall of Fame as well as played on TV and movie soundtracks. Dittamo also owns The Cave Studio. Dittamo composed, played, and produced a musical score for the classic 1931 "Frankenstein" movie. He resides in Waldwick, New Jersey.


Sonny Vaccaro

John Paul Vincent Vaccaro (born September 23, 1939 in Trafford, Pennsylvania) is an American former sports marketing executive, and lives in Santa Monica, California.
Vaccaro is best known for his tenure with Nike, Inc., where he signed Michael Jordan to his first sneaker deal. Vaccaro left Nike for Adidas, then Reebok. He founded the ABCD Camp, an elite showcase of high school basketball standouts, which ran from 1984 to 2007. It featured future stars Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, and LeBron James. Vaccaro cofounded the first national high school All-Star game, The Dapper Dan Roundball Classic, with concert promoter and boyhood friend Pat DiCesare in Pittsburgh in 1965. The game endured for 43 years and its alumni includes such greats as Calvin Murphy, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Chris Webber, Alonzo Mourning, Kevin Garnett, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Patrick Ewing, Rasheed Wallace and Stephon Marbury.
An ESPN "30 for 30" documentary about Vaccaro entitled "Sole Man" aired on April 16, 2015. Vaccaro had a rivalry with George Ravelling over summer high school basketball. Vaccaro was a key figure in the O'Bannon v. NCAA lawsuit, which allowed players to be compensated. Vaccaro helped to recruit Ed O'Bannon for the case.


Ethan Allen (music producer)

Ethan Allen is a Grammy nominated American record producer, mixer, engineer, writer and musician currently living in Los Angeles, California. He is also a multi-instrumentalist and performer currently working with the band ASHRR. Some of his credits include Mavis Staples, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Ben Harper, The 88, Tricky, Luscious Jackson, The Cult, Gram Rabbit, Sheryl Crow, Tim Finn, Brant Bjork, Donita Sparks, Meg Myers, Patty Griffin, and Better Than Ezra.
History.
Ethan began his musical career playing in bands and writing songs in Austin, Texas. It was also there that he began learning to record, working first at a small jingle studio, and later at Arlyn and Pedernales, Willie Nelson's two studios and at the time the largest studios in town.
In 1995, Ethan accepted an invitation to come and work at Kingsway, producer Daniel Lanois' recording studio located in the French Quarter of New Orleans. While there, he eventually became house engineer and worked on many major label and independent records with a wide variety of artists, producers, engineers, and musical styles.
Ethan left that position in 2000 to become a freelance engineer and producer, and also helped to found the Truck Farm Studio in the upper ninth ward of New Orleans.
Since 2003, Ethan has been a resident of the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, and it is also the location of his studio – Royal Triton.
Discography.
P- Production,
E- Engineering,
M- Mixing,
Pr- Programming,
Gtr- Guitar,
Co-W- Co-Writing


Sonny Digital

Sonny Corey Uwaezuoke (born March 5, 1991), better known by his stage name Sonny Digital, is an American record producer, rapper, and DJ. He rose to prominence after producing YC's hit single "Racks" in 2011. He is best known for his production on ILoveMakonnen's "I Dont Sell Molly No More" and "Tuesday" featuring Drake, Future's single "Same Damn Time", 50 Cent's "I'm the Man" and 2 Chainz's "Birthday Song", as well as the XXL Freshman Cyphers for 2017 and 2018. He has worked with multiple hip-hop artists, such as Future, Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, Drake, Chief Keef, 50 Cent, and more.
He is also a frequent collaborator with label-mates such as Shawty Blast, 808 Mafia's Southside and TM88. He is signed as a producer to Universal Publishing.
Early life.
Sonny was born on March 5, 1991, in Saginaw, Michigan, but was raised in Atlanta. He has been involved in making music since an early age. At first he started rapping while at school, but found it hard to get instrumentals to rap over. When he was 13, he was influenced by his older cousin to start making beats. Aside from school, Sonny didn't have other hobbies like playing sports or video games, so he dedicated a large amount of his free time to creating music. Sonny was inspired by famous producers Shawty Redd and Drumma Boy and initially tried to copy their sound while learning to make beats. Eventually his production transformed into his own style.
Career.
2011-2013: First charting singles and success.
When he was 16, he joined a hip-hop group as a producer and was also producing mixtapes for other local artists. In 2011, YC used one of his beats for the single "Racks", which went to become a national hit, peaking at #42 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and being certified Gold by RIAA. The song was also featured in the Billboard 2011 Year-end Rap songs and R&B/Hip-hop songs charts.
Sonny released his first official mixtape "Digital History" on May 9, 2011. The tape, hosted by DJ 1Hunnit, is a collection of songs Sonny had produced between 2010 and 2011. It features many rappers, such as Plies, Wale, 2 Chainz and Future. It has been viewed over 70,000 times on LiveMixtapes.
Sonny produced six songs on Gorilla Zoe's album "King Kong" released in June. Sonny's second mixtape "Behind the Muzik" was released on September 8, 2011. It is a collaboration with fellow producer Will A Fool, where each produced half of the songs.
In late 2011, Sonny produced Future's hit single "Same Damn Time", which was initially featured on Future's mixtape "Streetz Calling". Following the song's success, in 2012 Future released a new version of "Same Damn Time" as the third official single from his debut album "Pluto". It peaked at number 92 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. A music video for the single was released on April 4, 2012. Sonny Digital also produced the official remix of "Same Damn Time" featuring rappers Diddy and Ludacris, which was released on May 17, 2012. The remix was featured on Future's re-release of "Pluto", titled "Pluto 3D".
In March 2012, Sonny produced Gorilla Zoe's mixtape "Gorilla Zoe World". The tape was certified bronze for being downloaded over 25,000 times on popular mixtape site DatPiff. In early 2012 Sonny also worked on Gucci Mane's mixtapes "Trap Back" and "I'm Up". On June 8, 2012, Sonny Digital released his debut rap single, "Business Man", featuring rapper Que. The song was produced by BWheezy.
Sonny produced 2 Chainz' single "Birthday Song", which was released on July 24, 2012. Sonny created the original beat, which was later modified by a number of GOOD Music producers – Kanye West, BWheezy, Anthony Kilhoffer, Lifted and Mike Dean. The single peaked at number 49 on the US Hot 100, and also entered top 10 of the R&B and Rap charts. The official music video was released on August 30, 2012, and became a viral success, gaining over 30 million views on YouTube.
Later in 2012, Sonny produced the track "Don't Get Me Started", which was featured on the deluxe version of DJ Khaled's album "Kiss the Ring", as well as on Ace Hood's mixtape "Body Bag 2". The official video for the promo single was released on August 17, 2012 on Ace Hood's YouTube channel. Sonny was featured on Jo FloWroshus' single "Attention" from his "900°" album. In an interview with BET Sonny stated he was working with artists B.o.B, Ace Hood and Wiz Khalifa, and making a new mixtape with fellow producer Drumma Boy. He also wants to work with a famous pop singer like Justin Bieber.
In March 2013, Sonny released a collaboration mixtape with rapper Que, titled "Forbes Atlanta".
2014-present: "Billboard" top 10 and more projects.
In 2014, Sonny produced the track "Tuesday" by ILoveMakonnen and Drake. The song peaked at number 12 on the "Billboard" Hot 100.
In August 2018, Sonny produced the Travis Scott song "Stargazing", which peaked at number eight on the Hot 100 and earned Sonny his highest charting single.
In 2019, Sonny announced a follow-up collaboration project with Black Boe, the album to be titled "Black Goat II", after 2017's "Black Goat".
Other ventures.
In 2011, Sonny created his own label, Sonny Digital Music Group. Currently, he is the only artist signed to the label.
Artistry.
Sonny uses the music production software FL Studio along with custom plug-ins to make his beats. He seeks inspiration in listening to other producers' tracks, music in general and watching movies.
Production credits.
2011.
Gorilla Zoe - "King Kong"
Wiz Khalifa - "Cabin Fever"
YC - "NBA Live 2005 Exclusive"
Juicy J - "Rubba Band Business 2"
Roscoe Dash - "J.U.I.C.E."
Kevin Gates - "Drug Dealer Potential"
Ace Hood - "Blood, Sweat & Tears"
Wale – "The Eleven One Eleven Theory"
Juicy J - "Blue Dream & Lean"
Future - "Streetz Calling"
Yung Joc - "Ready To Fly"
2 Chainz - "UNKNOWN"
Kid Ink – "Wheels Up"
Ilovemakkonnen side by side
2012.
Jody Breeze - "Airplane Mode"
Future – "Astronaut Status"
Gorilla Zoe - "Gorilla Zoe World"
Gucci Mane - "Trap Back"
SPOT – "The Price Iz Right"
Gucci Mane - "I'm Up"
Future - "Pluto"
Young Lace – "Above Average"
Juicy J – "Blue Dream & Lean (Bonus Tracks)"
Chevy Woods – "Gang Land"
Waka Flocka Flame - "Triple F Life"
Jackie Chain – "Bruce Lean Chronicles"
2 Chainz - "Based on a T.R.U. Story"
DJ Khaled - "Kiss the Ring"
Ace Hood - "Body Bag 2"
Trae Tha Truth - "Tha Blackprint"
Diamond – "The Young Life"
Rocko – "Wordplay"
Roscoe Dash - "Roscoe 2.0"
Reese – "Reese Vs. The World 2"
B.o.B - "Fuck 'Em We Ball"
Young Lace - "Bipolar"
Future - "Pluto 3D"
Frank Whyte - "1728"
2013.
Sonny Digital & Que - "Forbes Atlanta"
Beyoncé - TBA
Chief Keef - "Bang Pt. 2"
Ace Hood - "Trials & Tribulations"
2014.
Young Money - ""
Wiz Khalifa - "28 Grams"
Wiz Khalifa - "Blacc Hollywood"
B.o.B - "No Genre Pt. 2"
ILoveMakonnen – "ILoveMakonnen"
2015.
Kourtney Money - "The Return Of Money (Zone 6 Edition)"
Future - DS2
Travis Scott - Rodeo
Juicy J - 100% Juice
Chief Keef - Finally Rollin 2
Chief Keef - Back From The Dead 3/Cabinet Fever
Wiz Khalifa - Cabin Fever 3
50 Cent - The Kanan Tape
Juicy J - OS To Oscar
Migos & Rich The Kid - Streets on Lock 4
Young Buck - 10 Pints
YFN Lucci - Wish Me Well
Pnb Rock - RNB 3 : Philadelphia
Young Thug - Slime Season
Jeezy - Gangsta Party
Que - I Am Que
Lil Uzi Vert - Luv is Rage
Ty Dolla Sign - Airplane Mode
Que - Lost Dawg
Key! - Screaming Dreams : The Prelude
21 Savage - Free Guwop
21 Savage - Slaughter King
SD - Just The Beginning
Ace Hood - Starvation 4
Key!
Zuse - "Trap Zuse"
OJ Juiceman - 6 Rings 3
Lil Uzi Vert - The Wraith, The Uzi Vert
Jeezy - CITS
2016.
Landstrip Chip - "Cruising Control"
G.O.A.T
Meek Mill - "DC4"
2017.
Machine Gun Kelly - "Bloom"
Smokepurpp
2018.
Big Cat & PFTCommenter
Travis Scott - "Astroworld"
2019.
Big Cat & PFTCommenter
2020.
Don Toliver - "Heaven or Hell"
Pap Chanel & Future


