In 2003, when Gardner discovered a glaring deficiency in the business of distributing Texas music CDs, he founded Icehouse Music Inc.. He went on to develop and field-test a new methodology to establish a much-needed distribution link between Texas musicians and their fans, a link that put the great sounds of Texas at the fingertips of the music consumer in new and accessible locations all across the Lone Star State and beyond. He designed a unique point-of-purchase CD display and created a sixty-store trans-Texas retail network. It was a solid plan, it was well executed, and it worked!

To facilitate Icehouse Music's growth, Gardner assembled an experienced management and sales team and, he listened to their input, and fashioned a strategic growth initiative. Since late 2005, he and the Icehouse Music team have more than doubled the size and scope of the original network.

Gardner has a background as an oil and gas land man. He began in the late seventies as a senior scout for Pennzoil, he has worked with a number of exploration and production companies, and since 1986, he has owned and operated Gardner Energy Corporation in Houston, Texas. His ongoing business activities include acquiring productive oil and gas portfolio properties, and initiating exploration and development drilling in core areas of South Texas and the Gulf Coast.

Gardner extensive intrastate travels have given him a unique perspective on the cultural fabric of the Lone Star State; his extended tenure as a musician, songwriter, and advocate of Texas music has given his cultural perspective a specialized focus; and his business experience has provided a solid foundation upon which he's built a successful and profitable company that is making a significant contribution to the musical arts in Texas.

With over twenty years of experience in executive management and operations development, Gallagher has owned and managed several successful businesses since graduating from the University of Texas in 1978. He also has an extensive knowledge of the visual arts, photography, documentary film, painting applications, and design.

In 1982, Gallagher founded DiverseWorks, a non-profit corporation in Houston where he served as Executive Director. During this period, he refurbished a mid-nineteenth century building in the historic Market Square District to create a 13,000 square-foot exhibit space and educational center that focused on visual and performance art, literature, dance, and theatre. In his six-year tenure, Gallagher presented over forty visual art exhibitions and maintained an innovative menu of music and theatrical events. He also oversaw a lecture series on contemporary art and hosted a variety of community forums. DiverseWorks has continued to thrive and currently has an annual budget that exceeds one million dollars.

In 1988, Gallagher and his wife Carol began looking for a new and wholesome environment to raise their four children. They ultimately chose New Braunfels, a small town on the cusp of the Texas Hill Country. Once the family was settled, Gallagher launched a real estate company, which, after a tremendously successful six-year run, he sold for a significant profit. When the deal closed in 2000, it garnered the highest price ever paid for a real estate firm in New Braunfels. During his tenure as an active broker, Gallagher was commissioned for one-year appointment as the Special Counsel to the Texas House of Representatives for the Cultural and Historical Resources Committee.

Shortly after the sale of his company, Gallagher accepted the position as Executive Director for the New Braunfels Museum of Art and Music. In that capacity, he worked closely with the Board of Directors to (a) redefine the organization's mission to feature Texas art and music, (b) affiliate with the Smithsonian Institution, and (c) design and build a new 10,000 square-foot exhibit hall in the Gruene Historic District. As Executive Director, Gallagher oversaw 23 exhibitions, produced over 150 music events, instigated a music and arts lecture series in the Comal County public schools, and introduce a popular weekly live-music radio broadcast from the new exhibit hall.

Drawing from his experience in operations and marketing, Gallagher developed two national touring exhibits, "Dance Halls and Last Calls," that explored the history and significance of these venerable Texas community centers, and "Austin City Limits - Making Music - Making History," that presented the thirty-year history of the longest running live-music television program in American broadcast history.

After attending the University of Texas from 1967 to 1971, Hillis pursued a career in the music business. As a guitar player he toured and recorded with Jerry Jeff Walker, Michael Martin Murphey, Steven Fromholz and many other noteworthy singer-songwriters. He was the guitar player and co-arranger on Walker's 1974 Gold album, ¡Viva Terlingua!.

In 1975 he joined an Austin-based music business group—Moon Hill Management—that represented Texas' top tier of musical talent. During this period he was retained by the Austin PBS station, KLRU, to act as the national talent consultant for a fledgling television production called "Austin City Limits."

In 1983 he purchased the popular Austin nightclub, Steamboat. The club flourished under his ownership and became home to such artists as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson and Christopher Cross. In 1989 he built an acoustic music club, The Saxon Pub, designed as a nexus for singer-songwriters. Creative talent bookings and effective management at the clubs established a healthy cash flow that enabled Hillis to return to the University of Texas in 1994 to seek advanced degrees in American music history. He earned his Master's Degree in 2000 and developed his thesis into a successful book on UT Press, Texas Trilogy - Life in a Small Texas Town. He is currently completing his Ph.D. in the Department of American Studies at UT. Hillis' dissertation topic deals with the cultural significance of the Austin Music Scene in the 1970s and is scheduled for publication on UT Press.

Hillis joined Gallagher at the New Braunfels Museum of Art & Music in 2001 to serve as Texas Music History Curator. The success of their aesthetic partnership in the creation of world-class exhibits and in elevating the public awareness of the sociological and educational significance of art and music in American society, inspired Hillis and Gallagher to create a new company, the Experience Media & Education Research Group (EMERG). This in turn led to their affiliation with Gardner and Icehouse Music.

Korbin is an eight-year veteran of the retail distribution business and the direct sales industry in Texas. He excels in wholesale-retail customer relations and is particularly adept at creating CD racking programs that successfully match music titles to a particular market. Since he joined the Icehouse team in mid-2006, he has opened over fifty new locations.

Korbin continues to hone his skills as a sales manager and is scheduled to assume new responsibilities as an Operations Vice President as Icehouse continues its 2007 rollout of new products. He will be in charge of training and supervising new field representatives with a special focus on adding new stores, diversifying the types of stores we service, and constantly exploring new opportunities to bring Texas music directly from the artist to the American consumer.

Jessica Nelson follows her mother's passion for art, embracing both traditional and electronic media.

After receiving her degree from California's famed Art Center College of Design, she specialized in designing and animating for the entertainment industry, including: film credits, broadcast design, movie posters and branding identity.

Jessica's work in California was for some of the industry's leading, award-winning companies: Pittard Sullivan Fitzgerald, Dazu, Novocom, R/Greenberg & Associates, Launch, Imaginary Forces and EMA Multimedia.

In Austin, Jessica further developed her digital artistry, as a designer/animator for the gaming industry, website pages, and movie credits for local filmmakers. Her work also includes DVD interface design branding identity for local musicians and corporate companies, including Human Code, Frog Design and Godgames.

Jessica is also an accomplished painter, continuing her artistic passions in traditional and digital media. Her paintings are being exhibited in leading galleries and retail establishments.

Jessica currently works as a freelance Motion Graphic Designer and Illustrator in Austin, Texas.