The Crutchfield writing team is a group of full-time, in-house copywriters who share a passion for consumer electronics. In addition to creating the articles and videos you find in the Crutchfield Learning Center, these hard-working and talented people write the informational copy for the products on our website and in the Crutchfield catalog. Our writers constantly research the latest products, technologies, and industry trends, so that we can bring you the most helpful information possible.

Amanda Moore is one of the home A/V editors for Crutchfield.com, and also produces videos about home A/V gear. Since 2004, she has written about a variety of home A/V gear for Crutchfield, including whole-house music systems and custom installation products. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Religious Studies. In addition to consumer electronics, her interests include reading, listening to music (on sweet Crutchfield gear), playing video games, and taking fun classes at the gym.

Barry Montgomery has worked for Crutchfield since the crack of the millennium, and currently serves as the Catalog Editor for Home Audio/Video. He studied English and psychology at Indiana University and received a master's degree in English literature from the University of Virginia. His strangely variegated employment history includes supervising a psychology research lab, writing and editing publications dedicated to finance companies and real estate investment trusts, and managing a record store. In his spare time he enjoys reading; listening to a wide variety of music; watching classic, independent, and foreign films; and assembling audio collages from antiquated spoken word sources and other found sounds.

Buck Pomerantz was born and raised in Philadelphia. His parents bought their first television set when he was born. He figured out how to run it by the time he was two. Besides athletics, his formative interests included electronics, amateur radio, music, and stage crew work. He got his BA in writing from Brown University. Then he joined a rock 'n roll band as their soundman and moved to Charlottesville, Virginia. After that venture failed, he spent time in Boston, New Orleans, and Berkeley. He worked in a music store in Austin manufacturing, installing, repairing, and operating sound systems for recording studios, clubs, and bands. He moved back to Charlottesville, ran a little recording studio, worked for a while repairing office machines, and finally joined Crutchfield as a copywriter. He is married with 2 grown children, and 3 grandchildren, but after a good nap he can still rock out.

Charlie Pastorfield writes about car audio for Crutchfield. Raised in Connecticut and the U.S. Virgin Islands, he graduated from the University of Virginia, but was having way too much fun to leave Charlottesville. After a long, beautiful career touring the East Coast from Boston to Atlanta as a professional guitarist (Skip Castro Band, The Believers), he married Emilie, had two daughters (Morgan and Emma), and got his first full-time job at Crutchfield. Still an extremely active musician, he's now a member of The Gladstones, a 4-piece group that plays just about anything, and Alligator, an 8-piece band that plays late 60's Grateful Dead.

Chris Egner is a former writer for Crutchfield. She concentrated on point-and-shoot cameras and speakers while she worked here.

Dave Bar has worked for Crutchfield since 1981. After a brief 23 year stint in the sales department, he now writes about home audio gear and camera equipment for Crutchfield's catalog and website. Dave has been hooked on electronics ever since putting together a 5-tube AM radio in his high school shop class, and still enjoys tinkering with stereos in his spare time. His interests include gardening, cooking, fishing, photography, and music.

Dominic J. DeVito has been a member of the Crutchfield A/V writing squad since 2007. He was born and raised in Staunton, Virginia, and enrolled at the University of Notre Dame, where he earned a degree in chemical engineering. During that time he developed a passionate obsession with experiencing music, both live and recorded, which he parlayed into a 13-year stint in record retail (much to the chagrin of his very patient parents) and a long-running tenure as a rock DJ at WTJU. His expositions can be found in back issues of Plan 9's 9X Magazine as well as Schools That Rock: The Rolling Stone College Guide. He has seen his favorite band, Yo La Tengo, over fifty times.

Gabrielle Thorndyke started life at Crutchfield as a member of the award-winning Tech Support team, where she spent years translating rarified technical concepts into something real people can understand. She brings this deep understanding to her assignment as a member of Crutchfield car A/V copywriting team. When not at work, Gabrielle writes and performs music with Painchant, reviews local bands in her blog and hangs with her husband (Andrew) and kids (Tristan, Gareth and Vincent). Born to a family of gypsy musician-educators in upstate New York, Gabrielle has traveled throughout the U.S. (extensively), Europe and Asia (to a lesser extent). Her adventures in these strange and wondrous lands brought her in contact with talented musicians, writers, gearheads, and other mystics, whose teachings contribute to her unique writing perspective.

James Ralston is Crutchfield's Web Editor for Home Audio/Video. He joined the company in 1994 as a member of the sales department and began writing about A/V gear in 1999. James attended the University of Virginia, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature. Since arriving in the Charlottesville area, he has been active in the local music scene, playing drums in a variety of musical projects ranging from world beat, to blues, to instrumental improv.

Jim Richardson was Crutchfield employee number 7 when he joined the company back in 1977. He started his career packing boxes and answering phones, then graduated to copywriting and buying merchandise. He left Crutchfield in 1983 to finish college and pursue a career in journalism. Ten years later, he became one of Bill Crutchfield's prized "retreads" (employees who have returned for a second tour of duty, thereby proving that the grass isn't greener elsewhere).

Joshua Crane has enjoyed working for Crutchfield since 2007. As a Crutchfield Advisor (known to his customers as "Kramer"), he helps find solutions for customers shopping for new gear. Joshua also creates and manages articles in the Customer Car Showroom, which features do-it-yourself installs by Crutchfield customers. In his spare time, he teaches guitar and music theory, and enjoys live bluegrass whenever possible.