Emily Ballou

Emily Ballou is an Australian-American poet, novelist and screenwriter. Her poetry collection "The Darwin Poems", a verse portrait of Charles Darwin, was published by University of Western Australia Press in 2009. It was written as part of an Australia Council for the Arts residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in County Monaghan, Ireland.
Background.
Emily Ballou was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She studied Film and English at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, graduating with a Bachelor in Fine Arts with Honours and completed a Master of Letters in Gender and Cultural Studies at the University of Sydney. She subsequently immigrated to Australia. She now lives in Glasgow, Scotland.
Career.
She wrote the "Anouk" and "Aisha" episodes of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television mini-series "The Slap", the original adaptation of Christos Tsiolkas’ novel of the same name, which won the 2012 AWGIE Awards for Television Mini-Series (Adaptation). It was aired in the UK on BBC4 and nominated for a Royal Television Society Award, a BAFTA award and an International Emmy Award.
Ballou has also written episodes of BBC One/FX "Taboo", Channel 4/AMC "Humans", BBC One's "Case Histories" (series 2, "Nobody's Darling"), ITV's "Scott & Bailey", National Geographic's TV movie "American Blackout", co-written with Ewan Morrison, and "Family", directed by Shaun Gladwell in the anthology film "The Turning", adapted from Tim Winton's book of short stories and screened in the Berlinale Special Galas section of the 64th Berlin International Film Festival.
She is also the author of the novels "Father Lands" (Picador, 2002), "Aphelion" (Picador, 2007) and the picture book "One Blue Sock" (with illustrations by Stephen Michael King) (Random House, 2007).


Mary Parent

Mary Parent (born 1968) is an American film producer, and former studio executive. In February 2011, she co-founded Disruption Entertainment, a company with a first-look deal at Paramount Pictures. She was formerly the Chairperson of Metro Goldwyn Mayer's Worldwide Motion Picture Group. She was a former President of Production for Universal Studios. There, she was responsible for "Meet the Fockers", "The Bourne Supremacy", "Serenity", and other films. In 2004, Parent and Scott Stuber were named Vice Chairman of Worldwide Production for Universal Pictures. In 2005, Universal inked a production deal with the duo under the shingle Stuber/Parent Productions. Under Stuber/Parent, she has produced such films as "Role Models" (2008), "Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins" (2008), "The Kingdom" (2007), and "You, Me and Dupree" (2006). She produced Guillermo del Toro's "Pacific Rim", the Darren Aronofsky epic "Noah" and "" (2015). Parent worked at New Line Cinema in the 1990s.
In 2008, Parent placed 28th on "The Wall Street Journal"s "50 Women to Watch 2008" list.
Filmography.
She was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.


Robert N. Fried

Robert Nathan "Rob" Fried is an American film producer, screenwriter, studio executive and media entrepreneur. He is the founder of Fried Films and Spiritclips, LLC, a division of Hallmark Cards which includes Hallmark eCards and Feeln. He previously served as president and CEO of Savoy Pictures, executive vice president of production for Columbia Pictures, director of film finance and special projects for Columbia Pictures and director of business development at 20th Century Fox. He became the CEO of ChromaDex in 2018.
Career.
From 1983 to 1990, Fried held various executive positions. He served as executive vice president of production for Columbia Pictures, director of film finance and special projects for Columbia Pictures and director of business development at 20th Century Fox. Orion Pictures hired Fried as vice president of production in 1986. He founded Fried Films, a production company, in 1990 and served as founding CEO. He founded Fried Films, a production company, in 1990 and served as founding CEO. Fried won an Academy Award in 1992 for his short film, "Session Man". His film "Rudy" won the Christopher Award that year.
He was president and CEO of Savoy Pictures from December 1994 to June 1996. In 1996, Fried founded WhatsHotNow, an e-commerce company that sells entertainment memorabilia. He was chairman and CEO of the company until June 2001. In 2005, "Collateral", a movie Fried produced, won an ASCAP award. Fried launched Spirit EMX, an internet video content company, in 2007. Hallmark Cards acquired Spirit EMX and rebranded it as SpiritClips, LLC. He serves as CEO of the company. Fried served as co-chairman of Tiger Media from October 2009 to August 2011. In 2018, he was named CEO of ChromaDex.
Personal life.
Fried holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.
In 1994, he married actress Nancy Travis, who appeared in Fried's "So I Married An Axe Murderer" (1993). They have two sons.


Ben Lyon

Ben Lyon (February 6, 1901 – March 22, 1979) was an American film actor and a studio executive at 20th Century-Fox who later acted in British radio, films and TV.
Early life and career.
Lyon was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Alvine W. (Wiseberg) and Ben Lyon, a travelling salesman. His family was Jewish. Lyon entered films in 1918 after a successful appearance on Broadway opposite Jeanne Eagels. He attracted attention in the highly successful film "Flaming Youth" (1923) and steadily developed into a leading man. He was successfully paired with some of the leading actresses of the silent era, including Pola Negri, Gloria Swanson, Colleen Moore, Barbara La Marr, Viola Dana, Anna Q. Nilsson, Mary Astor and Blanche Sweet. In 1925, a writer for "Photoplay" wrote of him, "Girls, Ben Lyon looks harmless but we have reliable information that he's irresistible, so watch your step. Besides he's a mighty fine actor and if the ladies must fall in love with him he can't help it."
He had success as an actor in the 1930 film "Hell's Angels". The film was a major success and brought Jean Harlow to prominence, but Lyon's performance as a heroic World War I aviator was also highly regarded. For the next decade he was constantly in demand, but his popularity began to wane by the early 1940s. By the mid 1940s he was working for 20th Century-Fox. On July 17, 1946, he met a young aspiring actress named Norma Jeane Dougherty. After his first meeting with her, he stated that she was "Jean Harlow all over again!" He organized a color screen test for the actress, renamed her, and finally signed her as Marilyn Monroe to her first studio contract.
During World War II, when the United States was still neutral, Lyon and his wife, actress Bebe Daniels, settled in London. The couple, along with the comedian Vic Oliver, starred in the radio series "Hi, Gang!", which ran from 1940 to 1949. "Hi Gang" was succeeded in 1950 by "Life with the Lyons", which also featured their real-life son Richard and daughter Barbara, and spawned a couple of theatrical films as well as a television series on BBC and independent television from 1954 until 1960. Bebe Daniels had top billing in these series, similar to the concurrent American show starring married couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
He was the subject of "This Is Your Life" in March 1963, when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the BBC Television Theatre.
Military service.
Lyon served as a pilot in the 322nd Pursuit Squadron in the early 1930s. During World War II he returned to the colours as a lieutenant colonel in charge of US Army Air Forces Special Services.
Personal life.
Lyon married actress Bebe Daniels in June 1930. They had two children, daughter Barbara in 1932 and a son, Richard, whom they adopted from a London orphanage. In an issue of the contemporary magazine Radio Pictorial, Bebe explained how she saw Richard peering through the railings and instantly thought "A brother for Barbara". Daniels suffered a severe stroke in 1963 and withdrew from public life. She suffered a second stroke in late 1970. She died at the couple's London home in March 1971.
On April 1, 1972, Lyon married the actress Marian Nixon, whom he had known since the 1920s. They remained married until his death. She died five years later, also at age 78.
Death.
On March 22, 1979, Lyon and his second wife, Marian Nixon, were vacationing together on the "Queen Elizabeth 2" cruise ship near Honolulu, Hawaii, when Lyon suffered a fatal heart attack. He was 78 years old. His body was cremated and is interred in the Chapel Columbarium at Hollywood Forever Cemetery next to his first wife, Bebe Daniels.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Ben Lyon has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1724 Vine Street.
A biography, "Bebe and Ben", was written by Jill Allgood, a personal friend who worked with them at the BBC.


