Andy Alt graduated Kent State in 2004 as an advertising major with a passion for music. Now, he works with top music artists and record labels, as well as being the online marketing director of the groundbreaking GuitarTV.com. Just having finished his world tour with Nickelodeon’s Drake Bell, Alt took some time to return to Kent State.

What is GuitarTV.com?

GuitarTV.com is a website for people interested in guitars and music. There are live streams, videos, tutorials, information about concerts and events and other interesting things for guitar lovers. GuitarTV.com will soon be available not only online, but also On Demand in 18 million homes.

How is your advertising degree from Kent relevant to what you’re doing now?

Andy Alt uses his advertising degree every day in his career. He uses his advertising skills to work as the Online Marketing Director for GuitarTV.com, as well as building and monitoring Steve Vai’s Facebook fan page.

Alt also manages 80 to 90 brands that are involved with GuitarTV.com, and the skills he learned at Kent State help him tremendously.

How did you get started with music?

Having always had an interest in music, Alt has played guitar his entire life. He was in the top jazz ensemble at Kent and also created his own rock band, Portrait Of Jack.

Speaking of what attracted him to Kent, Alt said, “I didn’t have to just be a music guy to be able to enjoy the things I liked about music. I saw a way to promote the musical things I was doing with the business aspect of it and how to be more of a rock guy in the business world.”

What was it like touring with Nickelodeon’s Drake Bell?

A month after the launch of GuitarTV.com, Alt received a call from a musical director asking him to learn 23 songs with vocals in two days. He immediately said yes, without even knowing who the artist was.

“Drake is a super cool guy, very down to earth. He’s the kind of guy that if you’re in the neighborhood, he has his garage open all the time and people just stop in and just hang out. He’s a tremendous actor and very successful and a great musician.”

In college, were you more studious, or more of a partier?

“I was very studious. I was so obnoxious as a kid that I kind of got it all out of me. I was the class clown that didn’t want to do my homework. I didn’t really date anybody, didn’t really go out and party because I was always trying to work on something.”

What is your fondest memory at Kent State?

“I had Fran Collins as a professor here, and she is so punctual with all of her grammar, and her criticism is so real that you either shy away from it or you embrace it because it kind of tells you who you are and where you were in that moment.

So she would take my blue books and leave this huge red marks and leave about one sentence and say this is what you should have started with. I wanted to learn from her immediately. One of my fondest memories is sitting in her office with her and explaining what my interests were and coming up with a program specifically suited those needs. I’m really grateful for her specifically, because of her straightforwardness.”

Contact Kaleigh Dease at [email protected]

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