Walt Johnston was best known throughout the industry for his role in introducing the Pearl Drum Company to the United States. After a gig selling band instruments, Walt was hired by CMI t...
Casey Jones began his musical career as a Chicago-area blues drummer in the mid 1950s. He had only been playing a few years when he was encouraged to sing at a gig. He imitated Little R...
Richie Jones Jr. began playing drums professionally when he was 12 years old for teen clubs and skating rinks. While gigging, he developed skills in production and worked for Morris Broth...
Brock Kaericher is the President of REMO Inc. and over the last few decades he has worked closely with the company’s founder, Remo Belli. Brock has been a strong supporter in the product...
Ikuo Kakehashi’s passion for music developed early in his life. Of course, he was exposed to many innovative electronic musical instruments being the son of synthesizer pioneer and Roland...
Howard Kalisky is the president of Efkay Music Group in Lachine, Quebec, Canada. Howard's father Fred founded the company in 1957, and Howard is following in his footsteps. Howard has als...
Fred Kalisky became enamored with the maracas on his very first trip to Mexico City and realized it was an instrument that could be successful in the Canadian market (his home since reloc...
William Kent, along with his brother Ed, formed the Kent Drum Company in 1947 with a focus to create student-level kits to encourage music making at all economic levels. The company offe...
Jerry Keyawa loves to tell stories about the many amazing customers who have shopped at the Professional Drum Shop in Hollywood, California. He and his two brothers run the store that hi...
Stan Keyawa has grown up in the Professional Drum Shop in Hollywood, California. He and his two brothers run the store that his step-father, Bob Yeager, opened in 1959. What makes the s...
Thanh Kha has worked for Remo since 1981. He came to this country from Vietnam not knowing any English or Spanish, which was the primary language within the factory. Thanh was determined...
John King is among the most noted cymbal testers in the business. Working alongside Armand Zildjian in the factory in Massachusetts. John learned the fine skills of a tester and worked wi...
Spike Klein thanks his sister and her love of Van Halen for bringing music into his life. Their father made guitars for them out of plywood but pretending to be musicians soon turned into...
Bill Koepnick is the co-founder of Advantage Audio in Burbank, CA where he specializes in creating and recording sound effects for movies and television. Bill got interested in music at a...
Akira Komaki recalled the early days of his grandfather’s career as a Japanese retailer. Akira took over the company from his father, the eldest son of his grandfather. Komaki Music opene...
Gene Kornblum’s father formed the famed St. Louis Music Company, which played a legendary role in the music products industry during most of the 1900s. As President beginning in the 1960s...
William Kraft has dedicated his life as a composer to the world of percussion. With noted works and workshops, William has become an important part of the educational element of the Percu...
Peter Kragh-Jacobsen started out as a percussionist performing all over Denmark. After tiring of being on the road, he opened the Drum and Percussion Center Denmark, established in 1980....
Alberto Kreimerman opened Hermes Music Stores in the United States with branches in Mexico beginning in 1982. His goal was always to serve music makers with quality products and service a...
Russ Kunkel has had a great influence on young drum students, not just because of his steady playing but because of his willingness to share his techniques and ideas. Russ has performed a...
Joe LaBarbera, jazz drummer and composer, is best known for his performances with pianist Bill Evans. His illustrious career includes performances with Chuck Mangione, Rosemary Clooney, T...
John LaBouve’s background is in business and marketing. When he married into the Goodell Family, he took a chance at working in his father-in-law’s music store, Goodell Music in Sheboygan...
John Lambert is a docent at NAMM’s Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, California, having joined the team in 2019. Just after his docent training was complete the pandemic of 2020 hit and...
Joe Lamond has been a music maker since he was a young boy. After touring with several bands and rock performers, Joe became the manager of Skip’s Music in Sacramento, California, before ...
Morris “Arnie” Lang played percussion for the New York Philharmonic for over 40 years and wrote the book on percussive technique -- literally. Arnie became involved with the music product...
Ron Larcombe formed a rock band with his friends while in high school and fell in love with music. He toured the United States and Canada with several tribute bands before deciding he wa...
Neil Larrivee was just four years old when he began playing drums. His father was a manager for rock bands and music was all around Neil as he grew up. He served in the Drum and Bugle Cor...
Dave Lauser accidently discovered the drums while helping clean out a friend’s room and was allowed to keep the sticks he found as a reward. His curious nature developed into a passion fo...
Charles Lawing formed the Memphis music store Strings & Things in the 1970s and grew the business in size and product line along with his partner Chris Lovell. Charles enjoyed the ser...
Keith LeBlanc was one of the first drummers who used his funk music background to create beats that helped popularize hip-hop music. Keith was there in the beginning and while working for...
Jeff Lee was the president of Resurrection Drums in Hollywood, Florida, a mecca for percussionists for miles around. Jeff was one of the most passionate members of the music industry you...
Noel Lee recognized an opportunity to introduce high quality cables that would consistently provide the top-level audio signals to support high-end instruments and amplifiers. He had stud...