Natasha Allegri

Natasha Allegri (born June 18, 1986) is an American animation creator, writer, storyboard artist, storyboard revisionist, and comic book artist. She is best known for her work as a storyboard revisionist for Cartoon Network's "Adventure Time", and as the creator of Cartoon Hangover's and Frederator Studios "Bee and PuppyCat".
Early life.
Born in June 1986, Allegri is the daughter of an Okinawan mother and a Bolivian father of French, Italian and Native Bolivian descent.
Allegri grew up in Inverness, Florida. In high school and college, she made comics about her life that she posted to LiveJournal, which is how she met Pendleton Ward.
"Adventure Time".
While in college at the University of Arizona in Tucson, her friend, and creator of "Adventure Time", Pendleton Ward, contacted her about working on "Adventure Time" and she has worked on the show for five seasons. While working on the show, Allegri began drawing gender-swapped versions of the show's characters, including "Fionna and Cake" as her gender-swapped versions of Finn and Jake. Eventually, these characters were featured in full episodes of "Adventure Time". Since August 6, 2013, she has also written and illustrated "Fionna and Cake" comics for BOOM! Studios.
"Bee and PuppyCat".
Allegri created and produced her own animated short, "Bee and PuppyCat", for Frederator Studios' YouTube channel Cartoon Hangover which was released on July 11, 2013. The episode introduces viewers to Bee, a recently unemployed young woman, and PuppyCat, a small and mysterious creature resembling both a dog and a cat. Bee takes PuppyCat in and, in return, he helps her find strange temp work, in this case babysitting a giant fish named Wallace in Fishbowl Space. In response to fans' overwhelming love for the original "Bee and PuppyCat" short, Frederator launched a Kickstarter on October 14, 2013 to raise funds for a full season. The Kickstarter was successful, raising Frederator $872,133 toward the production of "Bee and PuppyCat", the animated series. This exceeded their original goal of $600,000 and made them the 10th most funded Video and Film project to date.
Comic Books.
Allegri has created multiple graphic novels/comic books starring "Fionna and Cake" and "Bee and PuppyCat", respectively.
Bee and Puppycat:
Bee and Puppycat #1, created with Garrett Jackson.
Bee and Puppycat #2, created with Garrett Jackson.
Bee and Puppycat #3, created with Madeleine Flores, Ian McGinty, Anissa Espinosa, and Tait Howard.
Bee and Puppycat #4, created with T. Zysk, Mad Rupert, Coleman Engle, Aimee Fleck, Pranas Naujokaitis, and Anissa Espinosa.
Bee and Puppycat, Vol. 1 (#1-4), created with the aforementioned.
Bee and Puppycat #5, created with T. Zysk, Chrystin Garland, Flynn Nicholls, and Meredith McClaren.
Bee and Puppycat #6, created with Andrew Lorenzi, Joy Ang, Meredith McClaren, and Carey Pietsch.
Bee and Puppycat #7, created with Garrett Jackson.
Bee and Puppycat #8, created with David Calderón, Liz Fleming, Coleman Engle, Reimena Yee, and T. Zysk.
Bee and Puppycat, Vol. 2 (#5-8), created with the aforementioned.
Bee and Puppycat #9, created (without the help of Natasha Allegri) by Patrick Seery, and Ji in Kim.
Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake:
Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake #1, created with Noelle Stevenson.
Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake #2, created with Lucy Knisley.
Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake #3, created by Natasha Allegri.
Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake #4, created by Natasha Allegri.
Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake #5, created with Lucy Knisley.
Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake #6, created with Betty Liang.
Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake, Vol. 1, created with Lucy Knisley, and Kate Leth.
Influences.
Allegri has named several of her influences including works by Rumiko Takahashi, "Sailor Moon" and "Superbook", as well as "Bob's Burgers". Not to mention her cat, Pancake.
Other work.
Allegri sang the theme song for the Fionna and Cake episode of "Adventure Time". Additionally, she served as a storyboard revisionist for the "Bravest Warriors" episode "Butter Lettuce" and has contributed to the miniseries "Over the Garden Wall" as writer and storyboard artist.
She also provided the official art for the Vocaloid soundbank "Ruby", released by PowerFX. This art was based upon a concept design by illustrator D-Artemisso.
In 2017, Allegri directed "The Summoning," created by Elyse Castro, for Frederator's Cartoon Hangover channel. It is the first short cartoon from GO! Cartoons.
In 2019, Allegri was co-author of the OpenBSD 6.5 poster and was the author of the OpenBSD 6.6 poster. She is a writer for the anime series "Cannon Busters".


Danny McNulty

Danny Brian McNulty (born May 28, 1972) is an American actor and producer who is best known for playing Harvey "Harley" Keiner on "Boy Meets World" and later on its spinoff "Girl Meets World".


David De Silva

David De Silva (born August 14, 1936) is an American film writer and producer, best known for the 1980 MGM movie "Fame". De Silva retained the stage rights to the film, and, conceived and developed "Fame - The Musical", which has since been produced in many countries around the world, leading De Silva to be known as "Father Fame", and launching a foundation called the Father Fame Foundation to promote theatre arts.
Early life and education.
De Silva was born in New York City on August 14, 1936 and attended school in the Bronx and Queens. In 1957, he graduated from Queens College with a major in history. However, he had a keen interest in theatre and began studying with Stella Adler.
Early career.
For three seasons of Summer Stock, he was an apprentice actor at the Hampton Playhouse in Hampton, New Hampshire, before moving to Los Angeles, where he took supporting roles in TV shows including "Bachelor Father". In 1961 he was hired as assistant to director Otto Preminger on the film "Advise & Consent". His work with Preminger led him to work with Martin Baum, Head of Talent at General Artists Corporation, a major Hollywood talent agency at the time. In the early 1970s, he worked as a talent agent for Ashley-Famous and ICM, followed by several years as a personal manager managing such actors as Jerry Orbach and Inga Swenson.
"Fame".
In 1976, De Silva began working on a project based on the lives of students at the New York High School of Performing Arts. Screenwriter Christopher Gore said that he was inspired to write "Fame" after "seeing a performance of "A Chorus Line" and hearing one of the characters speak about attending the High School of Performing Arts." and according to director Alan Parker, De Silva had the idea for the project after attending a stage production of the same play and hearing a reference to the school in the song "Nothing", though De Silva himself disputes this account. In 1977, De Silva met playwright Christopher Gore in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He paid Gore $5,000 to work with him on a draft script titled "Hot Lunch", and provided ideas for characters and the structure of the story, following the characters from the audition stage through to graduation from the school. De Silva and Gore later signed with the Creative Artists Agency to sell it. The script became the subject of a bidding war among a host of established film studios before De Silva took the project to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), which acquired the script for $400,000, and gave De Silva a list of ten directors they would approve for the project, from which he chose Alan Parker.
"Hot Lunch" was among several scripts sent to Alan Parker following the release of his previous film "Midnight Express" (1978). Parker signed on as its director in February 1979, and after meeting with De Silva in Manhattan, New York, it was decided that Parker would draft his own script with Gore receiving sole screenwriting credit and Parker's colleague Alan Marshall being enlisted as a producer. The new script for "Hot Lunch" became significantly darker than what De Silva had originally intended. De Silva said, "I was really motivated and interested in the joy of what the school represented for these kids, and [Parker] was really much more interested in where the pain was in going to the school, and so we had our little conflicts based on that area." During filming De Silva and Parker received a note from MGM that there was a pornographic film titled "Hot Lunch", and as a result the film was renamed "Fame". The film was released in 1980.
Having retained the stage rights to the movie, in 1987 it was announced that De Silva was developing a stage version of the film. With a book by José Fernandez, music by Steve Margoshes and lyrics by Jacques Levy, "Fame – the Musical" was the first professional production at the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami, Florida, in 1988. The show then ran at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from March 25, through April 29, 1989. A Swedish version opened at the China Theater in Stockholm in 1993, and the show opened at the Cambridge Theatre in London in 1995. "Fame - The Musical" was the first stage production in the history of London's West End to open seven productions within one decade. The musical has since had productions in more than 25 countries.
"Talent Springs Eternal".
De Silva subsequently conceived and developed a new musical play entitled "Fame Forever: Talent Springs Eternal". It was first performed by Glasgow's Apollo Players at the Kings Theatre in 2007. The American debut of the sequel, under the title "Fame Forever - Talent Springs Eternal" (formerly Reunion and Rebirth) played from September 21–30, 2007, at the Waterville Opera House, Waterville, Maine, and also received a co-debut at The Players of Sarasota in Sarasota, Florida, opening around the same time, and running to October 7, 2007. This show was directed by Thomas DeWyane Barrett. The English premiere was produced at the Congress Theatre, Eastbourne, by a local group called The Rattonians, also in 2007. Nashville's The Circle Players produced "Fame Forever" in 2011.
The first professional cast recording of "Fame Forever..." was produced by the Father Fame Foundation in 2013. In 2014 Music Theatre International (MTI) republished the show with the title "Talent Springs Eternal: Fame Forever". An audio book, "Talent Springs Eternal (Fame Forever)", a production with 25 actors and singers, was conceived, directed and produced by De Silva and released on Audible/Amazon in June 2016. It was recorded at PPI Recording Studio in SoHo, New York City, with sound engineer Chip Fabrizi.


