A bit of insight to our 35yr history

It all started in the late 70s when Zebedee’s owners, Sandy and Andrea (Andy) Arnold began volunteering at a local church. They were working with the church’s high school youth program that met each week in a nearby warehouse. The church had several hundred high school students in attendance each week, but the warehouse was in desperate need of a sound system, and there wasn’t the budget to buy the necessary equipment. Sandy and Andrea decided to get creative and take matters into their own hands, putting together a makeshift system from a modified home stereo and 4 speaker cabinets that had been donated. Little did they know that this seemingly small project would soon set them on a new career path.

Andy was working in the banking industry and Sandy was an Engineer with a Bachelors Degree in Ocean Engineering, a minor in acoustical engineering and a Master Degree in Electrical Engineering. While they both had musical backgrounds, neither had much AV experience.  But that soon changed as they got more involved in running the sound for the church’s youth group events and concerts. As time went on the couple began building a better system by investing in better equipment, building their own speakers and adding lighting to the mix. Before long they were approached by the 7up Gold Coast Concert Series and contracted to provide sound and lighting at many different venues and churches.

In the early 1980s, many churches began to host concerts and incorporate live bands into their services. This shift from traditional choirs, piano, and organ music brought about the need for quality, permanent sound and lighting systems. By this time, Sandy and Andy had developed a great reputation in the community as AV experts and had also established trusted relationships with the leaders of many local churches.  So when these churches needed a sound and lighting system installed, naturally they called Sandy and Andy.

By the mid 80s, business was booming, although Sandy and Andy remained working their respective day jobs and working AV events and installations on nights and weekends. They soon added an employee to help shoulder the ever growing workload and Zebedee was incorporated in 1986. The following year, Sandy left his job as an engineer to focus all his time and efforts on building Zebedee and meeting the growing demand for their services. In 1989, Andrea too left her day job to become full time with Zebedee.

As their business grew, so did their knowledge, inventory and service offering. Zebedee’s large workshop combined with Sandy’s creativity and background as an engineer allowed Zebedee to offer completely custom pieces for events as well as system installation. Zebedee began doing more advanced lighting systems, from front of the house lights to back lighting, up lighting, motorized lights and LEDs. They also designed and installed theatrical curtains and rigging as well as acoustic treatments. Soon they added video projectors, screens and cameras to the list.

In the early 90s, Zebedee landed their first big corporate event for radio station, Y100. Zebedee provided sound for an outdoor concert held at the Atlantis Water Kingdom with thousands in attendance. This led to more and more event production and over the years, Zebedee has seen a dramatic increase in corporate clients. Zebedee has designed and installed over 200 complete sound and lighting systems and provided services for over 6,000 events, ranging from small venues to large stadiums.

Today, Zebedee is a full service AV company with the experience, knowledge, and resources to make your vision a reality!