Some people can’t hide how much they love their job; Emilee Warner, the voice of Country Music Television’s radio network is one of those people.

At 21, Emilee has graduated college, bought a house and found her way deep into the Nashville music scene, all
because she is a charming extrovert and, more importantly, a diehard fan of bluegrass. At 21, Emilee has accomplished a great deal of things. Her freshman year in college, where she studied marketing, Emilee founded a bluegrass radio show. By the time she graduated three years later, Emilee had already had two internships and three
jobs in the music business. The youngest to audition for her current position, Emilee won the job through sheer confidence and will power.

“If I could hug and kiss Nashville,” Emilee says, “I would. I love this town.”

Emilee has placed herself in the epicenter of the bluegrass world, an obvious choice for a fan and banjo player
such as herself. The lesson that Emilee has to teach everyone, even those many years her senior, is that extroversion is an incredibly powerful tool. “If you love music and you’re outside,” says Emilee, “You’re going to meet a lot of people.” And a lot of people Emilee has met, taking the Pursue the Passion crew to numerous concerts, parties and events within the bluegrass community. Emilee’s passion is for music, and could see herself doing just about anything in the music world.

“I’d love plain old marketing,” she says, with a grin. “As long as I’d be marketing good music.”

Bob Nanna, director of promotions and public relations for the Threadless t-shirt company, in Chicago, graduated from the University of Illinois, and then he went on tour. As a touring musician for twelve years, Bob did some excellent networking. So excellent, in fact, that it allowed a seasonal packaging position to become what he is doing today. Bob’s degree in communications and advertising, in his opinion, was never meant to actually support a career; it was simply the quickest way to get out of school, and onto the road. Yet, as fate would have it, his degrees now allow him expertise in a field in which he never saw himself working.

Bob’s story is an important one, because often touring musicians are not seen as people who integrate well into society, after their touring dreams have expired. In Bob’s case, however, he never would have been able to get to the position he has, without having gone on tour. He is able to work with bands, for promotions and contests, because he knows the bands, and is able to communicate more efficiently with them. Although parents may not enjoy their children being told to go on tour as a way to better their careers, they will like Bob’s advice to his 23-year-old self. “I would beat myself up, take my credit cards, and slash them up.”

Threadless t-shirts are designed by a community of users, based on an award program. They can be found at Threadless.com.p>

Lucky.I.Am is a co-founding member of the California hip-hop collective the Living Legends. At 28, or so, he has been traveling the world with his music for more than a decade. Striving for “self-sufficiency” in the music industry, Lucky and the rest of the Living Legends maintain a high level of musical integrity, at the cost of exorbitant fame and fortune. Fourteen years have passed since Lucky last held a ‘regular job,’ which Lucky attributes to a distaste for using his time, to build someone else’s dream. So Lucky and his cohorts have set upon the world to build their own dream, in the process they have released some of the most popular underground rap music in the world.

As a musical collective, Lucky is never is never short on support from his partners. There is, however, only a finite amount of press available for every artist, so even within the group, there can exist struggles for attention. But Lucky is satisfied with his place in the musical world, calling himself an MC and a public
speaker. “When I go on stage, that’s just me, says Lucky. “Just me, joking and doing songs. I have no character beyond myself. If I were real dull, I’d be out of luck.” Lucky’s new album, Most Likely to Succeed, was released August 7th, 2007 to much critical acclaim. His music, along with that of the Living Legends crew, is available on
iTunes. It is worth perusing if only to hear what can be good in the hip-hop world.

In 1968, at 22, Keith Covart and two friends founded Electric Fetus, an independent-minded record store in Minneapolis, MN. Nearly four decades later, Keith is the sole-owner of the thriving store, to which he added two new Minnesota locations, in Duluth and St. Cloud. When asked his motivations for starting the store, Keith says, “I certainly wasn’t thinking as much about business as I was about music.” Following that direction, or lack thereof, Keith has shaped a customer-centric music store concerned more with what is for sale, than how much is sold.

Keith spent 2 years juggling a second career as a claims adjuster before realizing that he must commit himself to his passion. “Play music you want to play,” Keith says with a smile, “And that’s your job.”

Without an advance business degree, Keith is as suited as any to run a company. “Customer service,” he says, “Is not an MBA term.” By maintaining a “wonderful staff devoted to the store,” Keith is able to offer music to “every segment of the population.” Asked for the secret to employing knowledgeable and motivated individuals, Keith says simply, “We like each other more than many stores.”