Julie Govan is the Home Multichannel Projects Editor at Crutchfield, and has been writing about consumer electronics since 1999. Her areas of expertise include home theater, surround sound, digital cameras, and HDTV. In her spare time, she also writes book reviews and fiction. She earned a B.A. in English from Davidson College, and went on to receive a master's degree in English literature from the University of Virginia.

Ken Nail has written about car audio for Crutchfield since 2003, after four years as Crutchfield Sales Advisor, and 10 years as a music teacher. He's an avid music listener, whose favorites are classical and film music. When not chained to a desk, Ken spends most of his time training for triathlons and marathons, and likes getting outside for backpacking, downhill skiing, and bicycle touring. He attended West Virginia University, where he received a Master's Degree in Music Performance and a Bachelor's Degree in History.

Kristen started at Crutchfield in February 2008. She writes about home A/V electronics, specializing in camcorders and home theater systems. She graduated from the College of William and Mary with a BA in English and a minor in French. In her spare time, she enjoys reading about everything, writing short stories, playing video games, cooking new recipes, and traveling whenever possible.

Loren Barstow was born and raised in New York in a small, uncharted area known as Long Island. He attended the State University of New York at Albany where he received a B.S. in Atmospheric Science. Loren got lost after migrating south one winter and ended up at Crutchfield. Since he has always been a science and technology type of guy and has always had an interest in electronics, he didn't mind. After spending some years in sales, he joined the Crutchfield creative team where he has the privilege of writing about assorted A/V gear. In his free time, he enjoys listening to a variety of music, gaming, reading, and dabbling in Japanese.

A circuitous path, involving England, New York, rural Michigan, Indiana, and lots of parts in between brought Matthew Freeman to Charlottesville, where he's been writing about mobile audio/video for Crutchfield off and on since early 2000. He fosters an eclectic taste in film, and is fond of a wide range of music. A native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, he found his way to the University of Notre Dame, where, in an act of charity unsurpassed in the history of Western civilization, he was given a B.A. in English.

Mike has worked for Crutchfield in various full- and part-time capacities since 1988. Ten years ago, he joined the company's creative department to write and edit mobile A/V media. He is also a professional musician and composer.

Ralph Graves is one of the blog editors for Crutchfield. He also writes about home audio/video gear, specializing in MP3 players and their accessories. Ralph holds a master's degree in composition, and his background includes stints as a radio DJ, and record label product manager. His music has been released on the ERM and Fleur de Son labels. Since 1984 Ralph's hosted "Gamut," a weekly classical music program aired on non-commercial WTJU-FM. Ralph's also an active blogger and podcaster, continues to compose, runs a music-related side business, and considers free time overrated.

Robert Ferency-Viars, a native-born Virginian from the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, has been with Crutchfield since 1999 and is one of the car A/V editors for Crutchfield.com. Robert attended Virginia Tech, where he studied mathematics and philosophy in depth before finally deciding on a degree in psychology. He loves spending time with his wonderful wife and sons, listening to music, and playing games with friends. When he gets a spare hour, you'll find him in a dark corner reading or writing horror fiction. Robert installed his first car stereo system when he was 16. His car was a 1976 Plymouth Duster and his system included a shaft-style cassette deck, a Sparkomatic power booster, factory speakers, and an old home stereo speaker in the back seat. Lucky for us, he's learned a few things since then.

Steve Kindig has been an electronics enthusiast for over 30 years. He has written extensively about home and car A/V gear for Crutchfield since 1985. Steve is also a volunteer announcer in the folk department of community radio station WTJU, where he is one of the regular hosts of "Atlantic Weekly."

Tara Wisnewski has worked for Crutchfield since 2004. She graduated from the State University of New York at Geneseo with a B.A. in History. She writes about whole-house music and video gear and camcorders, and her interests include cooking, wine tasting, reading, and watching a variety of awful movies.

Todd Cabell is the Car Multichannel Projects Editor at Crutchfield, where he has written about car electronics since 2001. He enjoys swimming, fly fishing, hiking, skiing, cooking, and playing guitar when he's not spilling red ink. He drives a 2000 Ford F-150 with an Alpine CDA-7894 in the dash, Polk/MOMO 5-1/4" components up front, Polk 6”x8” speakers in the rear, a Rockford Fosgate Punch P8004 amplifier, and an MTX Thunderform under the rear seat. He hopes to one day outfit his 1962 Mercury Comet with a worthy sound system as well. He received a B.A. in English from Davidson College, an M.A. in English from the University of Virginia, and a Cambridge/RSA CELTA Certification for ESL Teaching from Cambridge University.

Zak Billmeier was born in Lansing, MI and grew up in southern Vermont and coastal Maine. After graduating from Mary Washington College with a Geography degree he still isn't sure quite what to do with, he headed to Atlanta, GA for six years of well-deserved downtime. But after finding it to be way too hot there, he settled back in Virginia. He plays the bass guitar with the Richmond-based Mason Brothers and spends most of his free time taking pictures, gardening and cooking. Zak traces the roots of his interest in electronic gadgets to the Casio wristwatch with a built-in calculator he received as a gift one year as a child. He joined Crutchfield's car A/V team in 2007.