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I am looking back over what has been and continues to be a wonderful career in an industry that I have loved since The Mama’s & The Papa’s harmonies found their way to my ears through speakers in my home growing up. My interest in music grew out of listening to what my parents listened to. Sammy Davis Jr., Fleetwood Mac, The Doobie Brothers, Simon & Garfunkel, John Denver, and so many more.  My parents also continue to have an incredible influence in my life as far as having a good work ethic.

As I grew up, REO Speedwagon, KISS, Gerry Rafferty, Boston and others found their way into my record collection.  My older brother started playing drums and I felt like I also had the rhythm in me to do that.  I joined band in 6^th grade and continued throughout High School.  I met friends who listened to Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Rush. I practiced to those bands for hours which became my drum lessons. I also found myself paying close attention to lyrics, harmonies, and the interplay between musicians.  I did have other interests in life – space, computers, and cars but music was a huge part of me.

When I started at Joliet Junior College (JJC), my first intent was to study to become an Aerospace Engineer.  I wanted to be a Mission Specialist as part of the Space Shuttle program. I ambitiously tried to tackle College Algebra and Trigonometry IN THE SAME SEMESTER.  The result of that silly attempt was a change to Music as my major. I had also met a pair of brothers at JJC, one of which went on to work for Shure. As I worked my way through the educational system, the more people I met, the wider the breadth of music I was exposed to.  Chick Corea & The Elektric Band, Tony MacAlpine, Tony Williams, Take 6…I was getting blasted from so many angles with inspiration.  I loved it!

Throughout High School and College, I was also part of group of musicians who got together to play for productions like Guys and Dolls, Hello Dolly!, South Pacific, and a string of other musicals I had never heard off.  We also formed an AMAZING 16 piece Big Band and did a USO type show.  As a musician, these were some of the best times I’ve ever had. The group was a blast to hang with, the music was all of the best standards, and the singers were top notch.  I hope I get to do this again someday.

After completing my Associates degree at JJC, I found a Music Business program at Southern Illinois University.  I attended SIU for 2 years, during which I played in Symphonic Winds, the Jazz Band, and found my way into a Metal band, which was also a great time.  My double bass chops were pretty good as we played Metallica, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Rush, Anthrax, and so much more.  The guitarist in the group worked for the local newspaper, Carbondale Nightlife.  He was responsible for interviewing various artists that performed in town.  When Chick Corea & The Elektric band came across his desk, he called me and asked if I wanted to take the interview.  I had never interview anyone in my life and now I was about to interview Chick, an icon in Jazz. I could get used to this!  Little did I know that later in life, I would be! I still get excited before each interview.

One of the classes at SIU was called Music Business and the class would take a bus to Nashville about 6 times during the semester to meet with various industry people like singer/songwriters, lawyers, label execs, and studio engineers.  This peaked my interest in the Nashville area.

After graduating, I returned to the Chicago area and got an internship with an event planning company that had some major clients.  One of my jobs was to draft floor plans via computer so that the event planners could lay in elements for the events. I then updated my resume and sent it into Shure as well as any other music related jobs I could think of.  I received a call from Shure, interviewed for a Customer Service position and became the first Rush Order Expediter for that department.  After about a year and a half, I was promoted to Customer Service Rep and took calls from a variety of dealers in different states over the next year an a half. During that time, I made many friends within Shure, and when the time came that the Artist Relations Manager needed assistance, I was right there to apply for the position.  It has been 16 years since I joined the AR team and I have made so many friends in this industry and been blessed to a part of some amazing experiences.

All of those experiences have revealed to me the central core of how I feel I’ve lasted this long in this position.  My advice to others: Be a team player and represent your company to the highest of standards by doing a good job, going above and beyond.  Finally and most importantly, treat others with respect and it will come back to you in so many ways. My father always told me “Your attitude determines your altitude.”

Ryan

I started appreciating the history of metal in my twenties.  Industrial and metal were merging and I started following that branch backwards as I listened to the new stuff.  I also had to understand where my band mates were coming from.  They were heavily influenced by early thrash and punk, the latter of which had more of an influence on the former than I had ever suspected when I was younger.