Alejandro Alcondez

Alejandro Alcondez (born August 3, 1970) is a Mexican/American actor, screenwriter, film producer and film director. Born in Jalisco, Mexico, Alcondez moved to Hollywood, California in the early 1990s. His acting career began in theater production plays, he then moved on to produce and write his own Mexican films "Impacto de Muerte", "Furia Salvaje" and "El Bronko Negro", which were distributed by his company Producciones Alejandro Alcondez.
His most recent American film "Cielito Lindo" Beautiful Heaven (produced, written and directed by Alejandro Alcondez) was written especially for Alcondez where he plays the lead role of Pablo Pastor. This film was released by his own production and distribution company Alejandro Alcondez Pictures
Biography.
Career in Mexico.
Alejandro Alcondez founded Producciones Alejandro Alcondez and decided to produce his first film. Alejandro called upon Mexican actor Mario Almada (actor) he produced the film he also wrote the story and had a lead part alongside Mario Almada. The film was directed by Alberto Mariscal.
Alcondez continued to film as a producer, writer, director and lead actor in a large number of films alongside Mexican actors Luis Aguilar, Sergio Goyri, Jorge Reynoso, Hugo Stiglitz, Fernando Almada, Fernando Saenz, Manuel Ojeda, Luis de Alba, Cesar Bono, Jaime Fernández, Miguel Angel Rodriguez, Bernabe Melendrez, Los Tucanes de Tijuana, Patricia Rivera, Roxana San Juan, Karla Barahona, Rebeca Silva, Lorena Velasquez, Lina Santos, and Rosenda Bernal, just to name a few. Alcondez has also starred in many film productions produced by Mr. Delfino Lopez of Baja Films.
Career in Hollywood.
Alejandro Alcondez decided that he was ready for Hollywood and founded his American production company, Alejandro Alcondez Pictures, which produces English and Spanish movies for worldwide distribution. He produced his first English-speaking film entitled "Cielito Lindo" (Beautiful Heaven) in 2007. Alcondez visited many locations and decided to begin film production in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico. The film premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on May 27, 2010 Alejandro Alcondez not only wrote the script, produced the film, he also directed and starred as a lead actor alongside Adam Rodríguez, Nestor Serrano, Nicole Paggi, Ilia Volok, and Pato Hoffmann, among others.
Theater.
During his early career, Alcondez participated in various theater productions as an actor, director, writer and producer, gaining valuable experience in screenwriting and filmmaking
Other works.
Alcondez has been part of many other projects including screen writing, producing and directing many music videos and various feature films like. "Cielito Lindo" (Beautiful Heaven) filmed at Chihuahua, Mexico. In an interview in a Mexican newspaper, Alcondez explained the reason he chose to film at that location as well the plot of the film and when he wrote the Screenplay for "Cielito Lindo" (Beautiful Heaven). as well as the number of films he has participated.


Doug Bland

Doug Bland is an American entrepreneur and former athlete.
Career.
After college, he moved to Southern California, where he lived in Newport Beach. He began his career in event marketing with Ritz Entertainment, producers of music festivals and sporting events. In 1996 Bland became marketing manager of the Roger Penske-owned California Speedway in Fontana, California. He stayed in that position until he was promoted to marketing director for the Penske/ISC-owned Homestead–Miami Speedway in 1998. Penske Motorsports was sold to International Speedway Corporation in 2000. Bland then formed Short Track Entertainment, Inc, a motorsports marketing company that promoted racing events and represented racing properties and race teams.
Bland purchased the UDTRA United Dirt Track Racing Association in 2002 and re-branded the property into the Xtreme Dirt Series. In 2003 he signed a TV rights deal with Speed Channel and signed a ten-year sponsorship agreement with NVE Pharmaceuticals (Stacker 2) for $13,000,000. At the time, this was the largest sponsorship deal in the history of dirt track racing.
In 2005 Bland sold Xtreme DirtCar Series to UMP, a company owned by NASCAR driver Ken Schrader. Shortly after the sale, Xtreme/UMP merged with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. Later that year Bland purchased Springfield Raceway with partner Jerry Hoffman.
Bland ventured into the mixed martial arts industry with his XCF (Xtreme Cage Fighting) brand, He promoted 14 professional MMA events over the next three years.
In 2010 he started Bland Sports Inc., a sports marketing agency that represented athletes and sports properties including Kyle Busch Motorsports, Liquid Nitro Energy Drink, Maxim Racewear, Digital Qpons, and UFC fighter Michael Johnson.
Bland was named the managing partner of the Mesquite Arena in Mesquite, Texas in 2014. Six months later he became owner of the Dallas Marshals of the Champions Indoor Football League (CIF) team, who played their home games at the Mesquite Arena. Bland sold the Dallas Marshals in August, 2017 to Dallas businessman Bruce Badgett. The Dallas Marshals played the first six games of the 2017 season under Badgett's ownership, then folded.
Bland returned to his home state of Illinois to revitalize the Quad Cities Steamwheelers indoor football franchise that had been dormant since 2009. The team made the playoffs in 2018 with an 8-4 record, then went 7-7 in the 2019 season. In 2018 Bland moved the Steamwheelers to the Indoor Football League to compete on the biggest stage in the industry.


Adam Anders

Adam Anders (born October 10, 1975) is a Swedish film, television and music producer who has sold more than 100 million albums and in recent years has become one of the most in-demand Executive Producers for music-driven film and television. Anders is the CEO of Anders Media, and its record label Deep Well Records, a sub-label of Capitol Music Group.
In 2013, Adam was named No. 15 in Hollywood Reporter's Top 35 Hitmakers. Anders' work has earned him four Grammy Award nominations, and two People's Choice Awards. As the Executive Music Producer for "Glee", Anders' musical productions have helped put "Glee" on the iTunes Top Songs chart, including original songs that he wrote, such as "Loser like Me" (landing at number one) and "Get It Right" (at number two). He also wrote an original song for Glee called Big Ass Heart, which is showcased in season 2 episode 16 of the hit 2000s show.
"Glee" had at one time seven of the top ten tracks on the iTunes Top Song chart including the above two original songs at one and two respectively, the cast's versions of Pink's "Raise Your Glass" at number three, The Beatles' "Blackbird" at number five, Maroon 5's "Misery" at number six, and another original song, "Hell to the No", at number eight. In May 2011, "Glee" had one of its biggest sales weeks to date with 986,000 downloads of tracks produced by Anders.
Anders has a track record of writing and producing music for both established artists and up-and-comers including the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Backstreet Boys, Clay Aiken and many others. His music can also be heard on many major motion pictures and television shows including Disney's "High School Musical 3", "Hannah Montana", "Evan Almighty" and "The Wedding Planner", as well as the 2012 film "Rock of Ages".
Adam Anders launched Los Angeles-based record label, "Deep Well Records" in 2011. The first artist signed to his label was singer/songwriter/actor Shane Harper, whose self-titled debut album was released on February 14, 2012 and included the Anders-produced first single entitled, "One Step Closer".
In addition, he runs Anders Media, Inc., a production company that specializes in developing original music-driven content for major film studios and TV networks. Anders recently moved his label "Deep Well Records" to the "Capitol Music Group," and is a consultant for "Virgin Records". In October 2015, Anders co-produced "Hollow" by Tori Kelly, which was the featured single on her deluxe edition album, "Unbreakable Smile". The song was co-written by several songwriters signed to the Anders-owned publishing company of the same brand, Deep Well Music Publishing. In 2016, Anders added film and TV producing credits as an executive producer for the US version of . It aired on Palm Sunday, March 20, 2016 on FOX. Anders will also executive produce the soundtrack and act as producer for ABC's remake of Dirty Dancing.
Early life.
Adam Anders was born in Stockholm, Sweden. Both his parents were professional musicians, traveling and playing all over the world; often bringing their children with them wherever they went. This exposed Adam to a variety of musical and cultural differences at a very early age. Despite being classically trained Gospel performers, both his mother and father encouraged him to listen and take influences from all musical styles, from Rock 'n' Roll to Soul.
Anders formed his first band at the age of 10, together with his brother and sister and toured Europe with him playing bass. The family later moved to the US, moving around the West Coast. Due to all the traveling, Adam was homeschooled after 5th grade. Due to music being the core of his whole life, Anders became such a prominent bass player that the University of Southern Florida accepted him to the Jazz program at the early age of 13. They declared him a prodigy and he was allowed full credit for taking the college music classes.
After graduating at the age of 16, Anders decided to live with his brother in Nashville, Tennessee. He worked night shifts and played music during the day. After six months, he got a position as a bass player for the Christian singer-songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman, allowing him to solemnly focus on music as a career. After remaining on several major tours, making money to buy more studio equipment, Anders felt that songwriting and producing gave greater satisfaction and decided to transition to studio work.
Career.
Early years.
Adam Anders began his professional career primarily writing and producing songs for both established artists and up-and-comers. Anders co-wrote the Backstreet Boys hit "More Than That" and Steven Curtis Chapman's "Nobody Ever." Anders then worked closely with Disney producing music for major motion pictures and television shows including "Camp Rock" and "Camp Rock 2", "Hannah Montana" and "Sonny With a Chance". During this time, he collaborated with pop-singers Jesse McCartney, Clay Aiken, Nick Lachey, Ashley Tisdale, and the Jonas Brothers. In 2007 and 2008, Anders' music could be heard in Disney's "High School Musical 3" and Universal's "Evan Almighty".
"Glee" and other projects.
Glee
In 2009, Anders began producing music for FOX's hit television show "Glee". Producing the popular "Glee" anthem "Don't Stop Believin" was the first of many contributions to the show. One year later, Anders was made Executive Music Producer for the musical comedy television show. The producer penned "Glee"'s first two original songs, "Loser Like Me" and "Get It Right". Throughout his time on the show, he wrote a total of seven original songs and produced all sixteen of the "Glee" albums. "Glee" had at one time seven of the top ten tracks on the iTunes Top Song chart including the above two original songs at one and two respectively, the cast's versions of Pink's "Raise Your Glass" at number three, The Beatles' "Blackbird" at number five, Maroon 5's "Misery" at number six, and another original song, "Hell to the No", at number eight. In May 2011, "Glee" hit a sales week high with 986,000 downloads of tracks produced by Anders.
Other Projects
During his time on "Glee", Anders also launched his Los Angeles-based record label, Deep Well Records. The first artist signed to his label was singer/songwriter/actor Shane Harper, whose self-titled debut album was released on February 14, 2012 and included the Anders-produced first single entitled, "One Step Closer". In 2012, Anders produced music for motion pictures including "New Year's Eve" and "Rock of Ages", as well as producing CeeLo Green's album "CeeLo's Magic Moment", writing "All I Need is Love".
2014-present.
Following his time on "Glee", Anders moved onto working with FX's horror television series "American Horror Story". In 2015, he was a music producer for the Disney movie, "Descendants". The album went #1 on iTunes and included an original song by Anders and his team.
In addition, he runs Anders Media, Inc., a production company that specializes in developing original music-driven content for major film studios and TV networks. Anders recently moved his label Deep Well Records to the Capitol Music Group, and is a consultant for Virgin Records.
In October 2015, Anders co-produced "Hollow" by Tori Kelly, which was the featured single on her deluxe edition album, "Unbreakable Smile". The song was co-written by several songwriters signed to the Anders-owned publishing company of the same brand, Deep Well Music Publishing.
Film and Television Production
In 2016, Anders executive produced and arranged music for "The Passion" on FOX, which aired on Palm Sunday, March 20, 2016.
In 2017, Anders produced ABC's anticipated remake of "Dirty Dancing" starring Abigail Breslin, in addition to executive producing its soundtrack.
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
Anders worked as the Executive Song Producer and Soundtrack album Producer for DreamWorks' "" based on the series of children's novels of the same name by Dav Pilkey. Anders, with longtime collaborator Peer Astrom, produced the eleven-song album. The soundtrack included artists such as Adam Lambert, Lil Yachty, Andy Grammer, Weird Al Yankovic on the film's theme song and original score by Theodore Shapiro ("Ghostbusters", "The Devil Wears Prada", "Marley & Me").
MundoNick's "Kally's Mashup"
In 2017, Anders Media aired its inaugural international program "Kally's Mashup" on Nickelodeon (Latin America).
Anders serves as Co-Creator, Executive Producer and Executive Soundtrack Producer alongside Nikki Anders and Peer Astrom.
In May 2018, "Kally's Mashup" was renewed for a second season, following the wide success of the first season.


