Dave Swanson

Producer-Engineer

Making tracks from his native Arkansas, Dave arrived in New York City to attend classes at the Audio Institute of Research. His career as a student was fortuitously interrupted by an opportunity to work in the field.

Hired as Assistant Engineer at Greene Street Recording, NYC, Dave quickly climbed the ranks and was soon engineering for high profile clients, and working on such legendary recordings such as Sonic Youth's "Daydream Nation" and Public Enemy's "Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black."

In his spare time at Greene Street, Dave discovered and produced demos for the as yet unsigned and later platinum-selling Spin Doctors, Blues Traveler, Joan Osborne, Chris Whitley, Widespread Panic and some others that didn't become millionaires.

Dave left Greene Street to work with Blues Traveler, helping the band define its onstage sound, mixing its live shows and producing many of its gold and platinum records.

Some of Dave's credits include: The Dalai Lama, Public Enemy, Dave Matthews Band, Phish, Sonic Youth, LL Cool J, Salt-n-Pepa, Run DMC, Constantine Maroulis from American Idol, Ziggy Marley, Sheryl Crow, Ofra Haza, Buddy Guy, The Allman Brothers and many more.

Sean Boyd

Musician-Entrepreneur

Growing up around music and business, Sean acquired a broad variety of skills related to the music industry. Both parents were musicians - Mom had billings with Dylan - and later she became a booking agent which afforded Sean the opportunity to attend conferences, festivals and concerts throughout his childhood, furthering his musical education.

As an entrepreneur, Sean has a diverse resume including:
•Resource Director for Fanatic Promotion, Inc., the premiere PR agency for introducing new bands to the media and responsible for the early press successes of My Morning Jacket, Sufjan Stevens, Girl Talk and many others.
•Grove Restaurant, NYC, operated from 1993-2001 serving French country food in Greenwich Village with rave reviews in the New York Times and Zagats.
•Novobatzky Soho Couture, NYC, selling custom women's clothes, in our twelfth year we are the only retail store that still manufactures in Soho.
•Boom Room Recording, NYC, a 32 track digital recording facility that ran profitably for four years until the city tore the building down.
•This Is It, a touring party band based in NYC. Sean managed, booked and was front man of this band for 1000+ shows over seven years.
•As a musician, Sean has recorded and self-released CDs both with bands and alone, and has been performing since age eight.
•Sean plays guitar, banjo, piano, bass, harmonica, percussion, bagpipes, fiddle, sings and dances a mean foxtrot.

Richard Bergman

Manager

As a teenager Richie worked as a waiter in the old "borscht belt" and from there attended the University of South Florida. Upon returning to NYC, he co-owned and operated Philippe Wine & Liquors on West 23rd Street. Richie eliminated the "bum" clientele and focused on fine wines. Within a month, neighbors began to comment on the improvement of the quality of life in the community.

Richie went on to head Hilltop Limousine, consisting of two stretch limos and from there became the primary investor in Symmetry Management, discovering Aimee Mann and 'Til Tuesday along the way. This glimpse into the workings of the music industry was a vital foundation in Richie's next endeavor.

In 1987, Richie became the major investor in Walt Tucker Productions, a company pioneered by Richie and Scott Page, famous for his stint as the saxophonist and additional guitarist for Pink Floyd during the recording of their multi-platinum 1987 album "A Momentary Lapse of Reason." Walt Tucker later became 7th Level, an early producer of CD-ROM games (including Monty Python's "A Complete Waste of Time" and Howie Mandel's "Bobby's World") that went on to be traded as a public company on the NASDAQ.

Always an innovator, Richie then started Buycomm, Inc., a company that purchased computer equipment earmarked for the trash from Fortune 500 companies. Refurbishing this equipment and then re-selling it to much smaller firms saved his customers money and saved the environment, as well.

As Buycomm, Inc. was coming to an end, Richie remembered his initial intentions for Walt Tucker Productions. His ambition was to create a company to act as a "one-stop shop" for bands, offering a state-of-the-art recording studio, in-house engineers and producers, an art and graphics department, merchandising department, attorney, publisher, promoter, and photographer.

Richie's concept has begun to be realized at Art Farm Recording and sister company, Fanatic Records. Richie was instrumental in the start-up of the Art Farm where he, along with Dave and Sean, converted an old barn into a magnificent studio. Richie knew the least about construction, but managed to help create an outdoor wonderland. From cleaning up a property where nothing that came in over the last 100 years ever left, to building gardens, manicuring the farm's "magic forest" and landscaping the lawns, Richie still participates in this labor of love, an experience that will last in his heart forever!