Patty Belknap Aaberg

Marketing Manager - Sweetgrass Music
Course Session: Marketing for Alternative Artists - Spring 2006

A fourth generation native of California’s San Joaquin Valley, Patty spent her early years practicing the violin, roaming the peach, plum and orange orchards and hanging around her Dad’s water well drilling machine shop.

After attending Foothill College, George Mason and American University, Patty sold cheesecakes to Washington DC restaurants under the banner of P’sCakes, then headed back to California to get a “real” job.

One resume and one interview later, Windham Hill Records in Palo Alto, California decided she should run the Alternative Marketing department… “alternative” defined as anyplace that wasn’t a record store. From 1984-1991 the Windham Hill direct mail, corporate sales, bookstore and gift market sales flourished. Great fun was had. This department was phased out in the merger with RCA Records/BMG.

Founding WellWater Event Management in Oakland, California, Patty organized conferences and tradeshows for DVD Forum, Microsoft, Intel, Packard Bell, California Association of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine, several high tech and biotechnology consortiums. While dashing between catering orders, conference registrations and speaker CVs, she tried to help Philip with his musical career. After ten years in the events business, she now dedicates herself full time to the management of a prolific composer and performer with all that entails.

Patty, Philip, their young son Jake, and Labrador Choteau now reside in Philip’s home town of Chester, Montana.