Queen Cora Coleman began drumming in 1996. She holds many titles as “the first” or “the only,” including being the first female section leader of Howard University’s Thunder Machine marching drum section, the winner of Guitar Center’s 2002 Drum-Off (against 5,000 competitors), and the only musician to play in two of the top 10 Best Super Bowl Half-Time Shows—Prince in 2007 and Beyoncé in 2013. Queen Cora played with Prince for five years and Beyoncé for three years. She has also played with a range of artists like P!nk, Andrea Bocelli, Erykah Badu, Tomoyasu Hotei, and more. Queen is the resident drummer for BET’s Black Girls Rock Awards, in addition to being an author and entrepreneur.

If you’ve listened to any music from the last four decades, odds are you’ve heard Nathan East’s bass lines. With 40 years of experience, Nathan has played with Eric Clapton since the 80s, toured with Phil Collins in the 90s, laid it down for Daft Punk’s 2013 hit “Get Lucky,” and most recently took the lead on a solo album, Reverence, which features many of his favorite fellow musician friends. His recording credits encompass a wide variety of genres and over 2,000 albums. SKB came to know Nathan through his longstanding relationship with Yamaha and we are so glad to have him on our team! Fun fact: Nathan always takes a bike with him on tour so he can stay active. He keeps his collapsible two-wheeler in one of our cases!

Curt “Kirkee B” Bisquera is a 30+ year veteran drummer with touring and recording credits to boot! Curt has played with the likes of Sir Elton John, Mick Jagger, Bonnie Raitt, Celine Dion, Chris Isaak, Tina Turner, Josh Groban, and many more. Curt has been a friend of SKB’s for over 20 years, and a portrait of him and his drum case collection adorns the Sales & Marketing office’s breakroom wall—a daily reminder that the SKB family spans far beyond HQ walls. Kirkee B might be known as a first-call studio drummer, but he's an accomplished bass player as well! Ask him about it at the next NAMM Show.

Drawing inspiration from Rock legends of the 60s and 70s, and very possibly a reincarnate himself, Nick Perri embodies the authentic passion and style of analog musicians. Beginning his career in 2001, Perri co-founded the blues-rock group, Silvertide, and opened for Van Halen, Velvet Revolver and Motley Crue. Fast forward to 2018 after many career milestones, and Perri is fronting a new group – The Underground Thieves – and finds himself as the fill-in guitarist for the band Dorothy. This is when Perri and SKB crossed paths! Since then, Perri has gone on to make great strides with Nick Perri & The Underground Thieves, releasing their debut album, Sun Via, and performing all over the East Coast.

Ben Kweller got his start in music very early on at the ripe age of 12. Ben’s high school band, Radish, was signed to Mercury Records in ‘97 to release their first and only album, Restraining Bolt. After a whirlwind introduction to the music industry and touring as a teenager, the group disbanded, and Ben set his sights on a solo career. That decision allowed for artistic freedom and may have thankfully bridged the gap from child star to lifelong musician – a transition that not everyone successfully accomplishes. Several collaborations, an acting stint in the film Rudderless, and six albums later, Ben is still gracing us with his creative genius and musicality three decades later.

SKB became acquainted with The Accidentals after the band experienced every touring group’s worst nightmare. While on tour in 2019 and making their way from Michigan to California, their trailer and $70,000 worth of gear was stolen in the middle of the night. It’s terrible that this is the tragedy that brought The Accidentals into the SKB family, but they have been a joy to work with and are one of the most dynamic young bands out there right now. They are equally passionate about bringing orchestral instruments into the mainstream, teaching young musicians through their nonprofit Play It Forward, Again and Again, and collaborating with other artists such as Keller Williams and BTS. Big things are always brewing!

Hailing from SKB’s home state of California and representing the central coast, Jared Lintner has been a professional bass fisherman since 2005. With two professional wins under his belt, he started out with Bassmaster, but joined Major League Fishing in 2018. He’s had two career wins, 22 top 10s, and 46 top 20s. Jared has helped SKB greatly in R&D so we can expand our fishing product offerings, and is always enthusiastic and ready to share about our solutions. His wife, Keri, is equally as enthusiastic and is Jared’s right-hand woman in their daily business operations. They’re truly a delight to work with and bring so much value and knowledge to us so we can design the best fishing transport cases possible.

You may know him as the Hollywood Hunter or The Maverick. We know him as Freddy, the welcoming, friendly, all smiles (until it’s game time) outdoorsman and TV personality. Not only is he a professional hunter, conservationist, and host/producer of his own show, Freddy has also taken over the Harteis Ranch in southern Colorado and turned it into an adventurer’s paradise. He has raised over $100,000 for charities through his annual Big Fred Tribute fundraising event, and recently founded both Stonewall Antler Co., a naturally sourced antler shed dog chew company, and Nashville Longhorn Co. Freddy, his team, and family are some of our favorite people!

