Three Music Veterans Join Sweetwater Team

Fort Wayne, IN, September 4, 2014 - Sweetwater, the No. 1 online retailer of music instruments and audio equipment in the U.S., recently hired three nationally known, A-list music professionals: producer and keyboard player Phil Naish, drummer and vocalist Nick D'Virgilio, and guitarist Don Carr.

Nick D'Virgilio and Don Carr, in addition to session work in Sweetwater Studios, will contribute to Sweetwater's marketing efforts, providing educational content for Sweetwater's customers through videos and writing. They will also conduct workshops, clinics, and master classes for Sweetwater's Academy of Music and Technology.

Phil Naish will work full-time in Sweetwater Studios as Executive Producer and session player.

Sweetwater founder and president Chuck Surack remarked, "Sweetwater was founded as a recording studio and we've always been true to our roots. Our three Russ Berger-designed studios are the jewel in the Sweetwater crown. We felt it was time to further enhance what we offer recording musicians by providing the musical services of three outstanding musicians with incredible resumes. We also plan to use their considerable, nationally recognized, and unique talents to educate and inform our customers."

A gifted producer, musician and songwriter, Phil Naish is best known for both producing and playing on Steven Curtis Chapman's first seven albums, resulting in his winning three Grammy Awards. He is the winner of five Dove awards in several categories, including Contemporary Album of the Year and Children's Music Album of the Year. He has appeared as a keyboardist on countless albums for such diverse talents as Elton John, Kenny Rogers, Boz Scaggs, Kenny Chesney, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Steve Green, Michael Card, and Sandy Patti, and produced albums for artists such as Phillips, Craig and Dean, Michael Card, Wes King, and the Gettys.

Nick D'Virgilio, from Los Angeles, is one of the most respected drummers in the music business, having spent many years as a founding member of the highly successful progressive rock band Spock's Beard. He has also recorded and performed with Genesis, Tears for Fears, Peter Gabriel, Sheryl Crow, Eric Burdon and the Animals, Mike Keneally, Fates Warning, and Big Big Train, and has countless studio session credits. For the past five years, he has been on the road as the principal drummer, lead singer, and assistant bandleader for Cirque du Soleil. A multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and vocalist, he has also released two solo albums.

Don Carr has an impressive resume: after studying music at North Texas State University and then Belmont College in Nashville, he had a 28-year career as a recording and touring guitarist, working with many artists and celebrities in a variety of genres, including James Brown, Marie Osmond, Lorrie Morgan, Mark Chestnut, Tommy Tutone, Earl Thomas Conlee, and Larry Stewart. Most notably, he was Lead Guitarist for 23 years for the legendary Oak Ridge Boys, performing more than 150 shows annually, including radio and television, and two command performances at the White House. Don was born in Wayne, Michigan and raised in Henderson, Kentucky.

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Attachments:

https://media.sweetwater.com/m/about/press-releases/images/PhilN3.jpg?ha=61687aca153b76d4

https://media.sweetwater.com/m/about/press-releases/images/NickD3.jpg?ha=466728ec93668fe1

https://media.sweetwater.com/m/about/press-releases/images/DonCarr3.jpg?ha=5e71cedbe76bdedf