Andrew Salmonsen

Andy rode his bike home on a dusty road in an unknown town. Throwing his bike down on the cracked cement driveway, he took the steps by twos, because he could not wait to play the double manual keyboard that he built with his Dad from the ground up. Every day until the bell rang, he drummed his fingers on an imaginary keyboard on his desk at school, and skipped lunches and the playground, so he could play the abandoned piano in the gym, learning songs by ear. Then “Star Wars” exploded onto the scene in 1977, and literally became the beat in Andy’s heart. He learned all the parts of the famous John Williams theme by ear at age 11, playing the bass with his feet, and allowing his fingertips to do what they had done since he was 5 years old.

He met his wife, the love of his life, early at age 17. Their first and only job was music. Starting as a duo, Andy was the “band,” and strived to develop a sound that encompassed an entire orchestra. Even as a duo Kymm and Andy never sounded small. Their first band was called “Perfect Balance” and it truly was. With Kymm’s amazing, soulful voice and blonde bombshell looks and Andy’s ability to make 2 people sound like 10, their musical career took off.

In 1992, “NRG Music and Productions” was formed and began a career and business that is still going strong today. Focusing on a 3 girl front with fun energetic choreography, a deep rooted rhythm and horn section and superb vocals, NRG began doing corporate events that took them from London to Singapore and Bora Bora to Dubai. Soon after this NRG began creating custom themed shows featuring casts of 20 to 30 entertainers, fantastic costuming, choreography, and multimedia video integration. In 2022, NRG continues to perform and now represents an ever expanding list of top entertainers along with many of the original NRG members who are and always will be part of the family. And the best part is that NRG is still a family run business with their son Landon now working as an audio technician and lead vocalist.

Along with running the business, playing keyboards and being musical director for NRG, Andy’s deepest love is writing orchestral scores for Film and TV. In an odd turn of circumstance, the devastating effects of Covid lockdown gave Andy more time to devote to writing and ignited a smoldering fire into a blaze. Now with thousands of hours of writing and 100’s of songs produced, Andy has a long list of pieces on their way to being featured in TV and in Film Trailers on albums by 10 West Music, Perfect Score and Eclipse Music to name just a few.

Musical Director, Vice President - NRG Music and Productions - San Diego, CA - 2005 to Present

Audio
• Compose, arrange and record music utilizing live musicians, keyboards and virtual instruments
• Record, mix, and edit tracks using a variety of tools including Cubase and ProTools
• Musical Director and Producer for large scale productions involving 20-50 entertainers
• Edit and design audio, music, sound effects and dialogue for live and pre-recorded productions

Video
• Cut and edit video using Final Cut Pro
• Create video content with synched audio and click track for live productions
• Control video playback for live productions using PlayBackPro+

Event Production
• Produce live events for corporate conventions, incentive programs and meetings for groups of 100-5000
• Create live themed events utilizing entertainers, costuming, audio, video and lighting
• Coordinate and direct audio, lighting and video crews for live events
• Provide audio, lighting and video equipment for live events
• Produce events across the USA, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia

Business
• Built a $1M+ per year business over 15 years
• Sales, marketing and project manager
• Graphic design and web content producer and manager
• Determine production size, content, and budget, establishing production schedules and financials

EDUCATION
• Film Scoring, 3 years Private Study - San Diego, Ca
• Avid Video Editing Program - Los Angeles, Ca
• Diploma, 4.0 GPA, ASB President - Ramona High School, Ramona, Ca

GROUPS AND AFFILIATIONS
• California Scholarship Federation
• American Federation of Musicians
• 501st Legion

CLIENT LIST (PARTIAL)
AT&T
Allstate
American Express
American Red Cross
Apple
Boeing
Canon
Chevron
Cisco Systems
Coca-Cola Company
Comcast
Dell
DuPont
Exxon Mobil
FedEx
Ford Motor Company
General Dynamics
General Electric
Goldman Sachs Group
Hewlett-Packard
Home Depot
Honeywell Intl.
J.P. Morgan
Larry King
Lockheed Martin
Johnson & Johnson
Lowe's
Merrill Lynch
Microsoft Intel
Morgan Stanley
Motorola
Northrop Grumman
Procter & Gamble
Raytheon
San Diego Chargers
Sysco
Target
Time Warner
Verizon Communications
Walt Disney