Crutchfield - North America's electronics authority since 1974

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.

Many of the people appearing in our videos are part of the Crutchfield Writing Team, but we also frequently pull in other folks from around the company to share their expertise. A lot of our Video Guests come from our Advisor Group — they help people choose the right gear via phone, e-mail and chat every day, so they're good at explaining the products and technologies.

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 single 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.

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.

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).

John Pollard has worked for Crutchfield since 2005, and spent his first six years on the phone helping people as an Advisor. He has since joined the writing staff, focusing on car stereo gear. He was born and raised in Charlottesville, VA and has been an A/V enthusiast ever since he helped his father install his first car stereo many moons ago. In his spare time he can be found installing car stereos, playing video games, listening to music, and spending time with his lovely wife.

Bio coming soon.

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.

Loren Barstow started at Crutchfield in 1999. After working a few years as a sales advisor, he moved on to become a writer and then an editor. He has written about televisions, Blu-ray players, speakers, and various other audio/video components.

Marshall Chase was born in Brooklyn, NY but has lived in Virginia since 1984 following a six month stint as a live-in barman in central London. He graduated from SUNY at Brockport, NY with a degree in Journalism and holds a Master's in Teaching from the University of Virginia. Marshall has worked as a radio station DJ, news producer and reporter. He has dabbled in AV as long as he can remember and still speaks fondly of tubes, vinyl and reel to reel tape. He spent seven years as a Crutchfield Product Advisor helping customers make selections from our store and especially loved "talking with people and listening to voices from all over the country". In his spare time he and his wife putter around the house, and he teaches his daughter how to fix stuff. He writes about home theater receivers, sound bars, and in-wall and in-ceiling speakers.

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.

Meredith Krebs worked in film and television as a director, writer and producer before coming to Crutchfield. She writes and produces videos for Crutchfield. In her free time, she enjoys taking photographs, and shooting and editing home movies.

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.

Mike Colley started working for Crutchfield in 1990 as an Advisor, helping customers with their questions and purchases. He later transitioned to writing and editing for our catalogs and websites. Mike has a Stanford degree in Religious Studies, and is a musician and digital studio engineer.

Ralph Graves is one of Crutchfield's blog editors, and part of the company's social media team. He writes about home audio/video gear, specializing in Apple-related and wireless technologies. Ralph holds a master's degree in music composition, and his works have been released on various labels. He's served as product manager for an independent classical and world music label, produced several recordings, and worked extensively in public broadcasting. Since 1984 he's hosted a weekly classical music program on WTJU, and is also active as a blogger and podcaster.

Robert Ferency-Viars is a car A/V editor and video producer for Crutchfield.com, and has been with Crutchfield since 1999. A Virginia native from the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, he attended Virginia Tech, where he studied mathematics and philosophy before finally deciding on a degree in psychology. He loves spending time with his wonderful wife and sons, listening to music, writing, and playing games with friends. Robert's love for car audio began at 16 when he installed his first car stereo.

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 W. has worked for Crutchfield since 2004. She writes about whole-house music and video gear, and works on Crutchfield's video team.

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.

Woody grew up overseas in Italy and Japan courtesy of being born into a U.S. Foreign Service family. He comes by his gear fixation honestly, having spent years working as an editor and manager in the video industry at the national level. Woody spent time studying music at James Madison University, got his degree in telecommunications from Indiana University , and is currently pursuing a master's in education from Virginia Tech. Over the years he's been a music store manager, convenience store clerk, television station production manager, (occasionally) working trombonist and guitarist, and co-owner of a successful video post-production firm. Aside from collecting occupations, he enjoys hiking, writing, traveling, still photography, and cooking at home with his wife Deborah.

Zak Billmeier 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 eventually settled in the mountains of Central Virginia. He spends his free time chasing his daughter around, 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.