Our People
C.E.O. - Craig M. Beyrooti
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Craig began his career in audio towards the end of 1978 while still at school. He started as a DJ with a mobile disco and later became a resident club DJ for several years. During the 80's, Craig completed radio broadcasting operations courses through the South African Broadcasting Corporation and worked for two of South Africa's national radio stations, Springbok Radio and the pop station, Radio 5, where he went on to produce live broadcasts of The Breakfast Show. During this time Craig sought to encourage the development of South African music by recording unknown artists. He produced three albums for SABC called the "Sidney Sessions". These were promoted by Radio 5 and the media to further South African music and led to a concert at the Sun City Superbowl, a nomination for an Artes award and a number one "hit" single.
While still at the SABC, Craig formed 8th Avenue Sound cc and commenced work under the 8th Avenue umbrella where he was responsible for various music industry functions including, studio recording, artist management and audio production services. 8th Avenue Sound provided sound equipment and engineering expertise for live music tours and festivals. Two of South Africa's top selling artists, Brenda Fassie and Lazarus Kgagudi, employed Craig as their FOH engineer, a position he held for three years. Craig received double platinum awards for Lazarus Kgagudi and platinum and gold awards for the African Youth Band and Lazarus Kgagudi for his work as a recording engineer.
Craig left the SABC in 1990 and focused on live sound primarily in the theatre and corporate theatre markets and through this was able to introduce previously unavailable professional audio products into the South African market via a newly formed sales division. By 1992, 8th Avenue Sound had become one of the country's top PA rental and service companies specialising in theatre and corporate theatre events and clients included IBM, RCI, BP, Mobil and many others. One of the special projects undertaken for National Brands by Craig was the conceiving and producing of the Music Development Programme. This included the designing and building of a mobile digital studio and the provision of PA systems. The programme involved recording bands live at concerts for later broadcasting on five national radio stations. Theatre sound design credits include: The Rocky Horror Show, Buddy, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Crazy for you, Leader of the Pack, The Return to the Forbidden Planet, La Cage Aux Folle, Beehive, Robin's A Cruise-Ou, Snow White and the Seven Dofs and Fiela's Child, among many others. All of these shows either won or were nominated for Best Musical Production in the VITA Awards ceremonies, South Africa s highest accolade for theatre. Craig also recorded and produced the cast recording for the 1998 production of The Rocky Horror Show .
In June 1994, for 8th Avenue Sound, Craig received "Best New Distributor" awards in London for successfully launching Turbosound and BSS professional audio products. 8th Avenue Sound was again presented with awards by Turbosound and BSS in 1998 for outstanding sales achievements. While Craig was C. E. O., the company represented many major manufacturers in Southern Africa including Turbosound, BSS, C-Audio, Studer, Allen and Heath, AKG, Quested, PMC, Furman, Metro Audio, EMO, Sonifex, Link and TL Audio.
Further, Craig has acted as sound design consultant for many musical events including the 1998 season for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Troupe and Stages of Love 98 - an AIDS benefit concert featuring the cream of South African talent and the National Symphony Orchestra, for both the live performance and television production. He consulted in the supply and installation of the local content of the sound equipment used on Pavarotti's tour of South Africa in 1996. The design and installation of the permanent sound systems in the Johannesburg Civic Theatre, the Theatre on the Track, Kyalami, the Playhouse Drama Theatre in Durban and the Spier Amphitheatre in Cape Town were undertaken and overseen by him. Craig has written several articles for the leading technical magazines in South Africa. Further, Basic course in Audio Engineering and Broadcasting are courses that he has lectured for.
In 1999, Craig relocated to Orlando, Florida in the US and joined Atlantic Professional Audio, Inc. provider of pro audio sales and services including custom cabling solutions. Craig continued sound designing for theatrical productions such as Damn Yankees , A Grand Night for Singing , Ain't Misbehavin' , Anything Goes and several others including the world premier of Midnight Clear for the Riverside Theatre in Vero Beach. Through Atlantic Pro Audio, he specified and designed large-scale PA systems for major corporate events for their clients and also acted as system tech for several Florida based production companies on mini tours, festivals and one-offs for George Benson, Tony Bennet, Dave Koz and Friends, Shirley Bassey, Elvis, The Beach Boys, Michael McDonald, Natalie Cole, Amy Grant and many others. FOH mixing credits for corporate events include Mary Wilson, Tony Orlando, MTV, The National Catholic Youth Conference and Gator Growl among others.
