Moncton ( /ˈmʌŋktən/) is a Canadian city located in Westmorland County in southeastern New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, it lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces. The city has gained the nickname "Hub City" because of its central location and also because Moncton has historically been the railway and land transportation hub for the Maritimes.

The city proper has a population of 69,074 (2011). The Moncton CMA has a population of 138,644 (2011) and has the fifth fastest growth rate of all the metropolitan areas in Canada. The Moncton CMA also has the fastest growth rate of any urban region east of Saskatchewan. The CMA includes the neighbouring city of Dieppe and the town of Riverview, as well as adjacent suburban areas in Westmorland and Albert counties.

Although the area was originally settled in 1733, Moncton is considered to have been officially founded in 1766 with the arrival of Pennsylvania Dutch immigrants from Philadelphia. Initially an agricultural settlement, Moncton was not incorporated until 1855. It was named for Lt. Col. Robert Monckton, the British officer who had captured nearby Fort Beauséjour a century earlier. A significant wooden shipbuilding industry had developed in the community by the mid 19th century, allowing for incorporation, but the shipbuilding economy collapsed in the 1860s. The town subsequently lost its charter in 1862 but regained it in 1875 when the community's economy rebounded, mainly due to a growing railway industry. In 1871, the Intercolonial Railway of Canada chose Moncton to be its headquarters, and Moncton remained a railroad town for well over a century until the closure of the Canadian National Railway (CNR) locomotive shops in the late 1980s.

Marco Minnemann (born December 24, 1970) is a German-born drummer,composer and multi-instrumentalist. He lives in San Diego, California.

He has many solo CDs on which he plays most of the instruments and sings, and he's constantly working as a composer and session recording artist.

His work as an educational book author along with Rick Gratton brought out 3 books including the award winning and in many magazines as #1 voted "Extreme Independence"^{[citation needed]}. Also one of his DVDs "Extreme Drumming" won polls and achieved Marco a Telly Award.

He has worked with guitarist Paul Gilbert on his solo album called "Space Ship One" and was also involved in the development of the "Space Ship One Live" DVD (both released in 2005).

He did a trio tour with Terry Bozzio and Chad Wackerman and on numerous clinic tours around the world. His educational book “Maximum Minnemann” was released in August 2006. His DVD "The Marco Show" with featured Artists Mike Keneally, Bryan Beller and the Buddy Rich Big Band, was released in 2007.

Joseph "Joe" Satriani (born July 15, 1956) is an American instrumental rock guitarist of Italian origin, multi-instrumentalist and multiple Grammy Award nominee. Early in his career, Satriani worked as a guitar instructor, and some of his former students have achieved fame such as Steve Vai, Larry LaLonde, Rick Hunolt, Kirk Hammett, Andy Timmons, Charlie Hunter, Kevin Cadogan and Alex Skolnick. Satriani has been a driving force in music credited to other musicians throughout his career, as a founder of the G3 tour, as well as performing in various positions with other musicians.

In 1988, Satriani was recruited by Mick Jagger as lead guitarist for Jagger's first solo tour. In 1994, Satriani was the lead guitarist for Deep Purple. Satriani worked with a range of guitarists, including Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Eric Johnson, Larry LaLonde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Brian May, Patrick Rondat, Andy Timmons, Paul Gilbert, Adrian Legg, and Robert Fripp through the annual G3 Jam Concerts. He is currently the lead guitarist for the supergroup Chickenfoot. Since 1988, Satriani has been using his own signature guitar, the Ibanez JS Series, which is sold in music stores worldwide.