Sundown One | Home & Automotive Electronics

Arctic Killmass

Growing up around Sundown One, Cory tried his best to stay out of it, but he just couldn't do it. 

Cory grew up in Rochester, graduating from the high school there in 2003. He then attended Illinois College, majoring in Economics. What does this have to do with high fidelity? Absolutely nothing. That's the point.

Even with the fact that he knew nothing about anything having to do with high fidelity...not even knowing that red is positive and black is negative...he joined the Sundown One team straight out of college.

Now he knows that red is positive and black is negative and has picked up a little more information along the way. He still can't hook a system up, but he's good about knowing what is good and what is not.

Ancient Cryptgrinder

From a young age, Alex has been a part of Sundown One. 

For example, he was among the first Beta testers of the Super Nintendo gaming system when Sundown One first got it back in the early 1990's, when he was about 5 years old. He also almost met an early death, when he was subjected to the Sundown Car Stereo demo van at 148 dB around the age of 8.

As Cory's brother, Alex also grew up in Rochester. He graduated from Rochester High School a couple years after Cory, and then attended the University of Illinois, majoring in mathematics.

Now, he gets paid to Beta test all the latest toys and subject himself to near heart attacks while demoing our louder systems. Fortunately he's older and tougher, because now we go up to 156 dB!

His actual job is unknown, and we're constantly wondering why he's on the payroll.

Baleful Grinsplitter

So this is weird, Jeff actually was coming into Sundown One when he was a teenager before either Cory or Alex was even born! We have a lot of great customers from "back in the day." How strange it is that Jeff is one of those!

Little would anyone know that this teenage customer would become brothers (that takes awhile to explain) with Cory and Alex and later be employed by Sundown One.

He has gone from being a good helping hand here and there to actually being quite valuable. Now he's in charge of making sure things run smooth around here, which is quite a task!

Sales Associate

Jeremy is one of our employees stolen from Circuit City. It turns out that they didn't know who they had or how to use him (they did not seem to be able to manage resources effectively). He came highly recommended and as such, has not disappointed. He is courteous and patient. And no, he is not the one typing this description.

We have, through his time with us, found him to be an excellent in-home installer. He has great product knowledge to go along with his installation skills. He usually replaces, "it can't be done" with "I'll make it happen", which is why we love him.

He's since moved onto the sales floor. Coming from the field, he knows what will work best in your house, so he'll be able to give you excellent recommendations. When you talk to him, rest assured that you are in good hands.

Sales Associate

Tyler is yet another of our employees stolen from Circuit City (you know, before the mighty giant crumbled). He is currently our youngest employee, but don't let that stop you from talking to him. He's still an okay "guy".

We brought him on to be a helping hand on installs, but his natural communication skills and pleasant demeanor caused us to move him to the sales floor. He's very friendly and helpful.

He's a quick learner, so don't let his youth fool you: he does know what he's talking about. And like all our employees, if he doesn't know, he'll ask someone who does.

Home Installation Lead Installer

Other than family (and Jack, who may as well be family), Eric has been working at Sundown One longer than anyone. Actually, he has been working here longer than a lot of the family.

Being around for so long here at Sundown One, Eric is very knowledgable about the products and installation. If you've got a difficult install, he's the guy to get it done. If you have a technical question that no one seems to be able to answer, our money is on this guy.

Outside of Sundown One, Eric plays drums in a local country band. Oddly, Eric doesn't like country. But Cory hopes to change that.

Home Installation Supervisor

The man who has done it all (though he is still humble). Neil was one of our enemies "back in the day". He used to work for Team Electronics and our great friends, Benchmark. He would compete against the legend himself, Scott Talley -- an alumni of Sundown. Scott tried to recruit Neil for years, but to no avail.

However, we've got him now! His reputation precedes him, whether it be from other business associates or his loyal customer base. Neil has a lot of knowledge, having been in the field for us performing installations and in the store selling. He travels back and forth between the sales floor and installations due to his versatility. So odds are, you'll see him somewhere.

We're glad to have him here. If you see him in the store and want expertise and honesty, ask for Neil. If you don't want that, ask for Cory!

Home Installation / Sales

Vince (AKA Vinny) was brought on to keep our store clean (so that Jeff didn't have to do it anymore). For the longest time that was all that he was good at, but eventually, he became more valuable as an installer/salesman than a cleaning guy, so we had to hire someone else to clean for him. Vinny is a testament to hard work and dedication.

Vince is our "go to" guy. If something needs done (and no one else wants to do it), he's perfectly happy to do it. So if you've got a job that's not exactly pleasant, just ask for Vince and we'll leave him with no choice.

12V Installer

Lance is a really great addition to our crew here at Sundown One. He can do it all, from wires to custom work. He's been floating around in the central Illinois market for the past decade or so, working at various shops of all shapes and sizes. We found him roaming the streets of Peoria in late 2009 (I think he was out for lunch downtown) and snatched him to come work for us. It's worked out quite well for us ever since.

Lance isn't afraid to tackle any project small or large. He's worked on his fair share of cars, ranging from old police cruisers to Mustangs to Porsches to you name it.  Heck, it doesn't even have to be a car. If it's got a 12V charging system, he's worked on it. So odds are, whatever you've got, he'll have a solution for you.

And remember, "If we can't do it, it can't be done."

Retired - Life Long Honorary Sundown One Employee

Jack (AKA "Uncle Jack") has been in this business since the beginning. He did a little stint in the jewelry business sometime in Sundown One's history, but he came back to what he loves:  high fidelity.

Jack is famous for his rather interesting advertising experiences. He has staked himself out on the roof of Sundown One, had Ketchup splattered over him, and in more recent history let Central Illinois know what Sundown One really does with your money: we blow it on Beer & Pizza.

Jack retired at the end of 2010, having supported Sundown One for 35 years. Though retired, he still enjoys Beer & Pizza.