In recent years, Craig has designed and/or overseen installation of sound system projects for Atlantic Pro Audio and their clients including Riverside Theatre, Flagler Auditorium, The King Center, Gainsville Community Theatre, Family Worship Centre, St.Charles Church, St Jude Church, St Mary Magdalen Church, Safeharbor Christian Church and LifePointe Church to name a few.
From 2003 through August 2007, Craig was also involved with starting up US operations for Link USA, Inc., a subsidiary of Link Srl, a highly regarded connectivity solutions company for the entertainment industry based in Rome, Italy. During this time Craig served as managing director and product development specialist. This involvement grew out of Atlantic being US distributor for Eurocable and ran concurrently with Craigs APA responsibilities. The growth of both companies and subsequent time demands, have led to Craig resigning from Link USA to focus on his role at Atlantic Pro Audio where he continues to provide audio solutions for diverse applications and continues to grow the company as C.E.O.
V.P. of Operations - Darryl Robin Phillips
Originally from Richmond, Virginia, Darryl has been based in Orlando, Florida since 1987. Since his arrival in the Orlando area he has been engineering in the most successful nightclubs, concert venues, and recording studios. Throughout his career Darryl has toured vast parts of the world with many popular recording artists, record label bands and also show bands. Darryl has also designed and installed audio systems for many nightclubs, churches, recording studios, and restaurants, as well as several lighting systems for clients in the Central Florida region.
From May 1981 through December 1986 Darryl was the Sound & Lighting Technician for several East Coast Bands out of Virginia and North Carolina touring the U.S. and Saudi Arabia., i.e. The Zebras, , The Heat, Ferguson, and Staircase Band. During this time he was also the Recording Engineer for Island Studios in Richmond, engineered and co-produced three nationally released records with Ten-Centennial Recording Artist Ferguson and frequently instructed sound engineering classes.
In 1987 when Darryl relocated to Orlando, he began working in the high-end nightclub scene as head Sound Engineer (and Lighting Technician when necessary), i.e., Cheek to Cheek, J. J. Whispers and the Backstage at the Clarion where he is still Chief Audio Engineer. Darryl engineered for the house bands regularly and for national acts, concerts, shows, television, benefits, etc. which were held at these clubs.
In November 1992 Darryl opened STUDIO Z, a recording studio and music store in Orlando, Florida as Chief Recording Engineer. While there, he mixed or recorded the following: Mike Franklin, Edgar Winter, Pat Travers (Four CDs with Shrapnel Records), J.P. Richardson, Jr. (The Big Bopper, Jr.), James Burton, Bobby Kimble (Toto), Tony Kaye (Yes), Patrick Moraz, (Moody Blues), Melanie w/RCA Records, Brian Chatton (Meat Loaf), Carl Gardner (The Coasters), The Drifters, The Ink Spots, The Jordanairs, and many more.
Since 1994 through presently, Darryl does occasional concerts as FOH with Jazz Saxophonist, Paul Howards and very frequently engineers as FOH for Dance Express, a T. Skorman Productions show band for conventions for corporate America.
In May 1995 Darryl established Franklin Music Group Recording Studio (FMG) with partner Mike Franklin. Artists recorded include Gloria Gaynors Christmas, Four Years Past produced by Creed, Tommy Roe, Avo Uvezian, famed jazz musician and composer, Baby Felix the Cat Cartoons, (voiceovers and music), Saturn Five, Kristi Deluca and Melanie w/RCA Records. Presently, he still engineers with FMG when exceptional engineering is required in the studio, as well as concerts and festival events around the world. See (www.conventionmusic.com)
Also in 1995 he joined a T. Skorman Production called Dance Express. Since then, this band has received many awards throughout the years. Darryl also assisted with the opening of the Hard Rock Live concert venue at Universal Studios, Orlando where he mixed all the shows and special events for the first year.
In 2002 Darryl toured with Howie Dorough, of the Backstreet Boys and Howies sister, Pollyanna, playing concerts throughout Puerto Rico and South America representing the Dorough Lupus Foundation. And in 2003 Darryl traveled to Portugal to join up with Julio Iglesias to mix both, monitors and FOH.
Darryl now resides at Atlantic Professional Audio with his new partner, Craig Beyrooti. Darryl met Craig at the Super Bowl XXXIX where Craig was the Systems Tech and Darryl was FOH Mix for all events in the ESPN venues, i.e., Alicia Keys; Parliament Funkadelics. Darryl brings many years of experience and knowledge in many areas that can assist in any of your audio or lighting needs. Although Atlantic is Darryls priority, his career is still very vast, offering the world quality sound designing, engineering, production, instruction and installation of the finest equipment available.
