Board

SUZANNE ST. JOHN-CRANE

President

Suzanne St. John-Crane is CEO of American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley and Executive Director of American Leadership Forum National. St. John Crane worked in public media for twenty-four years, serving as founding Executive Director of two Bay Area television stations. She is the recipient of dozens of regional and national awards for television shows and documentaries she’s produced, and was named one of Silicon Valley’s 100 Women of Influence in 2012 by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. St. John-Crane is co-authoring the book A Guide to Human Citizenship – The ALF Way, due out in 2024.

Suzanne and her husband David Crane formed the Pearl Alley Band in 2000, and have played hundreds of shows throughout the bay area. Pearl Alley has opened for the likes of Lydia Pense & Cold Blood, James Hunter & Canned Heat. Suzanne St. John sings with the power, rawness and presence of Janis Joplin. She was baptized into the blues in the late 90s, singing with Archie Lee Hooker in the Bay Area.

 

TED GEHRKE

Our Founder : 1981 – 2019

Ted was the Director of the Festival since its inception in 1981 having booked such legends as John Lee Hooker, Etta James and Bo Diddley. The first 30 years were with the help of the Associated Students Program Board of San Jose State University (SJSU). Gehrke’s known as the “Elder Statesman of Blues” in the Bay Area, but his love for music history and diverse genres extends beyond the blues. With mostly OCA, NEA & AS backing, Gehrke created New Sounds SJ from 1978-81, which brought such musicians/composers as Phil Glass and Steve Reich in concert, participating in FREE discussions and master classes in San Jose. All of the FBF Board Members will tell you that the reason they are so passionate about keeping the blues alive, and volunteering on the Board, is due to the shared passion that Gehrke possesses and the legacy he has built. “Remembering Ted Gehrke” article 

 

BOB GONZALEZ

Bob is a music industry veteran. He has been a musician for 5 decades, most notably with Syndicate of Sound, whose Nationally acclaimed 1966 hit “Little Girl” sealed them a record deal and place in Bay Area rock history as one of the first, successful “garage bands.” In addition to his duties as the Syndicate’s bass player and managing partner, he plays with a number of blues and rock bands in the Bay Area and fronts his own Bob Gonzalez Band. As President of the Fountain Blues Foundation, he manages the Fountain Blues and Brews Festival and oversees all of the Foundations business relationships.

 

JAY MEDURI

Vice President & Talent and Vendor Relations Manager

Jay is the founder of the Poor House Bistro. He received his degree from SJSU while working for various restaurants in the Bay Area, but blues music always held a special place in his heart. In 2005 he opened the Poor House Bistro, which serves New Orleans cuisine accompanied by live blues music almost every night of the week. Meduri has worked with Gehrke on the Festival since it’s early days at SJSU and holds multiple FBF fundraisers at the Bistro. He assists in talent bookings and caters food for the Festival, as well as manages and staffs all of the Festival’s beverage sponsor/vendor relationships.

 

FRANK BELINSKY

Treasurer

Frank brings over 30 years of operational and project management experience in heavy industry including planning and executing multiple large projects and budgets. A serious lover of the blues, he started as a fan of the festival for many years and a volunteer – coordinating the craft beer operation. His main duties are managing the Fountain Blues Foundation’s budget and providing ongoing financial reports and analysis.

 

DAN ORLOFF

Secretary, Marketing Director

Dan is founder of Orloff Marketing, founded in 1992 specializing in small- to medium-sized companies in non-tech B2B and B2C as well as nonprofit organizations. His clients contribute to the quality of life in Silicon Valley across a wide spectrum of industries. Music is in his DNA. Dan’s father was inducted into the Harmony Hall of Fame in Nashville. Dan’s cousin is Bob Dylan. Dan plays drums and guitar and sings harmonies in classic rock cover bands. He also founded San Jose Rocks and Bay Area Rocks – orgs whose mission celebrates our area’s unique role in rock and all forms of music and music technologies.

 

DAVE GORAY

Stage Crew Manager

Dave is a Blues DJ for KSCU 103.3 and longtime Bay Area musician, who has also been a cash sponsor of the Festival for years. He recruits and manages the backstage crew at the Festival, and is key in helping with FBBF fundraisers, as well as outreach for FBBF’s numerous radio partners.

 

DALE E. HUBER

Festival Production Coordinator

The music bug bit Dale as a small child listening to AM (KYA, KFRC & KLIV) radio at night, when he was supposed to be sleeping. At age six he bought his first record, an LP not 45, with his own money: Meet The Beatles. In no time he owned thousands of LPs and invested in high-end hi-fi equipment.  His father supported Dale’s music bug, being among other things, a promoter of live music events in the San Francisco area and gifting his son free tickets to numerous local shows in the 70’s and 80’s.

Dale graduated from San Jose State University, three times, and attended the original Fountain Blues and Brews events on campus.  Dale’s career is in local hi-tech, leading new products operations and business development teams. As time permits, he volunteers and leads teams at outdoor music events throughout Northern California.  He joined the FBF so he could support and promote the South Bay music scene.

 

SHERRI JONES

As a Contract Project Manager in Silicon Valley, Sherri is familiar with pulling and executing multiple projects together achieving excellent end results. As the former personal assistant to the Late Great Bluesman John Lee Hooker, Sherri’s love of the Blues is deeply personal. Having traveled with the Boogie man to festivals, she is familiar with how events are planned and operate on a large scale and promoting shows at smaller local venues. As his confidante Sherri has a deep understanding of how musicians work and relate to the public and their fans. Quoting John Lee “No one ever gave you an instruction booklet on how to be famous, am I a legend? I don’t know, I just play the blues.” As the Assistant Executive Director for the John Lee Hooker Foundation, Sherri is Realizing John Lee’s vision of providing funding music, art and education programs for underprivileged children in the San Francisco Bay Area. With guitars from Epiphone, and the assistance of John’s daughter Zakiya Hooker, they enjoy bringing his vision to life. Now a DJ with KSCU, Blues underground Radio, Sherri enjoys playing her beloved Blues tunes to a radio audience. With an end goal of keeping the Blues Alive.

 

BRUCE LABADIE

Booking and Vendor Management

Bruce has over 40 years of experience in performing arts management and festival production. He directed all programs at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga for 18 years, was performing arts director at Montalvo Arts Center for 12 years, has helped book Music in the Park (26 years) and FBF (13 years), and is the founder and festival director of the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest (since 1990). His main duties with the FBBF are helping with artist bookings, securing craft and food vendors, and lending assistance in logistics and vendor management.

 

Elaine Sullivan

Elaine is the owner of SullivanWorks, a marketing and communications company.  She grew up on a farm in a small town in upstate New York. Both of her parents loved to sing and her dad learned to  play the piano but neither had any music schooling or lessons. Elaine majored in music at the Crane School of Music, State University of Potsdam, New York. She eventually moved to Minneapolis and worked as the director of marketing at a small dinner theater and then as director of marketing for the Minnesota North Stars and Met Center entertainment events before moving to San Jose. She was the VP of Marketing for the San Jose Sharks and San Jose Arena before moving to Houston as the VP of Marketing for the Rockets. Better weather brought her back to San Jose.

SullivanWorks has provided services for sports and entertainment companies and events and performances at several venues including the SAP Center, Stockton Arena, Bob Hope Theatre, the Paramount Theatre, Raley Field in Sacramento.