He's a musician, home theater guru, and a Guitar Hero playin' machine. Come meet Tim Pryde, Product Area Manager for Monster Cable. Read on to learn a little more about this self-made Monster in this month's (and very first!) Monster Employee Spotlight!

How long have you worked for Monster Cable, and how did you get started?

6 years. I began in our Customer Service department and was there for 3 years. 2 of which I was head of technical support and internal training. This was a great launching point because I got to meet every single new Monster employee and train them on Monster products. I also had direct contact with the end users. I would field about 100-200 emails a day and roughly 40-60 phone calls. These emails and phone calls would have to do with Troubleshooting their Home Theater Systems, helping them to decide what cable would be best for their application, help with warranty issues, and general comments on what they liked about the products and what they thought would be an improvement.

What would you say it's like to work for Monster Cable?

It is what you make of it...like any job. If you take advantage of all of the different facets of the company to learn from, then it can be a great and educational experience. It is also a fairly free spirited company when it comes to the people who tend to work here. Big personalities and hard workers.

When you tell people you work for Monster Cable, what kind of reaction do you typically receive? What are the top questions people ask you about your job there?

Depends, some people that know what Monster Cable is typically have positive reactions to it...”oh you guys make cool stuff”...or I get questions like “does the cable really make a difference?” For people who don’t recognize it right away, I will typical tell them to take a look around next time you are in a Best Buy or Circuit City..we are all over the place there...then they remember seeing Monster products.

What has been your most memorable moment at Monster?

Traveling to China to represent Monster. In 2003 we officially launched our new Chinese Monster name and we had a 3 city tour of China where we held press conferences. I was chosen to talk about Monster Technology...and also represent one of the many ‘faces’ of Monster Cable.

Do you have any hobbies that occupy your spare time?

I joke that Monster Cable is my second job...my passion is writing and performing music...it is the reason I came out to San Francisco. Monster has been great at supporting me and allowing me time to travel and tour when need for the band. I am a bit of a comic book nerd as well...

Can you tell us about the band you’re in?

San Francisco based indie-urban rock band called Pebble Theory...all original music. Foundation of the music comes from singer/songwriter roots...but adapts itself well to interweaving melody lines, strong rhythm section and introspective lyrics...and they are just fun songs to move to....www.pebbletheory.com is where you can hear and purchase the music.

How many Monster products do you currently have? What are they hooked up to?

For my Home Theater system I have a combination of Monster Cables Z and M Series, Monster Power HTPS7000, Monster THX Speakers, Monster Plasma Mounts and of course... Monster Screen Clean. I use our Monster PRO MI cables for my guitar rig... and so does the rest of the band...

What would you say your favorite Monster product is? Why?

Good question...I would have to say our Monster Quick Lock Speaker Connectors. I have terminated hundreds of speaker cables and these things make life so much easier...and I don’t have to worry about the speaker connection degrading over time...never ever use bare wire to hook up your speakers...that is a big ‘no no’.

What would you say your favorite gadget is?

Xbox 360 Guitar for Guitar Hero II...very addicting.

What do you think of the brand new Monster Community? What are your impressions thus far?

I think it is really just showing more what has always been there....smart/creative/talented people, who really know what they are doing and want to do the best job they can.

Monster Community would like to give an extra special thanks to Tim for taking the time to answer our questions. We'd also like to wish him and his band the best of luck. Head over to www.pebbletheory.com and give them a listen (they're pretty good!). If you like it, you can pick up a CD here. Besides, anyone who plays real guitar on top of Guitar Hero has got to be good!