Technician - Craig Cobb
Craig Cobb, a native of Bath, NY, has been in the music and audio businesses for nearly 19 years. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Music from Mansfield University in Mansfield, PA in 1996 after four and a half years of study.
Since choosing to hang his hat in Orlando in 1998, Craig has been very active in both the music and audio fields through playing in several musical groups and mixing live sound for a host of others. He also works as a studio musician, producer and composer for many projects and has appeared on nearly 40 CD's throughout that side of his career. Craig has been a part of the Atlantic Professional Audio staff since March 2007.
Bobbie Bennett
Bobbie grew up in the snug town of Arkansas City, Kansas. Her entire life has revolved around her dedication to the music industry. She has played various roles in various ensembles and has also written a wide variety of compositions. Most of her music is for personal use, but she has also written for high school jazz bands and even computer games. In June 2006 she moved to the Orlando area to obtain a degree in audio recording and music business. She joined the APA team in July 2008 and is now the go-to-gal for sales and administration. By night you can find her in the local music scene as an active musician and songwriter.
Michele Phillips
Michele Phillips, the newest Atlantic Professional Audio team member; she has over 17 years experience in the hospitality and Special Events Industry. Michele has worked in hospitality sales since 1992, including 10 plus years with Hard Rock Cafe and Hard Rock Live, where she managed the sales and banquet staff.
Michele has had the pleasure of working with such clients as Pfizer, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Ford Motor Company, Toyota, The Meeting Source, Maritz, Carlson Marketing Group, The Meeting Group, Pepsi Bottling Group, and Redken, to name just a few. In fact, the past meeting planner for Redken had this to say in a thank you note to Michele, "I love working with you and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your expert skills, humor and can-do attitude! You're the best!"
When not helping to create memories for her clients, Michele enjoys spending time with her family; husband Mark and two sons, Christian and Jacob and their ever faithful dog, Sally. Her hobbies include yoga and jewelry making.
Mike Ramey
Mike started his career at 17 when he accepted the House Electrician position at Flagler Auditorium and started picking up freelance gigs in lighting and audio around the central Florida area. Having a taste for the professional entertainment world, he went on to study all things technical theatre at Florida State University. While at school he worked as local crew for many venues in the Tallahassee area and continued his freelance work in the Orlando area. Working with dance and theatre companies, Mike learned the hard truths of production on a budget, as he began to hone his skills as a Sound and Lighting Designer.
Wanting to diversify his experiences, he moved himself and two-year-old son, Michael, to the Orlando area and started working in Universal Studio's lighting department. However, Mike's theme park stint was to be short lived. In 2001, Jon Moses, a friend and colleague from FSU, offered Mike the opportunity to head the lighting and sound departments at Riverside Theatre, a LORT C theatre in Vero Beach, FL.
With the help of the Artistic Management, Mike spent the next few years growing and developing the two departments; improving the inventory and personnel to enable them to achieve modern 21st Century design concepts. At Riverside, Mike had the pleasure of designing the lighting and sound for dozens of shows and working on hundreds more. In the process, Mike worked with Jenn, a young Stage Manager, and somehow found the time to fall in love with his wife to be. It was at RT that Mike first met Craig Beyrooti. Working together on many sound designs the two developed a very successful working partnership.
In 2005, Craig asked Mike to join him at Link USA, Inc. Mike accepted and - once again - moved himself and his family back to Orlando. At Link the two worked closely together and their partnership grew from designing and working gigs to business development and production management. Only a year later, Riverside came calling again and Mike returned to the theatre to lead the lighting department through the theatre's pending renovation. Serving as the resident LD and Supervisor of Lighting, Mike spent the next two years working with different artistic teams on productions and with GC's, consultants and electrical contractors to help build a new multi-million dollar venue for Riverside.
After Mike saw the renovations through he returned to Link and worked closely with the principles of the company to oversee all US operations. Mike helped install new production and quality guidelines, ensuring that Link's worldwide reputation for quality was also experienced in the States. During that time Mike found a true passion for installations and larger projects. Wanting to help others through the "joys" of installations, he accepted a long-offered position at APA. With the help of the APA team, Mike will bring his knowledge of installations to lead the Integration Division and will get the opportunity to continue his LD work with Engineered Events. He's looking forward to a very diversified time with the company he now calls home.