The Street Factory Team
Ken
Kenneth Barnard has been pursuing his passion for making music for over three decades. A guitar player since age 7, he has grown from a hobbyist to a seasoned session guitarist and highly regarded arranger/producer and tracking/mixing/mastering engineer. He grew up in the North Shore Village of Winnetka and developed his passion for electronics and engineering while working at New Trier High School’s own radio station, WNTH 88.1 FM. Ken went on to study in Music Business and Engineering at Columbia College’s Arts and Entertainment Management Program – AAEMP”. He continued his studies in DeVry University’s Electrical Engineering program. By the time he was 23, he was recording demos for anyone who would let him. His first studio was located in a large “walk-in” closet! Since then, he has studied under Malcolm Chisolm and Murray Allen, and has been active in the development and continued growth of The Street Factory since its inception in late 1987. Today, Barnard is much more than just the owner and operations manager for The Street Factory and Street Factory Music. He is the senior technical advisor, and runs The Street Factory’s mastering suite, which opened in 1994. He also oversees and runs The Street Factory’s post production facilities. In addition to that, he manages the studio’s day-to-day business operations and wears many different hats. He handles A/P and A/R; all shipping and receiving, and handles the direct marketing of The Street Factory via marketing campaigns, trade shows and social media collaborations.. He is also active in the Chicago music scene representing several local artists as their music business consultant.
Kevin
Kevin Bibbs was instrumental in the growth and productivity of The Street Factory. He was more than just an incredible musician. He was a great friend. Kevin worked with The Street Factory since its inception in 1987 until his untimely passing in 1995. He had a soulful voice that covered almost 5 octaves – something almost unheard of in a male vocal talent. He played the bass like few could – he was in a class with Stanley Clarke, Bootsy Collins and Jaco Pastorius. He played with the likes of Earth, Wind and Fire, The Rolling Stones, Sugar Blue, Buzz Kilman & The All Bubba Blues Band, and, of course, The Street Factory’s own Band Of Thieves. He worked tirelessly with new musicians and was unselfish and giving to a fault. He was larger than life, but humble and true to his Chicago roots. He is with us each day, here at The Street Factory in spirit and presence and we are lucky to have him as our Eternal Music Director.
Kyle
Kyle is the latest addition to The Street Factory’s Family. He is a young, aspiring Graphic Design Artist whose talent and skills belie his young age. He can design anything you want from the simple to the extremely complex. CD cover work and CD design are some of his specialties. Kyle earned his BFA in Graphic Design at The University of Illinois Chicago, graduating in 2016. For all your graphic design needs, contact Kyle Barnard today!
Raymond
Raymond Van Reek was the first webmaster for The Street Factory. He is one of Barnard’s best friends and Godfather to his son, Kyle. Ray currently lives in Amsterdam and has a full-time job as a youth guidance counselor. Stressful, but often more entertaining than a night out at a comedy club, Van Reel taught himself HTML and the rest is history. Barnard says that he will always be indebted to him for his work with The Street Factory website, but more importantly for the times they shared during the early years of the journey here at The Street Factory. Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of ways if you look at it correctly. Ray is that kind of guy.