Tony Cook (musician)

Tony Cook was an American dance music producer and former drummer for James Brown.
Biography.
James Brown discovered Tony Cook playing at a block party for the WRDW-AM radio station Brown owned in his childhood hometown of Augusta, Georgia. Cook was an Augusta native who began drumming in his early teens, learning full albums by the likes of Brown, Al Green, Rufus Thomas, Wilson Pickett and Kool & the Gang, and playing in backing bands for touring artists such as Geater Davis and Z.Z. Hill. “He sat in with us and he took for granted that we knew the songs,” Cook says of his first encounter with the legendary Godfather of Soul. “So we played, and from his expression [it seemed] he was a little bit surprised that we could play so well. We were just a bunch of kids. Maybe the oldest one of us was 17. I think I was 15.”
Cook finished high school and was gigging in and around Augusta with a local group called the Liberty Band when Brown and running partner Bobby Byrd were in attendance for a bill the group shared with comedian Clay Tyson. The Godfather had heard that Cook and company were the best outfit in town, and on the strength of their performance that night, hired the crew as his opening act in December 1975. In the early part of 1976, Brown began to retool the JBs and brought Cook aboard as his new drummer, a position the 18-year-old would hold off and on for the next thirty years.
The hiring came when Brown’s career was in decline. As work slowed, Cook joined Etta James’s band, opening for the Rolling Stones and supporting Taj Mahal, James Booker, and Willie Mabon at the 1978 Montreux Jazz Festival before returning to Brown later that year. He stayed with Brown for the next two years until receiving an offer from producer Frank Farian to bring his band Sky Train to Germany and back Jamaican-born vocalist Precious Wilson. After working with Farian, Cook moved to London and went independent, scoring a deal in 1981 with Osceola Records and producing the first Tony Cook and the Party People singles. The next year, he began working with the Halfmoon label, releasing “Do What You Wanna Do” and later, the seminal “On the Floor” and “On the Floor (Rock-It)” mixes by WBLS-FM DJs Timmy Regisford and Boyd Jarvis.
Cook’s initial tenure with James Brown came to an end in 1993, although he would return in 2005 and stay until Brown’s death on Christmas Day in 2006. Cook still performs with his band, Trunk-O-Funk. In June 2014 Tony Cook produced and recorded drums on a song "Robo-friend" by Russian alternative rock band 208 Talks of Angels.
The granddaddy of all house records.
“On the Floor” found Cook successfully merging funk and disco, although that was not the original intent. The drummer-turned-producer was admittedly trying to score a hit, and to do so, chose to ride the other emerging genre of the day. “‘On the Floor’ was a rap record at first,” he reveals. “We put the tracks down in Atlanta, Georgia, then the record company struck a deal and got Timmy Regisford and Boyd Jarvis to mix it. They took the master and re-recorded a few things, added a few things, and came up with the mix that we ended up with. It was quite a bit different from what we put down in the beginning, but I was pleased with the results.”
“We didn’t know what to call it, but it definitely wasn’t a rap record anymore. It had more of a dance kind of thing going through it. And it had a little bit of techno to it. When we released it in 1984, the phrase ‘garage’ came out, then ‘house’ came out, and someone called it ‘The Granddaddy of all House Records’, so we knew we had something different and new.”
James Brown, Michael Jackson and Prince.
Cook was Brown’s drummer during the historic 1983 concert with B.B. King at the Beverly Theater in Los Angeles, during which Prince and Michael Jackson made impromptu appearances on stage. “I don’t think he really knew who Prince was at the time,” Cook says of Brown, who first learned that Jackson was in attendance and called him up onstage. “He might have known Prince’s name, but he just didn’t put a face with it, or didn’t understand what Michael was talking about.”
“Michael said ‘Prince’ and Brown probably thought he was talking about another prince…a real prince. That wasn’t unusual. We’d go to gigs and anybody might show up.”
"Back to Reality".
In 2010, Stones Throw Records released Cook’s "Back to Reality" anthology, a collection of rare and unreleased funk, boogie, and proto-rap from the immediate post-disco era. Stones Throw founder, Chris “Peanut Butter Wolf” Manak, first learned of Cook when he found the "On the Floor" single in a New York City record store in the early 2000s.
"I was excited because it sounded like the missing to me, it seemed like the first house record. I loved playing it.”


Leighla Whipper

Leighla Frances Whipper (September 22, 1913 – May 2, 2008) was an African American songwriter, journalist, mystery writer, and businesswoman. She is best known for arranging and publishing musical scores of calypso and Afro-Caribbean songs, often with collaborator Lionel Belasco.
Early life and education.
Leighla Frances Whipper was born September 22, 1913 in Athens, Georgia. Her father, Leigh Whipper, was a stage and Hollywood screen actor, who hailed from a prominent literary and social activist family. Leighla's paternal grandmother, Frances Anne Rollin, wrote the first diary of a Southern black woman published as well as the first full-length biography authored by an African American.
Her mother, Virginia Eva Wheeler, was a stage dancer who performed in chorus lines during the Harlem Renaissance. The couple met through their affiliations with the Theatre Owners Booking Association and work on the vaudeville performance circuit. The couple separated before Leighla's birth. Though absent for much of her childhood, Leigh sent his daughter financial support and Virginia, eventually, sent Leighla to live with her aunt Ionia Rollin Whipper, an obstetrician who operated a home for unwed mothers in Washington D.C. Ionia eventually adopted Leighla.
Whipper graduated from Howard University where she participated in a literary association called the Stylus Club. She was elected Scribe of the Stylus Society during the 1933–1934 academic year.
Career.
After college, Whipper lived in New York City and worked as a journalist and editor. She wrote for Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.'s "The People's Voice," reporting on Harlem's cultural landscape and reporting on such figures as twin African American photographers Morgan and Marvin Smith. During her time as a journalist, Whipper interviewed Mary Pickford, Lon Chaney, Josephine Baker, and Father Divine.
Whipper also wrote songs featured in Soundies produced for black audiences by African American football pioneer Frederick "Fritz" Douglas Pollard and his Suntan Studios on 125th Street. She worked with Trinidadian calypso musician Lionel Belasco to arrange and copyright, through the Tin Pan Alley music publishing industry, tunes Belasco had heard circulating freely in the islands during his youth. Together, Belasco and Whipper published "Calypso Rhythm Songs: Authentic Tropical Novelty Melodies" in 1944.""
Leighla authored several mystery stories and novels. In 2003, Writer's Club Press published (under the name Lelia Frances Whipper) a memoir entitled "The Pretty Way Home".
Personal life.
Whipper married sociologist Hylan Garnet Lewis in 1935. The couple had one child, daughter Carole, though Hylan's obituary states they had one son and one daughter. The family separated after Lewis made a solitary move to Chicago to pursue doctoral studies at the University of Chicago. Though the family later reunited in Alabama for a short time, the couple divorced in 1943. After the divorce, Leighla and Carole went back and forth between Washington D.C., where Ionia lived, and New York, where Leighla's mother, Virginia, resided.
From 1949 to 1986, Leighla co-owned, with her mother, the Spuyten Duyvil, a restaurant in Saratoga Springs popular with the horse racing crowd.
In 1950, Whipper remarried to restauranteur Norman Ford. They remained together until Ford's death in 1961.
During her later years, Whipper lived in the Hudson River Valley and enjoyed playing piano, writing, painting, and crocheting. She died in an accident at her Kingston, New York on May 2, 2008.


