Neal Santelmann

Along with finding a job, Neal’s priority after college was to finally – finally – learn to play guitar. He took up classical because that was the guitar he had, studying in DC and NYC and practicing relentlessly for a dozen years. Then it struck: “I don’t even like this stuff…” Two years after closing his classical guitar case for good, he bought a placid blue Stratocaster. It’s the only guitar he ever plays. A freelance writer, Neal has jumped out of airplanes, run the Navy Seals obstacle course, galloped horses, toured Antarctica, profiled NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and pondered the significance of Cheerios for assorted publications and websites. He writes songs, sings and plucks strings for Laminated Menu, too.