Rick Borkowski really wants a hot rod. We thought that was some kind of cool new bass guitar, until he told us he enjoys changing his own oil. For those of you who don’t think changing your oil means typing “oil change” into your GPS and following the lovely voice, you’ll like Rick. When Rick isn’t banging on a car, he’s banging on some drums or his old Tele’. Rick prefers moderately priced gear – he’d rather save his money for a Model A Ford. Rick is from South Bend, Indiana, and once went as Robert Goulet for Halloween. Unlike other staffers, Rick doesn’t have a nickname. If you’d like to suggest a nickname for Rick, please join our discussion on Music123’s Facebook page.
Charles King is a self-proclaimed break dancing extraordinaire who wanted to be Michael Jackson when he grew up. While he‚s not the King of Pop, he is our in-house king of live sound for houses of worship. Charles is an ordained minister with a heavenly passion for his Hammond Organ, Motif Keyboards and all things percussion. Charles says he dreams of retiring in Barbados where he can listen to Urban Gospel, Jazz and R&B. Until then, he'll spend time going to the gym, hanging out with his Boston Terrier and helping Music123 customers find the perfect solution to their gear needs!
Jeff Brown spent ten years at Crown Audio as a manufacturing engineer. A senior staffer, this avid ski fan loves all things pro audio. He graduated highest in his college class and continues to move to the head of class in life. Winning the gear lottery for Jeff would mean a new Digico D5, but who doesn’t want a space-ship-sized recording system with a price tag to match? Jeff has travelled the world from Singapore to Sweden, but wants to retire in New Mexico. We hear the acoustics are great in the desert.
Barry Frydrych says his favorite animal is an osprey. Barry is hawk-like himself, but it’s his ears that are sharpest. Barry knows the sound of jazz and enjoys Bebop best. He likes to read, watch movies and lift weights. He is an avid history buff and wanted to be a history teacher when he grew up. This quiet Scorpio still has a lot to teach Music123 customers about music and gear. When Barry speaks, it sounds like the sweet sound of a good deal.
Dan Hart is a jack of all music trades, but especially digs pianos and keyboards. In fact, he dreams of someday buying an original vintage Hammond B3 organ. Dan is a notoriously cool guy with powerful vocal skills and the uncanny ability to raise one eyebrow at a time. He wanted to be a rock star when he grew up, and has played in several 80s and 90s cover bands. This Benton Harbor, Michigan, native is passionate about fighting animal cruelty. Dan enjoys spending time with his two teenage daughters, and if he does parenting half as cool as he does Deep Purple, we think those girls are going to be just fine.
Matt Kalka, once recipient of the 2001 Indiana All-StateTackle Football Award, has since abandoned his dreams to be a professional athlete in favor of helping Music123 customers find their perfect guitar. Only moderately safe from being tackled by other staffers, this beefy Sagittarius has a special passion for guitars, basses and amps. His dream gear is a Dumble Steel String Singer. Nicknamed “The Dude,” Matt enjoys writing music and jamming. In his spare time, you’ll find this South Bend, Indiana, native behind a guitar or behind a stove – he makes some mean jambalaya! I’ll take a big rockin’ bowl of tube overdrive, please?
Michael Doty is a self-proclaimed gear hound. With a jam-ready recording studio in his home, Mike is constantly working to expand his knowledge of guitars and recording gear. But even a gear head has other interests, right? With childhood dreams of being a cartoonist, Mike puts his artistic skills to work advocating for music and arts education. This shy Sagittarius enjoys reading everything from classic literature to the back of action figure packages. This Elkhart, Indiana resident has been known to juggle more than sales calls in the office. Mike tells us he enjoys practicing kung fu and he doesn’t mean a movie marathon with takeout!
Jason "Red" Nielsen says little lizards make him laugh. From an early age this South Bend native felt the primordial urge to rock out when he grew up. After a life of slinging gear for the world’s best company and reading the ingredient labels on bathroom products, Jason hopes to retire to Florida and laugh at those little lizards. Until then, Jason will be here helping customers and rocking peoples’ faces off. An avid concert-goer and fan of all things music, we hope he’ll throw a cubicle concert soon! Personal slogan: Go big or go home.
Sonny Carreno is our resident bi-lingual expert. This fiery Halloween-born drummer is anything but scary. In fact, he knows how to provide excellent service in English and Spanish. With a degree in music education from Texas State, Sonny says he wanted to be Ringo Starr when he grew up. He enjoys perusing vintage drum shops, sipping red wine from the Rioja region of Spain, and reading gear and current event magazines. An avid Beatles fan, Sonny is no “Bad Boy,” but he is a good time “Eight Days a Week.”
Fred Estrup was voted best dancer in his high school class. He enjoys rock, fusion, country and jazz, but today most of his happy-feet-moments happen on the disc golf course. An avid drummer, Fred knows about all kinds of gear. He even plays in a local band called Dubble Wammy! This saucy Libra tells us that he does quite an impressive collection of bird calls. Fred wanted to be a cowboy when he grew up, and now he is wrangling and roping the Music123 customers into their perfect gear.