Hurby Azor

Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor (born September 26, 1964), also known as Fingerprints, is a Haitian musician and hip-hop music producer. Azor is best known for discovering and producing the hip–hop trio Salt-N-Pepa and the rap duo Kid 'n Play.
Early life.
Born in Port-de-Paix, Azor is Haitian.
Career.
In late 1985, with the rise of hip-hop response records all the rage, Azor and the group Salt-n-Pepa (then known as Super Nature) recorded a response to Doug E. Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew's "The Show" called "The Show Stoppa." He also went on to produce Dana Dane, Sweet Tee, Kwamé and others.
Azor wrote and performed in Salt-N-Pepa's music video for "Push It", on keyboards and backup vocals, and also wrote the trio's song "Let's Talk About Sex, among others." In 1995, he co-wrote and produced Snow's single "Anything for You," which became the top-selling single in Jamaica that year.
Personal life.
Azor also dated Salt from 1984 to 1989, during which time he conceived a baby with another woman.


Marsha Bemko

Marsha Bemko is an American television producer. She is the executive producer of the PBS series "Antiques Roadshow". In addition to "Antiques Roadshow", Bemko is also executive producer for PBS's antiques series "Market Warriors".
Biography.
Bemko's television career spans 30 years. Prior to joining "Roadshow" as a senior producer in 1999, Bemko worked on a variety of public affairs programs for PBS. She was WGBH's coordinating producer for national programming and the series producer for "Culture Shock" (1999), a historical series about censorship in the arts and freedom of expression. Bemko served as coordinating producer for "Discovering Women" (1995), a series about six women scientists. She worked in a variety of production capacities for the award-winning "Frontline" public affairs series beginning in 1982.
Bemko's professional background also includes stints as director of marketing for the Boston Marketing Services Group and as a reporter for the Springfield Newspapers.
In addition to her role as executive producer of "Antiques Roadshow", Bemko is a sought-after lecturer, appearing across the country at the invitation of community organizations, colleges, business groups, and public television stations, including WGBH where she has mentored aspiring producers as part of the CPB/WGBH Producers Workshop. Bemko also writes for the "Antiques Roadshow Insider", a WGBH-licensed newsletter, and she has served on the Opening Night Committee of the Winter Antiques Show.
Bemko is a 1977 graduate of Westfield State College and serves on the Westfield State College Foundation Board of Directors.


Jill Messick

Jill Laura Sobel Messick (July 27, 1967 – February 7, 2018) was an American film producer. She worked as an executive producer on several films, including "She's All That" (1999), "Frida" (2002), and "Mean Girls" (2004).
She was actress Rose McGowan's manager in 1997 when McGowan alleged that she was raped by Harvey Weinstein. After the Weinstein allegations became public in late 2017, McGowan was highly critical of Messick; and Weinstein's lawyer released a private email sent by Messick that contradicted McGowan's claims. The publicity surrounding the scandal led to online cyberbullying directed at her. Messick died by suicide in February 2018. In a public statement, Messick's family said that she supported the Me Too movement and called her loss collateral damage of a "feeding frenzy", blaming Weinstein, McGowan, the media, and the public for her death.
Career.
Messick was the daughter of Michael Sobel and actress Laura Nicholson Sobel (1945–2015). She was the maternal granddaughter of film producer James H. Nicholson and had a brother named Jan. After attending Santa Barbara High School, where she was named homecoming princess, Messick graduated with a degree in communications from the University of Southern California.
She began her career at the Gersh Agency and later worked as a junior manager at Somers/Teitelbaum/David. She was director of development at Woods Entertainment from 1994 to 1996, working on films including "Scream" (1996) and "Teaching Mrs. Tingle" (1999), both distributed by Dimension Films, a division of Miramax Films. She also helped facilitate Miramax distributing M. Night Shyamalan's "Wide Awake" (1998). Shyamalan later said that "she helped fight for my second film to get made at Miramax. Really made me feel I had a big sister protecting me." In the late 1990s, she worked as a talent manager at Addis-Wechsler & Associates, where her clients included Chloe Sevigny and John Bloom. In November 1997, she was hired as vice-president of development by Miramax Films and tasked with "scouting writers and directors and bringing in material to the company." She reported directly to executive vice-president of production Meryl Poster and was hired by Cathy Konrad, who said that she had "a keen eye for spotting new talent."
At Miramax Messick helped bring "She's All That" (1999) to the company within a month of her hiring, It eventually grossed $60 million. She worked on such films as "Boys and Girls" (2000), "Frida" (2002) and "Cinderella Man" (2005). She also worked directly with Dimension Films and helped make multipicture deals with screenwriters R. Lee Fleming, Jr., Andrew Lowery and Andrew Miller. In 2000, she was promoted to senior Vice-President of Production. She worked at Miramax until 2003. She later worked as an executive producer for Lorne Michaels, Paramount Pictures and The Weinstein Company. Her film credits include "Get Over It" (2001), "Mean Girls" (2004), "Hot Rod" (2007), "Baby Mama" (2008), and "Masterminds" (2016).
Messick made a brief foray into television production with the short-lived NBC sitcom "Bad Judge" (2014–15). She was married to producer Kevin Messick, with whom she had two children.
Weinstein allegations.
Messick was actress Rose McGowan's talent manager in 1997 at the time when McGowan alleges Harvey Weinstein raped her. In an October 2017 interview with "The New York Times", McGowan was highly critical of Messick's lack of support after the incident and the article suggests that Messick's job at Miramax was directly related to the aftermath. On January 30, 2018, Weinstein's attorney released a private email from Messick to Weinstein as a way to defend Weinstein. The email was sent months before the incident became publicly known and Messick's account of the incident was that McGowan told her that she consensually got into a hot tub with Weinstein and later regretted it. Messick's family later said that McGowan "never once used the word rape" when she told Messick about the incident.
McGowan's memoir "Brave", also released on January 30, 2018, details the alleged assault and is highly critical of Messick. In a documentary series about McGowan on the E! network, titled "Citizen Rose", produced by Bunim/Murray Productions and also airing on January 30, McGowan accused Messick of betrayal and of siding with Weinstein in exchange for her job at Miramax. After Weinstein's lawyers released Messick's email, McGowan claimed that Messick's statements had already been disproven by her former assistant Anne Woodward in "The New York Times" article.
The media and public attention had a negative impact on Messick. The publicity led to online cyberbullying after "activists on Twitter named, shamed and identified how Messick could be reached, with one even revealing Messick’s purposefully obscured LinkedIn profile (she did not use her full name) and encouraging others to reach out to her and let her know what they really thought of her." A Messick family statement stated that she had suffered from bipolar disorder and that a "manic episode" in 2013 had affected her career. The statement also said: "Seeing her name in headlines again and again, as part of one person's attempt to gain more attention for her personal cause, along with Harvey's desperate attempt to vindicate himself, was devastating for her. It broke Jill."
Death.
Messick died by suicide in Los Angeles on February 7, 2018, during the production of the Minecraft Movie, one day after the third anniversary of her mother's death. The method has not been reported.
After that, Messick's family issued a public statement that was critical of the media, Weinstein, and McGowan, as well as "our new culture of unlimited information sharing and a willingness to accept statement as fact. The speed of disseminating information has carried mistruths about Jill as a person, which she was unable and unwilling to challenge. She became collateral damage in an already horrific story." Her family defended Messick's decision to not publicly address McGowan's negative statements about her because of "fear of undermining the many individuals who came forward in truth. She opted not to add to the feeding frenzy, allowing her name and her reputation to be sullied despite having done nothing wrong." It also asserts that, contrary to McGowan's accusations, Messick (who supported the Me Too movement) "was the first person who stood up on Rose's behalf, and alerted her bosses to the horrific experience which Rose suffered" despite being an entry-level employee at that time.
McGowan paid tribute to Messick on Instagram without addressing her family's accusations. Messick was among the deceased memorialized at the 90th Academy Awards.
Filmography.
Executive Producer except where as listed


Walter Herbert (manager)

Walter James "Herbie" Herbert II (born 5 February 1948) is the legendary manager of rock bands Journey and The Storm, and a vocalist for the Sy Klopps Blues Band. Born and raised in Berkeley, Herbert is a self-proclaimed hippie and fan of the Grateful Dead.
Herbert got his start in the music business with the aid of his mentor Bill Graham. Through Graham, Herbert became a roadie for the multi-platinum-selling band Santana (where he met Neal Schon and Gregg Rolie). He managed Frumious Bandersnatch (where he met Ross Valory and George Tickner). When Santana imploded in 1973, Herbert put together the original lineup of Journey and remained its manager through 1993. Herbert was heavily involved in all business aspects of the band and traveled as their road manager. With a sharp business sense, Herbert brought everything in-house under the name of Nightmare Productions and pioneered the use of large screen videos (via the creation of Nocturne Productions), impressive lighting and sound for stadium-sized concerts. A shrewd businessman, Herbert made a fortune with Journey's real estate holdings, Nocturne Productions, and catalog management. He and Jim Welch, Journey's art director, devised a creative marketing plan to promote the band using artists Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelly, thematic one-worded album titles, and exposure at point-of-purchase outlets. In 1993 Steve Perry asked that he resign from managing Journey due to personality conflicts.
In addition to his work with Journey, Herbert managed The Steve Miller Band and co-managed Swedish groups Roxette and Europe. He also managed Mr. Big, Enuff Z'Nuff, and Journey offshoots The Storm and Hardline. In the late 1990s, Herbert moved from behind the scenes into the spotlight, recording three albums as Sy Klopps and touring the San Francisco Bay Area with the Sy Klopps Band, which has included current and former Journey band members Neal Schon, Gregg Rolie, Prairie Prince, and Ross Valory.