Larysa Switlyk discovered her passion for hunting in 2008, and produced her own series, Larysa Unleashed, soon after in 2013. Now, she hosts her new TV show Unleashed Global Adventures. Larysa is focused on educating the general population about conservation and demystifying the negative connotations around hunting. She is dedicated to introducing more women and children into the outdoor lifestyle, planning and guiding adventurous hunts for people all over the world. We try to keep up with Larysa as best we can, but she is always working on new projects and business ventures, passionately and with a Master’s degree under her belt. She ditched the big city CPA life to pursue all of this full-time, and it’s been paying off ever since!

You may know him as the Hollywood Hunter or The Maverick. We know him as Freddy, the welcoming, friendly, all smiles (until it’s game time) outdoorsman and TV personality. Not only is he a professional hunter, conservationist, and host/producer of his own show, Freddy has also taken over the Harteis Ranch in southern Colorado and turned it into an adventurer’s paradise. He has raised over $100,000 for charities through his annual Big Fred Tribute fundraising event, and recently founded both Stonewall Antler Co., a naturally sourced antler shed dog chew company, and Nashville Longhorn Co. Freddy, his team, and family are some of our favorite people!

In 2003, Kip Campbell and one of his college buddies established Shotfish Productions Inc. This is when Red Arrow TV was born. Kip, the creator and host, is a multi-network award-winning on-screen personality. He grew up in the countryside of Central Virginia, where he was an avid bow hunter, fisherman and athlete. Red Arrow TV has come a long way since its inception at Lynchburg University, but one thing remains: Kip still lives in his home town of Fork Union and frequents the same hunting grounds he did as a kid. The country and the hunting lifestyle are near and dear to the Red Arrow crew’s heart, and it shows in everything that they do.

Jay P. Morgan, founder of The Slanted Lens, is a great friend and resource of SKB’s. Nothing is too zany for Jay P., and he always invents fresh and creative ways to showcase the versatility and durability of SKB products. His studio is known for its signature gravity-defying photo compositions, receiving both national and international acclaim. Beyond The Slanted Lens’ commercial work for industries ranging from entertainment to high-tech companies, Jay P. shares more than two decades of technical and special effects expertise in photography and film with the online world through his YouTube channel and social media pages. He also offers online courses and mentoring sessions for those photographers/videographers wanting to take their hobby to the next level. The only thing Jay P hasn’t mastered in his filmmaking is crushing any of our cases in his many demolition montages!

As the man behind REVOL Entertainment, Clint Easley is easily one of the busiest in the biz. He is also one of the most energetic, ambitious, and organized. SKB was introduced to Clint by Freddy Harteis (The Maverick, aka the Hollywood Hunter) as he is the show’s producer, marketing manager, camera operator and photographer. In 2020, he founded REVOL Entertainment which is a full-service content creation and marketing company, specializing in outdoor adventures. As a masterful networker and collaborator, Clint's always got promising projects in the works and we’re just trying to keep up!

“Do what you love” is their mantra, and boy do they mean it! Land, Ltd. co-founders Matt Land and Jacob Lishen made their dreams a reality when they ditched corporate careers to pursue adventure photography and content creation full time. In early 2021, the duo started Outdoor Creatives Co-Op, a platform aimed at connecting outdoor creatives and fostering a community dedicated to helping its members grow in their craft. With their ability to balance kindness, authenticity, and down-to-earth-ness with business wits and professionalism, we anticipate a long future of full calendars and many more envy-inducing lakeside "office" shots for the Land, Ltd. team.

Ten years into his career, Riker Chance has mastered resort, real estate, and lifestyle photography, and has founded or co-founded several independent creative agencies. Since we connected in 2017, he has consistently overdelivered by providing SKB with beautiful scenic shots from his paddleboards, campsites, and the pink side of the Great Salt Lake. His love of nature, travel, and adventuring has landed him in some of the best spots for landscape photography, and we are always blown away by how majestic he makes our little black boxes look. Riker's talent, professionalism, adaptability, and willingness to go above and beyond in the name of collaboration makes him one of our go-to partners for content creation.

An Emmy-nominated video production company, Nadus Films, has been creating feature-length, short films and commercial content for over 15 years. They specialize in documentary and promotional projects in pursuit of helping small non-profits and household brands alike. As filmmakers, they tote a lot of sensitive and cumbersome equipment – often overseas – and we’re honored to be right alongside them in Tanzania, Guatemala, India or Iraq. In addition to helping organizations tell their stories, Nadus has an educational program called Nadus Institute which is an online course that teaches enrollees how to produce and promote a fundraising video. Their mission: making films that make a difference, and in turn they are equipping others with the knowledge and tools to do the same.

Clay Cook is an editorial photographer who was first introduced to SKB in 2018 as the still photographer for Nadus Films, serving an integral role in documenting the team's many far-flung photography adventures. Commercially, Clay has shot for brands such as A&E, Livestrong, the NFL, and Papa John’s. He’s also done international projects for National Geographic, Time, and Forbes Magazine. His portrait subjects range from celebrities to athletes, Purple Heart Veterans, and doctors working through the COVID-19 pandemic. He has offered his photography expertise through Fstoppers tutorials and shared all of his travel secrets (pro tip: travel with SKB cases!) in his blog. Fun fact: Clay started out in the music business!