FROM THE TOP COURTLAND GRAY I PEAVEY ELECTRONICS INTERVIEWED BY KATIE KAILUS
HOW DO YOU START YOUR DAY? I generally wake up before I want to start my day, so I’ll meditate on what I need to work on that day and clear out emails that come in overnight. Three days a week, I have a trainer I work out with in our gym at the office. Af - ter that, I usually check on my horses and things around my property, then I spend some time with my girlfriend of 13 years over coffee and breakfast. Then, I head into the office. CAN YOU GIVE OUR READERS A BRIEF BACKGROUND ON YOUR TIME AT PEAVEY FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT NOT KNOW? Peavey Electronics founder Hart- ley Peavey and I talked for a year or so about starting a leasing program through our finance division, PVF, which does floor planning for our dealer and distributor network. He wanted to offer a leasing program for churches and other businesses that needed audio systems, but might be a little short on what their real system needs are and could use a payment plan to get the system needed. So, I joined Peavey in 2001 and started that program. Shortly thereafter, I be- came the general manager of PVF. In 2004, I was named executive vice presi- dent and started taking on additional roles and oversight to various parts of the business. NICE. TODAY YOU ARE THE COMPANY’S COO. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MANAGEMENT STYLE? I try and get people aware of and started on tasks that need to be addressed, and I tend to let them do what needs to be done to get us where we want to go. Sometimes, I fail to follow up on our progress as I should but for the most part we have some good folks that have been doing things here for a while and know how to get things done. PEAVEY TURNS 60 IN 2025. WHAT DOES THIS MILESTONE MEAN TO YOU AND THE PEAVEY ELECTRONICS TEAM? It’s a wonderful thing to be a part of an organization with such a storied history with worldwide recognition
and impact. Hartley dynamically created this business out of college with a passion for music and the skills to create musical equipment with his own hands. The growth that came about is truly amazing and the passion to ever cre- ate better products continues today. AMAZING. WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE MAIN FACTORS THAT HAVE SUSTAINED THE BUSINESS IN ORDER TO REACH THE 60-YEAR MILESTONE? What’s gotten us to the 60-year mark, I think, is the desire to be the best and not settle on what the norm might be but always try to be different and try to find the right solution for our customers. Whether that’s a benefi -
cial patented feature in the product, of which we have over 150, or a fantastic margin for our dealer net- work, we have always strived to of- fer the best value for the customer. MANY PEOPLE KNOW PEAVEY FOR ITS AMPS AND GUITARS, BUT NOT AS MANY REALIZE HOW DEEP ITS PRO-AUDIO PORTFOLIO RUNS. HOW LARGE OF A ROLE DOES THIS PLAY IN THE PEAVEY ARCHITECTURE? More than 30 years ago, Peavey launched MediaMatrix, the first dig - itally configured and controlled dis - tributed audio system. The software, called nWARE, was the first drag-
“PEAVEY HAS ALWAYS TRIED TO BE A BENEFICIAL PARTNER TO DEALERS. WE BE- LIEVE IF WE MAKE THE DEALER MONEY, WE’LL MAKE MONEY, TOO.”
and-drop software for DSP configuration and deployment in a network and revolutionized how audio professionals configure audio installations. The first installation was in the U.S. Capitol building and there have been tens of thousands of high-end installations in the largest theme parks, airports and stadiums all over the world. Our next- generation of product is available Q1 of 2025 and will integrate into legacy projects giving customers the ability to migrate into this newer technology without having to take down their current system or having to spend heavily all at once on the upgraded system. VERY INTERESTING. IF A RETAILER ISN’T CURRENTLY STOCKING PEAVEY’S PRO-AUDIO GEAR — OR GUITAR GEAR FOR THAT MATTER — WHY SHOULD THEY START?
34 I MUSIC INC. I FEBRUARY/MARCH 2025
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