I started to dig in to the roots of where this music came from.  From my tastes, I went backward…skipping the hair metal of course. I still don’t give it too much credit.  I started to pay attention to the third generation bands – Slayer, Megadeth, early Metallica, Anthrax, Testament.  Then I started to listen to the roots: early influences like Deep Purple, The Kinks, Mountain, Black Sabbath.  Motörhead was all over the bars I was hanging out in.  The last holdouts to study were Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.

I remember being in the House of Blues here in Chicago and interviewing Anthrax right as they had reformed the Among the Living line-up.  I remember one part from the interview particularly well.  Frank Bello (bassist) said that they started by writing music they thought was the logical continuation of what Iron Maiden had done up to that point.  That piqued my curiosity.

I first caught Iron Maiden on their Ozzfest 2005 slot.  They were energetic and tight.  But they were limited in their presentation as all the acts were.  I personally like seeing what some acts can pull off with those limitations.  But the word was that in order to get the full impression I should see Maiden on their own.

On a Saturday night in July I got to see their full production.  I was fresh off the shift of my volunteer work and made my way down to Tinley Park.  Prior to getting to the venue I stopped to grab some dinner in the neighborhood.  There were quite a few Maiden fans at the restaurant.  I was just stepping up to order when I realized that they were all young.  I got my food to go and drove to the venue.

I pulled in to my spot and set about devouring my dinner.  The windows were down and cars everywhere were blaring Maiden songs as the tailgaters got psyched for the show.  I made my way to the will call window to claim my passes.

I ran backstage for a bit to see if I could connect with my contact on the stage.  While back there I ran in to Charlie Benante, who was back in town from the Big Four tour in Europe.  We caught up for a bit, then I was able to check in with one of Maiden’s techs, Sean.  Iron Maiden have a huge and elaborate set and they rely on Shure UHF-R wireless systems for vocals and most of the instruments (I think it’s Adrian Smith who has always preferred to use a cable with his guitar) to use all the space allotted to them.  Sean had a few flattering things to say about the performance of their wireless systems before he had to get working on the set change.  He excused himself to get to work and I went out front to the box they had graciously put me in.

There were certainly people that grew up with Iron Maiden in the crowd, but at one point Bruce Dickinson used an intermission to ask the audience how many people were there seeing Maiden for the first time.  If I had to guess, I’d say that about 80% of the audience threw their hands in the air and screamed.  “Yeah, right,” I thought.

He paused and said, “No, seriously, I only want to see who is here seeing Maiden for the first time.”  This time I’d say about 70% of the audience roared.  I looked around to see who these people were.  I was shocked to see that those with their hands in the air were so young.  It appears they’ll appeal to youth today just as they did to many in my generation and the generation before me.

As I had mentioned, they used all the space they could on the stage.  There were constant background changes and the stage resembled a moon base, complete with rocket ship.  I have to say, I see a lot of shows and sometimes it’s just nice to see the spectacle come back in rock.   It’s also very worth a mention to say that at one point Bruce Dickinson used an intermission to pay respect to someone who influenced Maiden as they influenced their acolytes.  The salute given by Maiden and the audience to the memory of Ronnie James Dio sent shivers down my spine.  They played “Blood Brothers” in dedication to him.

Richard

The crowd gathers.

Slayer, Anthrax, Megadeth & Metallica all together!

Ambassadors of thrash.

All photos (c) 2010 Andrew Stuart/Future Grandpa (and much thanks for allowing us to post these, Stu!)

I was reading Scott Ian’s tweets afterward.  They melted the faces off a crowd of 100,000!

Richard

Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds headlines this issue, in which editor Cory Lorentz foregos the usual Letter from the Editor in favor of a simple remembrance of Michael Dalquist, Johnathan Glick, and Douglas Meis, three Shure Associates who tragically left this world too soon.

View and download the full On Tour With Shure Fall 2005 Issue on shure.com.