Andrew Daly
Founder & Editor-in-Chief
With an immense passion for music, a disposition for writing, and an eagerness to teach and share both, Andrew decided to found VWMusic in 2019 as a freelance column under the column Idle Chatter.
Over time, the column grew into a website that now features contributors who further the cause of sharing both a love of music and the art of journalism with the world through articles and interviews.
While Andrew enjoys running the website, his real passion lies in teaching and facilitating others to do what they do best, and giving them the opportunity to explore their passions in the process.
Some of Andrew’s favorite artists include KISS, Oasis, ACϟDC, Elvis Presley, Ace Frehley, Black ‘N Blue, The Rolling Stones, Rush, Spread Eagle, Shotgun Messiah, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, John Lennon, The Melvins, Noel Gallagher, Warrant, Rory Gallagher, The Stone Roses, The Strokes, Thin Lizzy, Van Halen, Neil Young, Blur, Billy Joel, and many more.
Andrew DiCecco
Senior Editor
Predominantly known for his NFL coverage, Andrew DiCecco is a Pennsylvania-based journalist with a profound passion for rock music and its illustrious history.
What initially began as a childhood hobby collecting CDs eventually evolved into a full-blown absorption into the world of rock ‘n’ roll. An aspiring rock historian, Andrew seeks out every autobiography and documentary on Rock artists imaginable to further his knowledge to go along with a growing collection of vintage albums and magazines.
Andrew’s musical preferences include, but are not limited to, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Van Halen, ACϟDC, Guns ‘N Roses, KISS, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, and Ozzy Osbourne. An innate appreciation for guitar heroes, Andrew cites Vito Bratta, Eddie Van Halen, John Sykes, Dave Meniketti, George Lynch, Vinnie Vincent, Dave Mustaine, and Bill Leverty as some of his personal favorite players.
Andrew is also a regular listener to SIRIUSXM’s Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk, his primary inspiration for pursuing a career in the industry.
Joe O’Brien
Associate Editor
Joe has always been a huge music fan. Growing up, Joe did chores and dumpster dove for bottles with his best friend Andrew to trade bottles for money to buy vinyl.
Joe is a Registered Nurse in the ER by day and a life-long music lover by night. Having been an avid consumer of all things music since he was a child, Joe’s diverse collection of over 4,500 albums tells the story of a man who simply loves music.
Joe’s goal is to write about what he is most passionate about and share new and exciting music. Joe lives on Long Island, NY with his beloved dog Scarlett.
Anthony Montalbano
Senior Columnist
Anthony Montalbano grew up in both New York and North Carolina. Anthony is a baker by day and a contributor to the VWMusic cause by night, and he truly brings a unique, and fresh perspective to everything that he does.
In addition to assisting with the VWMusic social media accounts, Anthony’s column, Retro Echo, is a catch-all for the things he loves most — podcasts, pop-punk, video games, and more.
Some of Anthony’s favorite artists are Rise Against, Taking Back Sunday, My Chemical Romance, Blink-182, New Found Glory, The Story So Far, Green Day, Sum 41, Fall Out Boy, and more.
Dylan Peggin
Columnist
Dylan Peggin was born and raised in Vineland, NJ. Music has always played a huge part in his life, thanks to his parents who brought him up on bands such as Rush, Genesis, and Yes. At the young age of two, he became a member of the KISS Army and has never looked back.
Dylan started his vinyl collecting journey in 2014, partly inspired by musician Jack White and his label, Third Man Records. What started out as a casual hobby turned into an issue when Dylan realized he could not expand his ceiling to make way for his ever-growing vinyl collection.
On January 1st, 2018, Dylan started The Record Spinner, a YouTube channel about vinyl collecting and music. Videos are uploaded every Friday based on a myriad of topics such as mastering engineers, pressing plants, and best-sounding pressings. Other content is featured, as well, such as artist analysis videos, monthly vinyl hauls, record store vlogs, unboxings, interviews with musicians, and much more.
Fábio Moniz
Columnist
Born and raised in Portugal, with an ever-growing love for knowledge, and an ever-increasing interest in teaching, Fábio teaches creative writing at the Senior Academy (Sintra), and music-based writing as a freelancer, and is presently working as a tutor.
Music was introduced late in Fábio’s life, but he found his way into playing the bass guitar, and had a few projects in rock music, in Portugal. Fábio also has studied jazz music at Hot Clube Portugal, going through various subgenres such as blues, bebop, hard bop, bossa nova, and others.
A wide range of artists may be included in his favorites list, such as Avenged Sevenfold, The Who, Rush, FUNKIST, Maximum The Hormone, Yes, The Racounters, Nonpoint, Rage Against the Machine, System Of A Down, Rise Against, Bruce Springsteen, Fruit Bats, and more.
Christine Naprava
Columnist
Christine believes that a strong soundtrack is essential to the writing process. Very rarely does she write in silence. You can almost always find her listening to her records or vast digital library while writing. In addition to seeking inspiration from music, Christine often incorporates songs or references to bands or musical artists in her writing to help further the authenticity and set the mood of her work.
She’s open to any and all genres, listening to everything from electronic to disco to metal to rap to reggaeton, but her heart truly lies in indie, hard rock, specifically 70s, 90s, and 00s hard rock, and her most beloved genre of all, alternative.
John Siden
Columnist
John Siden grew up surrounded by music from a young age. There was always music playing around the house or while driving in the car, mostly Country and Western on all forms, including vinyl, 8-track, and cassette.
John’s first personal interest in music was piqued when he saw an ad for The Monkees TV show, featuring reruns. Collecting records soon became his main hobby. John’s interest in writing has been around for as long as Internet access has been a “thing.“
Since 2019, John has had a YouTube channel called Surface Noise where he discusses music mostly focused on vinyl. John works in the security industry and is an avid reader and lover of film. He also plays guitar and sometimes accordion.
Andrew Earle
Columnist
Andrew Earle is a one-man rhythm section. Having spent the better part of the last thirty-plus years Playing Bass (and drums) touring in Canada (Ontario, Quebec, and the East Coast), as well as the eastern USA.
Andrew is reassuming his old pen name from the late 80s/early 90s of his old punk/metal fanzine. We’re sure you’ll enjoy his perspectives on whatever comes to his mind the day he’s due to publish an article. At roughly 4,000 albums (vinyl, cassettes & CDs combined), he is more than a one-trick pony.
Some of Andrew’s favorite artists include Limblifter, Frank Zappa, Iron Maiden, Samhain, Van Halen, Which Witch Is Which, Clutch, NOMEANSNO, and many more.
Layne Partin
Columnist
Layne Partin was exposed to music and literature from an early age, continues to be an avid reader and writer of poetry, has written two novels (neither yet published), and working on a few more.
His musical interests cover a variety of genres, from americana to classic country, almost all rock ‘n’ roll (especially from the seventies and eighties), classical, and gospel.
Layne grew up in Kentucky, spent most of his adulthood in Florida, and now resides in rural Kentucky with his wife, nine dogs, one cat, and two potbelly pigs.
Semi-retired, Laybe continues to work part-time in property management.
Keith Kowall
Columnist
In every music group, there’s that one guy you can always count on to post some amazing, obscure music that you didn’t even know you needed. Keith is that guy.
As an avid music fan and DJ, Keith has existed in music communities and immersed himself in music for as long as he can remember. His expansive collection of thousands of albums spans all possible genres.
When he’s not busy curating his own collection, Keith takes his time stocking his booth in the Antique Mall of American on Las Vegas Blvd full of awesome vinyl and collectibles. Keith lives in Nevada with his wife.