Business leadership · Executive producer · Audio engineer · Sound designer · Composer · Musician

President + Co-Founder, Overneath · Owner, GvG LLC · Kalamazoo, Michigan

Creative leadership.

A formally trained musician and audio engineer, Gordon van Gent leads Overneath, a commercial video production company in Kalamazoo, Michigan, working with global brands. He also owns GvG LLC, a live sound, sound design, and recording practice serving West Michigan. Executive producer, business leader, and builder of the systems a creative company runs on.

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About

Hello, I'm Gordon.

I grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and moved to West Michigan to attend Western Michigan University's School of Music (Go Broncos!). I came as a performer, but I gravitated to the production side, spending more and more of my time on audio, recording, composing, and fully producing both recorded and live projects.

That led to GvG Productions, my first venture out of college, focused on live, original, and recorded music. As it developed it took on more video work alongside a company a friend of mine, Drew Raklovits, was launching called Overneath Media. After growing our two brands separately, we formally merged into a single entity called Overneath in 2014.

Over the following years Overneath grew into a full video production company, and I moved from making the work to leading the company, first as Creative Director of Sound and, since 2020, as full-time President. Today Overneath produces broadcast, brand, and documentary work for clients across the country from Kalamazoo.

My work is leading the company: setting its direction and strategy, stewarding its finances, shaping its people and culture, and putting in place the systems that let a creative company grow. I care about building companies that are profitable, humane, and durable, and I have a habit of building the tools we need when the right ones don't exist.

At Western Michigan I double-majored in music, on jazz guitar, and comparative religion, then finished a master's in music composition. I have taught both music and audio in formal settings, including audio production and sound design as an adjunct professor at Ferris State University, and have worked as an engineer for over twenty years. That work now lives under GvG LLC, and I enjoy operating simply as your “Friendly Neighborhood Sound Guy,” working primarily for community events, local recordings, and theatre.

I live in Kalamazoo with my wife, Dannie, and our two kids.

01

Business leadership

Setting the direction of a creative services company and leading the people who carry it out: strategy, finance, culture, and the policies that keep a crew of creatives growing and thriving.

02

Production and audio

Executive producer on Overneath's commercial productions, and a working audio engineer for over twenty years: live sound, recording, theatre sound design, system consulting, and audio for video, from production sound to sound design and composition.

03

Systems and tools

I build the operating systems a company runs on: accounting, project ledgers, client portals, admin tooling. When I can't find a tool that fits, I make one that does.

Ventures

Current ventures.

President + Co-Founder

Overneath

Commercial video production, crafted in Kalamazoo for clients around the country. Three production tiers: Overneath Cine, Overneath Signature, and OnCall Content, video and photo booked by the hour.

overneath.com ↗

Owner + Engineer

GvG LLC

Live sound reinforcement, musical theatre sound design, and location recording in West Michigan, plus a well-kept gear locker for rent. Public rate sheet, no surprises.

Rates and rentals →

Career

My story.

  1. 2020 – present

    President + Co-Founder

    Overneath · Kalamazoo, MI

    Leads a commercial video production company: vision and direction, financial strategy, people and culture, sales and marketing, and the processes and systems that make the team effective. Executive producer on the company's productions.

  2. 2014 – 2019

    Creative Director of Sound + Partner

    Overneath

    Led everything sound and music at a multimedia production company: lead recording and live sound engineer, music producer, and project manager. Designed and built the company's recording studio of the time, produced hundreds of recording projects, wrote and arranged music with independent artists and for large video projects, and was the primary sound designer for local professional and amateur theatre.

  3. 2020 – 2023

    Adjunct Professor

    Ferris State University · Grand Rapids, MI

    Taught audio production, sound design, and audio engineering to students in film and media and game design.

  4. 2019 – present

    Owner + Engineer

    GvG LLC · Kalamazoo, MI

    Sound designer for shows and musicals, audio engineer for live events, recording engineer and producer, sound system consultant and programmer, musician for hire.

  5. 2010 – 2013

    Owner

    GvG Productions

    A production company for live music booking and production, recorded music, original music and arrangements, and video projects, in association with Overneath Media. The seed of what became Overneath.

  6. 2007 – 2013

    Recording Engineer

    Western Sound Studios · WMU School of Music

    Primary engineer for the jazz and choral departments at the School of Music's recording studio, alongside student projects and a range of outside artists.

  7. 2008 – 2010

    Graduate Assistant

    Western Michigan University School of Music

    Taught music technology classes and the School of Music's guitar classes while completing the master's in music composition.

  8. 2005 – 2019

    Musician, Audio Engineer, Educator

    Independent · Greater Kalamazoo

    Performer, engineer, and instructor for hire across the Midwest: musical theatre, recording studios, touring ensembles, private lessons, and live events. Charted and arranged music for weddings and organizations, produced albums as a studio player and engineer, and organized live music events.

Education

  • Master of Music, Music Composition · Western Michigan University, 2012
  • Bachelor of Arts, Music (jazz guitar) and Comparative Religion · Western Michigan University, 2008

Contact

Say hello.

Personal

757-581-0200

Overneath office

269-903-3103 ext. 720

Kalamazoo, Michigan. For Overneath projects, the fastest path is a discovery call through overneath.com.