Angela Gammon remembers 2015, a pivotal year when their youngest child went off to college, and her husband, Gregg, lost his job as Buddy Roger’s Music closed its doors. While it was a ne...
Stewart Blatt comes from a rich musical heritage, with his grandfather being a band director and euphonium player and his mother a professional singer and choir director. This deep connec...
Tony Colwell, a talented guitarist, spent years playing gigs around Cincinnati, Ohio, though financial rewards were scarce. In 1981, a friend from his local music retailer, Buddy Roger’s ...
Bill Cooper was an independent sales representative whose background included a great many experiences that helped Bill best serve his dealers. Bill, who played French Horn in school, tau...
Kevin Cranley grew up in the music industry and has a passion for all elements of the music business as if it were in his blood. As a young man, he completed odd jobs around the Willis M...
John Creachbaum began his career in the music industry with Coffman Music in Ohio before he joined the Selmer Company in Elkhart, Indiana in 1984. He studied music education in college a...
Fred Davis began playing saxophone as a boy and started his own band, the Freddy Davis Orchestra, which played around Ohio during World War II. He was well equipped with reeds for his gig...
Ida Eleck worked alongside her husband who was a big band musician and band director who had the idea of opening a music store. Ida was thrilled with the idea as it gave her more time to...
Larry Fresch Sr. exuded the passion and the love of music that is so much a part of this industry. His four Fresch Music stores in Ohio not only became part of their communities, they enc...
Gregg Gammon built a loyal and extensive customer base during his time at Buddy Roger’s Music in southern Ohio. When the store closed, many dedicated customers reached out to him, urging ...
Janet Gratsch began working at Willis Music when she was 17 years old in the Choral Department. She remained with the store until she retired and even after her retirement she would be c...
Paul Graves began delivering pianos in 1957 up in Minnesota before moving to Alabama where he continued to deliver. He soon discovered that he would make more money if he sold the pianos...
Lauren Haas Amanfoh started answering phones at age three and began writing rental contracts at age 10. She grew up in a music store, and went on to receive her degree from Ohio State Uni...
Bill Harvey was between band director jobs in the summer of 1974 when he took a road sales position with Buddy Roger's Music in Cincinnati, Ohio. He felt the sales job would allow him to ...
Jim Hauer has many fond memories of his grandfather, Michael Hauer, a noted big band leader who opened their family’s music store in 1937. Jim recalls his grandfather providing music less...
Jerry Hauer grew up in a very musical home. His father was a big band leader with a noted radio show, Michael Hauer and His Band of the Hour! When Michael was off the road with his band, ...
Dan Herbert played trumpet as a kid and later switched to drums to form a rock band in the days following the Beatle’s popularity in the early 1960s. During the summers, he would work pa...
Russell Hill first met Ziggy Coyle in 1957 when the famed retailer hired Russ to help with the business side of the company. Ziggy and Russ made a wonderful team as Russ minded the numbe...
Christopher Hite has been a passionate musician since his early years, winning solo contests on the tuba as far back as 7th grade. With a strong foundation in piano, inspired by his mothe...
Jim Kincaid has fond memories of his father singing and playing his guitar. Jim’s father was the folk singer and publisher, Bradley Kincaid, who helped pioneer folk music on the radio in ...
Lance Lankford was inspired by his high school band director. This relationship sparked Lance’s interest in music education, which he pursued in college. One of his college classes includ...
Dave Miller was just 14 years old when he cut grass for a summer to pay off a neighbor for their old guitar. He and his friends would hang out at the local music store, which was Western...
Larry Moody began his career in the music industry as a retailer working for Ziggy Coyle in Ohio. The store was owned by Ziggy, a past president of the NAMM Board of Directors, and Russel...
Kenny O’Brien is the president of Music & Arts, a retail store chain that his father, Ken O’Brian, established. Kenny oversees the stores, which focuses on school music and print and ...
Tom Ostrander was the founder of Colonial Music in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. Now a string of stores, the retail company began with the simple idea of providing top quality instruments to the area...
Jerry Pellegrino wanted to own a business ever since he was a kid, so when the opportunity arose to start his own music store, he jumped at the chance. With a small loan and the help of s...
Rick Roth will greet you with a warm smile when you enter Stebal Drum Shop outside of Cleveland, Ohio. As a drummer, Rick loves talking about the gear and has had years of experiences in...
Jim Rupp has had a passion for drumming as far back as he can remember. As a percussionist for several traveling groups in the 1970s such as those led by Maynard Ferguson and Woody Herman...
Frank Seta began his career in the music industry working for Baldwin Pianos before working for Gibson and then establishing his own retail store. Frank has built lasting friendships with...
Jack Shallat was a professional violin player who landed several gigs with traveling bands in the 1930s and 40s. During that time he met Buddy Rogers and both men opened separate music s...
Scott Snyder appreciated the experience of participating in his school band program. He enjoyed the camaraderie amongst his bandmates and getting to know about various instruments. During...
Harry Sparks is the founder of the Famous Old Time Music Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Harry grew up in the folk and bluegrass era of the 1960s and joined a band at a young age. Over the y...