David Lowery (musician)

David Charles Lowery (born September 10, 1960) is an American guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, mathematician, and activist. He is the founder of alternative rock band Camper Van Beethoven and co-founder of the more-traditional rock band Cracker. Lowery released his first solo album, "The Palace Guards", on February 2, 2011, via the 429 Records label.
Biography.
Personal life and music career.
Lowery was born in San Antonio, Texas, the son of a career Air Force father. He has described his parents as "a hillbilly and an English working-class woman." His family moved around a great deal during his youth before finally settling in Redlands, California, where he attended high school. He became involved in music as a member of the band Sitting Ducks, who played a mixture of punk and acid rock, along with what Lowery described as "fake Russian-sounding music." Sitting Ducks subsequently evolved into Camper Van Beethoven, formed in 1983 in Santa Cruz, California. The band is best known for its cover of the Status Quo song "Pictures of Matchstick Men" from the "Key Lime Pie" LP and its original composition "Take the Skinheads Bowling," from the band's 1985 debut LP, "Telephone Free Landslide Victory," later featured in the Michael Moore movie "Bowling for Columbine."
In the early 1990s, Lowery formed Cracker with guitarist and long-time friend Johnny Hickman and bassist Davey Faragher. Cracker rejected the indie-rock sound of Camper Van Beethoven in favor of a more traditional, roots-rock sound. Cracker's biggest hits are "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)" from its eponymous LP, released in 1992, and "Low," from 1993's "Kerosene Hat." Cracker continues to perform today, although Camper Van Beethoven has also reformed, releasing a cover of the entire Fleetwood Mac album "Tusk" in 2002 and several new albums of original music, beginning with "New Roman Times" in 2004.
From 1990 to 1995, Lowery and Hickman also collaborated frequently with German band Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle (a/k/a FSK) and were occasionally listed as full members. Lowery produced and performed on the FSK albums "Son Of Kraut" (1991), "The Sound Of Music" (1993) and "International" (1995), to which he also contributed some of his own compositions (e.g. "Red Sonja" and "Dr Bernice" on "The Sound of Music"). Both Lowery and Hickman also joined FSK for concert tours in Europe and the US.
Lowery has also done work as a producer at Sound of Music Studios in Richmond, Virginia, working on records by Sparklehorse, Counting Crows, Lauren Hoffman, September 67, Wormburner, LP, Tea Leaf Green, Magnet, Sons of Bill and others. Lowery, along with Ian Solla-Yates of WNRN started RadioVA with Sound of Music in May 2010, an interview program hosted by David that has featured The Hold Steady, Drive-By Truckers, Minus the Bear and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.
On September 13, 2010, David married Velena Vego. Vego has been the manager for both Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven since 2004. She is also the talent booker for the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia, and Buckhead Theatre in Atlanta.
Other activities.
Lowery is a trained mathematician who has worked as a "quant" (a derivatives trader and financial analyst) and has started a number of music-related businesses, including a studio, a record company and a publishing company.
Lowery's extensive experience in business led to his appointment as a lecturer in the University of Georgia's music business program.
Lowery earned an Ed.D. from the University of Georgia in 2018. Charles Pitter at PopMatters has said that "in addition to this work, Lowery teaches as a lecturer and has a consistently high profile in the media as a champion of artists rights. As such, it could almost be said that Lowery has become the voice of a generation; however, it seems likely he would dismiss this title as meaningless blabber."
Lowery is critical of the internet era and states that things might be worse for working musicians than under the old record system. In 2012, he gave a widely shared talk called "Meet the new boss, worse than the old boss" in which he criticized Pandora Radio for low songwriter royalties, claiming to have made less than $17 from a million streams of his song "Low."
In 2017, Spotify settled class action lawsuit initiated by Lowery and Melissa Ferrick covering unpaid mechanical royalties. As part of the settlement, Spotify set up a fund worth over $40 million to compensate songwriters and publishers affected.
In January 2019, Lowery settled a lawsuit against Napster, which concerned unpaid mechanical royalties.


Mass Giorgini

Massimiliano Adelmo "Mass" Giorgini (born 1968) is an Italian-American bassist and record producer, who rose to fame when several of the bands he produced experienced huge gains in popularity during the pop-punk boom on the mid-‘90s. Among these bands was Giorgini's own Squirtgun, which received minor MTV rotation and several soundtrack appearances in major films in the 1990s. Mass Giorgini is also the son of renowned Italian artist Aldo Giorgini.
Music career.
Giorgini has played bass guitar, alto and tenor saxophones, and sung backing vocals for a number of punk rock bands including Screeching Weasel, Common Rider, Squirtgun, Rattail Grenadier, The Mopes, Teeth and the Man, Torture the Artist, and Sweet Black And Blue.
As a composer, Giorgini has written songs primarily for his band Squirtgun, but in addition has lent writing assistance to several bands he has produced. His songwriting work also appears in the films "Mallrats" (Gramercy Pictures) and "Bubble Boy" (Disney).
As a producer, he has worked in conjunction with leading punk rock figures such as Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day and Kris Roe of the Ataris, and produced music by bands such as Rise Against, Anti-Flag, and Alkaline Trio. Since 1990, he has owned and operated Sonic Iguana Studios in Lafayette, Indiana. He has been involved in creating the recordings of many bands (sometimes recording, mixing, mastering, and producing). His production work has taken him all over the globe, including production stints in Australia, Spain, Canada, and the Cayman Islands, as well as in numerous states of the United States.
Academics and background.
Giorgini is the son of artist Aldo Giorgini. Prior to his career in music, Giorgini earned a degree in Psychology from Purdue University and began a course of graduate study in that same field. When his father became terminally ill with a form of brain cancer, Giorgini suspended his studies in order to care for his ailing father. Following his father's death, Giorgini abandoned his doctorate studies in psychology, and dedicated himself to music. A pair of articles co-authored by Giorgini were published in respected psychology academic journals from Giorgini's period prior to his departure from the field.
Giorgini later returned to academics in the area of Spanish Literature, in which he earned both a Master's and Ph.D. degree from Purdue University in Cervantes Studies at the same university. He has published several articles in academic journals and chapters in book-length studies on literature and film. Most of his research has been on the investigation of encoded messages protesting the Inquisition written between the lines of the novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. In March 2014, Giorgini delivered a TEDx Talk at Purdue University summarizing some of his research on the same topic.
Giorgini was the model for the fictional character "Max" in the novel "Weasels in a Box" by John Jughead. In the novel, the character "Max" is a punk rock producer who also studies the literary figure "Don Quixote".
Giorgini has taught Audio Production Techniques in the Theatre Department at Purdue University, as well as Italian and Spanish in the Foreign Language Department of the same institution. In addition to his ongoing research on Cervantes and his production work, Giorgini presents at symposia on forensic techniques in the analysis of coded language.
External links.
An article by Mass Giorgini for an academic psychology journal:


John Fields (record producer)

John Fields (born September 11, 1968) is an American record producer, recording engineer, mixer and musician. Fields has produced for a number of musical artists, including the Jonas Brothers, Switchfoot, Pink, Har Mar Superstar, Miley Cyrus, Ben Rector, Andrew W.K., Busted and Demi Lovato. He also has played a number of musical instruments on various albums, and even occasionally performed live with bands such as Nick Jonas & the Administration, Soul Asylum, and The Rembrandts. He is a founding member of the Minneapolis Funk Collective, Greazy Meal.
Selected production/mix discography.
Albums


