Premier Guitar's director of artist relations accepts new position with DBZ Guitars/Diamond Amps

PRLog (Press Release) – Feb 20, 2009 – Brett Petrusek, 39, was the first hire for Musician’s Hotline, the predecessor to Premier Guitar, and over the last 3.5 years has made a tremendous contribution to the astounding growth of Premier Guitar’s multimedia franchise. Affectionately known to his friends and family at Premier Guitar as “Clamp”, Brett has played an invaluable horizontal role in the development of the positioning of Premier Guitar as magazine and has contributed very substantially to the development of the company’s website (http://www.premierguitar.com) and to the creation and introduction of Premier Guitar’s cutting edge online magazine (http://digital.premierguitar.com).

Peter Sprague, the senior partner in Premier Media Holdings, in commenting on Mr. Petrusek’s departure pulled no punches.

"In running media businesses for close to 40 years, one becomes accustomed to change," said Sprague. "Sometimes you have to initiate people changes which are never easy for anyone, but occasionally and rarely you lose someone, through no fault of your own, who really helped bring you to the dance. Brett is definitely in that latter category as his contribution to the growth of Premier Guitar has been absolutely invaluable across every personal and commercial dimension of our business. As a person; as a marketer; as a composer/player; as a partner; and as a friend, Brett is simply irreplaceable. This opportunity with DBZ Guitars and Diamond Amplification will, however, allow Brett to synthesize and integrate his interests, skills and talents as a marketer; a designer (Brett is a graduate of world-renown Minneapolis College of Art and Design) and a player. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Brett and he goes with our thoughts; our prayers; and most importantly, with our thanks and appreciation for all he has done for me, personally, and for us, collectively."  

Mr. Petrusek, in comments on this opportunity said,

"I think is fair to say that our industry has been witness to the recent, amazing growth in guitar centric media that is Premier Guitar. It’s not too often that you see business take off so quickly with such a big bang. The truth is, there is a very talented group of people behind the Amp wall that really enjoy working together and have tremendous passion for what they do. Being a privately held/employee-owned company certainly doesn’t suck either … great ideas are embraced quickly and innovation comes swiftly. I've been damn lucky to have worked with such an incredible group of colleagues and clients that I proudly call 'friends'. The opportunity to work closely and creatively with a guitar industry legend like Dean B. Zelinsky doesn’t come along very often. I’m looking forward to my new position with DBZ Guitars/Diamond Amplification, I’m honored and fortunate to have been (and still be) part of the Premier Guitar family."

"In designing the DBZ Guitar company, it was my intent that we would only have room for 'A Team' players. This was a prerequisite in order to deliver the level of quality both in the product and presentation that I wanted for DBZ Guitars," said Dean Zelinsky, CEO of DBZ Guitars LLC and guitar industry legend. "Working with Brett at Premier Guitar Magazine, I saw a level of enthusiasm, talent and personality you rarely find in an individual - a definite 'A Team' player. Brett’s unique skills were obvious to us through his work at PG. PG’s innovative approach to multimedia melds nicely with the DBZ Guitar’s current and future marketing plans. We look forward to working together as we move forward."

Gary Ciocci and Jon Levy, co-managing directors of Premier Guitar, saluted Petrusek by saying, “we feel privileged to have worked with Brett on the PG team. We’ve been blown away by his dedication to his clients and co-workers; his passion for gear; his artistic creativity and face-melting guitar playing; and his consummate professional skill in holding his liquor. He’ll do a fantastic job at his new gig and we look forward to working with him and the great folks at DBZ and Diamond Amps.”

About Premier Guitar:
Offering guitarists a multimedia source for news, gear info and education/instruction, Premier Guitar is the media home for players who are serious about their tone. PG's gear-centric print magazine has a monthly circulation of 32,000 complemented by the industry's only complete, freely accessible online magazine (http://digital.premierguitar.com) that attracts more than 32,000 monthly visits; a Web site (www.premierguitar.com) that's the fastest-growing portal in the guitar industry with an average of more than 350,000 unique visitors consuming almost 10 million page views per month; and the market's leading interactive gear search service that attracts more than 200,000 monthly visitors. With nearly 50,000 pieces of gear, players can find, buy and sell gear on Gear Search (http://www.premierguitar.com/gear/gear_search.aspx). Published by Gearhead Communications, LLC, Premier Guitar is employee-owned and based in Mount Vernon, Iowa with offices throughout the U.S.

About DBZ:
World-renowned guitar maker Dean Zelinsky Has unveiled his new company DBZ Guitars LLC, and Web site, www.DBZGuitars.com.  Said CEO Zelinsky, “DBZ Guitars will have my personal control over design, direction and quality.” The Web site, currently revealing only a glimpse of the new line, also includes the “DBZ Guitar Forum” where Zelinsky will be interacting once again with his fans online.

Zelinsky, who founded Dean Guitars in 1976 at the age of 18, is recognized industry-wide for ushering in a new era in guitar design. That evolution continues with the new line of DBZ Guitars, which premiered in January ’09, showcasing Zelinsky’s ability to “take guitar design to the next level.”  Zelinsky will be doing for guitars what custom bike builders have done for the motorcycle industry. Zelinsky stated rare exotic woods, laser technology and proprietary graphics applications are essential to DBZ Guitars’ new look.

For more information, contact Nick Ireland, marketing manager for Premier Guitar, at (319) 895-0050 or nick@premierguitar.com or visit www.premierguitar.com.