Peter Dyson owns a recording studio, but he does not call himself a professional musician or a professional engineer. He instead surrounds himself with the most talented people possible, allowing him to produce music befitting the most established recording studio in San Diego, Studio West. Although Peter has been known to play the drums from time to time, until three years ago, he worked in the semi-conductor industry in Texas, far from his passion for music and the Southern California breeze.

Three years ago, seeing Studio West as a sound investment, he bought the studio, which was established in 1971. Understanding the digital era in which he exists, Peter established a training center at the studio, where, for a reasonable price, aspiring producers, artists and engineers harness the power of home digital recording. Because most musicians never set foot in a studio like those at Studio West, the training program offers an egalitarian sensibility.

Through his dry British wit and accent, Peter’s passion is obvious when speaking of his more “esoteric vintage gear” that has a “certain kind of vibe.” Although that vibe is a bit mysterious, it appears to resonate through the halls of Studio West, where music continues to be nurtured, not only in sprawling studios, but also in the classroom, allowing anyone the chance to record like a professional.

Most people never get a chance to live in a high-rise apartment in downtown San Diego; Donna Fabbri can’t wait to tear hers up, and all in the name of sound quality. Donna has been in the audio/visual industry for thirty years, specializing in design solutions for audio/visual equipment. Her home is a testament to her own work. She proudly displays many pieces of what seem to be regular furniture, but in fact contain component audio equipment.

Donna began as a housewife answering phones from home, and has flourished to become a consultant capable of bridging the divide between the audio/visual world and the world of design. Through experience, Donna overcame the stereotypical doubts cast upon woman in the professional world, and found her voice to carry over the professional din. An audiophile with a passion for solving problems, Donna has taken full advantage of her opportunities and has now found herself in high demand.

Her standard email valediction reads something like a prayer: “May you always hear the music.” The wish is a bit of a misnomer, however, because what Donna does is more than that. More appropriate, perhaps, would be “May you always hear the music, and wonder from where it comes.”

Misha Segal is an award-winning film composer, recording artist, songwriter, producer, pilot, cook, world traveler, and author of a new book. He has worked on projects such as Phantom of the Opera and The New Adventures of Pipi Longstockings, where he created, composed, and conducted the musical scores. He also is involved in raising awareness about lung cancer and cooks and samples wine in his spare time.

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There’s no better place to watch a baseball game than Wrigley Field in Chicago. It’s the home of the beloved Cubbies, with the brick outfield walls covered with green ivy and the retro scoreboard in centerfield, changed manually and lacking the flair of newer stadiums’. The 40,000 seats at Wrigley Field are sold out every game whether the Cubs are having a losing or winning season; surprising for a team that has not won a World Series in close to 100 years. Needless to say, Chicagoans are passionately dedicated to their Cubs! Vendors yell loudly to be heard over the fans’ chatter and can throw peanuts from distances a marksman couldn’t reach. Old Style beers are reasonable priced at $5.50 a far cry from the $9 domestics you find in newer stadiums. Wrigley Field is not just a baseball diamond, but a cathedral, the Mecca of professional baseball, where the gamel is found in its purest form. Adding to that purity is Gary Pressy, the Chicago Cubs’ in-house organist. Gary provides the notes that complete the Wrigley Field experience. His organ leads the crowd in cheers and chants and attempts to hide the poor vocals of celebrity singers during the 7th-inning stretch’s “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”.

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Like a lot of children growing up, Dan had to share a room with a sibling. The only differnce is that their room was actually the trunk of a Buick. Using that as a starting point, Dan has been motivated and determined to succeed in everything that he does. From his humble beginnings in Idaho, through hard work and dedication, he now owns and operates the largest guitar school in New York City.

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Jay Whiting (aka J. Foxx) had a biopsy performed on his right femur at the age of 13. His doctors were not sure what the mysterious growth in his leg could be, and were even more puzzled after the excavation. His bone sample was shipped from USC Medical Hospital in Los Angeles, CA to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. After a week’s worth of sleepless patience, anxious worrying and group prayers the test results were read to his mother over the phone. What was initially thought to be a Ewing’s tumor (a small, cancerous, blue cell tumor that most commonly affects young patients), turned out to be nothing more than an exaggerated stress fracture.

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