David Bourgeois

David Bourgeois is a composer, producer, drummer, sound designer, and voice over director from Upstate New York.
Sound Design and voice over.
Voice Coaches.
Bourgeois is the President and Creative Director of Voice Coaches, a voice-over training company based in Albany, New York. Company services include voice-over and communication training as well as voice-over recording and production.
Television.
Bourgeois has contributed voice-over production and editing services to multiple television projects, including episodes of HGTV's "FreeStyle" and TLC's "While You Were Out".
Film.
From 1997 to present, Bourgeois has also contributed sound editing and voice-over production to a variety of short and feature-length film projects.
Music production.
Bridge Road Entertainment.
Bourgeois, along with his wife Anna, is the co-owner of Bridge Road Entertainment, an entertainment production and development company based in Albany, New York. Bridge Road Entertainment's current artist roster includes sibling blues-rock musicians Jocelyn and Chris Arndt and country artist Vinny Michaels. Bourgeois acts as manager and producer.
Jocelyn and Chris Arndt.
Since he began working with Jocelyn and Chris in 2013, they have recorded and produced a studio EP ("Strangers in Fairyland"), two full-length albums ("Edges" and "Go"), and a live LP ("30,000 Miles").
A musician himself, Bourgeois also contributed drumming, percussion, and synthesizer programming to these releases.
In May 2017, Jocelyn and Chris Arndt released "Go", a full-length record produced and recorded by Bourgeois at White Lake Music & Post in Albany, New York.
The album includes single "Footprints on the Moon," which was "Billboard"'s 5th most added Adult Album Alternative track in the nation the week of its release to radio, and "Red Stops Traffic," which debuted on the "Billboard" AAA Top 40 Indicator Chart at No. 37 in December 2017. "Red Stops Traffic" remained in the Top 40 for six weeks total, peaking at No. 35.
The first month of its release, "Go" appeared at No. 2 on the "Relix" National Jamband Top 30 Chart. It remained in the No. 2 position through July, dropping to No. 9 in August and No. 10 in September. The album fell off the chart in October 2017, reappearing at No. 17 in November.
On February 22, 2019, Jocelyn and Chris released a new full-length album produced by Bourgeois. Titled "The Fun in the Fight", it features eleven original tracks and guest players including Danny Louis of Gov't Mule, Cory Wong of Vulfpeck, and Beau Sasser of Kung Fu. The first week of its release, it reached #1 on the Relix Jambands Top 30 Album Chart. It also debuted at #50 on the AMA Albums Chart. In subsequent weeks, "Outta My Head" broke into the "Billboard" Triple A Indicator Top 40, peaking at #33. On June 10, the second single from "The Fun in the Fight," "Kill in the Cure," impacted radio, where it was the #1 Most Added Single to Triple A radio in its first week. Following this debut, it entered the Triple A Indicator Top 40. As of August 5, it was #29 on the chart.
On March 7, 2019, Bourgeois appeared with Jocelyn & Chris and their band to perform their song "Outta My Head" live on NBC's Today Show.
On February 14th of this year, Jocelyn and Chris released "One Night in November", a collection of acoustic re-imaginings of several previously released tracks in addition to one new original song. The entire album was produced by Bourgeois and recorded in front of an intimate audience at White Lake Studios in Upstate New York. The new original track, titled "Mercy Me," was premiered by American Songwriter, who praised the entire LP's "raw, impressive intimacy" and noted that the acoustic format of the record "allows the band to lean into and further explore each song's unshakable roots."Following its release, "One Night in November" debuted on the Relix Jambands Top 30 Album Chart at #27 in February, reaching #1 in March and then moving back to #22 in April.
Vinny Michaels.
Country artist Vinny Michaels signed with Bourgeois under Bridge Road Entertainment in 2018. Since then, he has debuted one single titled "Crazy," with plans to release his first full-length album in the spring.
Past artists.
Bridge Road Entertainment previously managed and developed country singer-songwriter Chelsea Cavanaugh, whose debut LP "Simply" was released in 2013.
White Lake Music and Post.
In 2010, Bourgeois and his wife Anna opened White Lake Music & Post, a recording and post-production facility located in Schenectady. The facility is named after White Lake in the Adirondack Mountains, where the Bourgeois family has had a camp for three generations.
Personal life.
Bourgeois is originally from Boonville, New York. A self-proclaimed "music geek," he played percussion in a variety of groups and ensembles throughout elementary and high school. He credits much of his current success to his parents' support for his early decision to pursue a career in the arts:
At age twenty, Bourgeois moved to Albany in pursuit of his musical interests, performing and recording in multiple area bands and studying percussion and electronic music at the University at Albany. He soon began to gain studio experience as well, starting with recording and composition for singer-songwriters and commercial advertising and progressing to projects that cemented his role as a music producer.


George Cates

George Cates (October 19, 1911 – May 10, 2002) was an American music arranger, conductor, songwriter and record executive known for his work with Lawrence Welk and his orchestra.
Biography.
Born and raised in New York, Cates began his music career shortly after his graduating from New York University, where he found work with the vaudeville team of Olsen and Johnson on their legendary revue, "Hellzapoppin". His early career included arranging and playing saxophone with such bands as Henry Busse, Dick Stabile, and Russ Morgan between 1945 and 1951. In the mid-1950s, he was A&R director for Coral Records, writing and conducting for the label's stars that included the Andrews Sisters, Teresa Brewer, Bing Crosby, and Danny Kaye. During this time (1956), he hit the Top 40 charts (#31) with his release of a medley of "Moonglow" and "Theme from "Picnic"." The record "Moonglow and Theme from "Picnic"" had some wordless vocal effects by Norma Zimmer, at the time a session vocalist, who, coincidentally, would later become Lawrence Welk's Champagne Lady. "Moonglow and Theme from Picnic" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.
Starting in 1951, he served as Lawrence Welk's musical director. In that role, he conducted the orchestra in the rehearsals and spent many years behind the scenes as an arranger. After leaving the ABC television network in 1971, Welk syndicated his show and continued on TV using the theme song "Champagne Fanfare," which Cates had composed. A prolific writer, Cates' songs were sung by many of the show's "Musical Family" members. In 1973, the Maestro asked him to conduct the orchestra on-camera, a role he carried until the show ended in 1982. Notably, he presented occasional classical music selections in addition to the band's lighter fare. In addition to his work with Welk, Cates wrote and arranged several albums with other prominent bandleaders of the era. One of his albums, "Polynesian Percussion", featured some instrumental work by his brother-in-law guitarist Alvino Rey, and Buddy Cole playing a console steel guitar, and Novachord, as well as another fifteen-plus odd percussion instruments producing some unique sounds.
Cates died of heart failure at his home in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 90.


William E. McEuen

William Eugene McEuen (1941-2020) was a film producer and record producer famous for working with Steve Martin and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. His younger brother is John McEuen, banjo player and founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
Career.
McEuen is credited with earning the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band their first recording contract with Liberty Records.
He also co-wrote eight songs with the band.
McEuen has five production credits, which include Steve Martin's A Wild and Crazy Guy, Steven Wright's I Have a Pony and three albums by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
Writing in 1974 in reference to Stars & Stripes Forever (album), Cashbox (magazine) stated: "'William E. McEuen Presents' once again becomes an honored phrase as the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band bows their latest album..."
Through Aspen Film Society, the production company he cofounded in 1976 with Steve Martin, McEuen has also acted as producer or executive producer for multiple movies, most notably as producer with 1979's "The Jerk", 1983's "The Man with Two Brains", and executive producer for 1985's "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" and "The Big Picture".
McEuen was twice been nominated for a Grammy, in 1970 for
Best Album Cover for Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy and 1975 for Best Album Package for
Symphonion Dream.
In 1978 McEuen was nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Short Film with The Absent-Minded Waiter.
McEuen passed away on Sept. 24, 2020, in Kona, Hawaii.


Ron Baldwin

Ronald Eric Baldwin (born January 8, 1961), American music business manager, producer and entrepreneur.


Lee Rich

Lee Rich (December 19, 1918 – May 24, 2012) was an American film and television producer, who won the 1973 Outstanding Drama Series Emmy award for "The Waltons" as the producer. He is also known as the co-founder and former chairman of Lorimar Television.
Among the five Emmy nominated programs Rich produced were the series "Dallas" and "Knots Landing".
Early life and education.
Rich was born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 19, 1918. His parents were Morris Richtaller and Anna Neminsky, both Jewish. His mother was born in Tetiev, Ukraine. He earned a marketing degree from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.
Career.
Rich began his career in advertising and ultimately became an industry executive.
He served in the Navy as a lieutenant in World War II, and then returned to advertising in New York, where he rose to senior vice president and a member of the board of Benton & Bowles.
As the ad agency middleman between product company sponsors and television producers, he was involved with "The Andy Griffith Show", "Make Room for Daddy", "The Edge of Night", "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.", and "The Dick Van Dyke Show".
Rich left Benton & Bowles in 1965 to partner with the Mirisch Co. and form Mirisch-Rich Productions. There he produced "The Rat Patrol".
In 1969, he, Merv Adelson, and Irwin Molasky formed Lorimar Productions. Its first production was "The Homecoming: A Christmas Story" (1971), a television film which led to Lorimar producing the series it inspired, "The Waltons", featuring the same characters. The series ran on CBS from 1972 to 1981. Rich also co-produced the short-lived 1977 CBS espionage drama "Hunter". Lorimar's biggest hit was the primetime soap "Dallas", which ran from 1978-91. In regards to the famous "Dallas" storyline “"Who shot J.R.?"” in which Larry Hagman’s character is fired upon in the 1979-80 season finale in March and the assailant is not revealed until the following November, only Rich and writer-director Leonard Katzman knew which of three previously shot endings would be used.
After leaving Lorimar in 1986, Rich joined MGM/UA Communications. For two years he was the chairman and chief executive of MGM.
Personal life.
Rich married American actress Pippa Scott in 1964, having three children together before they divorced in 1983, though they maintained a friendship until his death. Later Rich had two other children with his second wife, Angela Rich.
Death.
Rich died on May 24, 2012, at the age of 93 in Los Angeles, California from lung cancer.
Filmography.
He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.