Mark Altekruse, like so many passionate members of the music industry, specifically remembers the lessons he learned from one of his earliest and most influential music instructors. Tromb...
Rick Anderson was in a MBA program that required he write a research paper about a local business. This was his introduction to the Rodgers Instrument Corporation located in Hillsboro, Or...
Drew Armentrout worked in music retail for years before being hired by the Roland Company to work in the electronic drum division. His early experience served him well as he viewed both ...
Rosemary Bailey was ten years old when Hammond hired her as a concert artist. Over the years, she took part in the growth of the organ market in the 1970s and had first-hand experiences b...
Bob Bailey has a big gig to oversee each year, the annual Sweetwater Sound Gearfest! This is no small task as anyone of his friends on the NAMM staff can tell you, but Bob heads a strong ...
Adriana Balic is a vocalist, keyboardist, guitarist, songwriter, producer, bandleader, and educator, covering styles from classical to pop/rock and jazz. From 2003 she served as keyboardi...
Jeff “Skunk” Baxter gained enormous international fame as a founding member of Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers. Skunk’s solo licks are among the most noted and influential in rock and ...
Tom Beckmen opened a music store with his band director while still in college in 1958. The relationships he created in the store lead to a road salesman job with C. Bruno. He traveled th...
Adrian Belew had the NAMM attendees on their feet when he joined the All Star Guitar Night in Nashville 2003. Perhaps the feelings were more than just an appreciation for his music as man...
Dick Bell was surprised by the impact he had on the music industry, a fact that became clear to him at the NAMM Show 2009, when the Roland Corp gave him a retirement party and NAMM reques...
Ed Blasco was one of the best known organ salesmen in Kansas City during the 1970s. He worked for Sherman Clay, Jenkins Music and even ran his own store, Ed Blasco’s Conn Organ Center in ...
John Booth has played an enormous role in the development and growth of Roland within the United Kingdom. As President of Roland UK, he has witnessed the expansion of the market in Englan...
Geoff Brash was an iconic music retailer in Australia who became known around the world for his passion and his brilliant business knowledge. As the managing director of Brash Music, Geof...
Chris Bristol was a music retailer in Southern California when a salesman came in one day to show him some gear from a new company called Roland. Chris took to the products right away. Wi...
Luigi Bruti was an accordion champion as a teenager and was asked by the Siel Musical Instrument Company to demonstrate their latest products. It was the beginning of his life long career...
Louisa Buchanan, hailing from Queensland, Australia, was immersed in music from a young age, mastering the organ at 6 and piano by 12. Alongside her musical journey, she honed her skills ...
Christoph Bull is the organ professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His deep passion for music stems from his grandmother’s piano and his early days playing organ i...
Paulo Caius played music as a child and enjoyed each chance he had to work with fellow musicians. When the chance came to open his own music store, Paulo jumped at it. Caius Music, locate...
O’Lyn Callahan has played the piano since she was eight years old and started on organ at age twelve after receiving a Hammond B3 from her father. She came in third place at a Yamaha orga...
Brendan Callinan likes to say that everything he owns he obtained because of music. As a rock performer in the highly successful Australian group the Radiators, Brendan played and wrote s...
Del Casher has an impressive scrapbook full of photographs from his career as a professional guitarist and inventor of music products, such as the early guitar effects called the Echo-Pho...
Ruth Charles and her husband Dick opened a music store in Glendale, California, called Charles Music. They enjoyed a long life together as music makers and teachers and retailers of music...
Rick DePiro fell in love with music when he first decided to play the organ at the young age of 10, getting his first official gig just a few years later playing the electric piano in his...
Glenn Dodson played bass for a band he started with his schoolmates called Purple Haze. The band was high class, right down to their purple shirts! It was a fun experience that provided a...
John Egan was working for Ford Motor Company when his old friend and former colleague, Peter Hayward called him. Peter had formed a music wholesale company, which was expanding by the lat...
Tony Fenelon cut his teeth on the Theatre Organ and became the artist in residence at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne in the early 1960s. He recalls performing demos at the NAMM Shows beg...
Barry Frost thoroughly enjoys his role as the manager of the piano department at Blues Angle Music in Pensacola. Being in the position of providing the right piano for his customers is me...
Lynda Garcia is first and foremost a music teacher, which was not only her background but her life’s passion. As she taught, Lynda developed methods and materials that assisted individua...
Erik Gramkow started his career in the music business with piano manufacturer Brødr Jørgensen. When Eric joined the company the focus was on importing music instruments to Scandinavia. Ha...
Alan Greensall was working for Sound Technology when he helped broaden the reach of several brands into the British market. Among the brands were Taylor Guitars, Line 6 and G&L Guitar...
Newell Hardy had a life changing experience playing in the Youth Symphony on viola while in middle school. That opportunity led to his love of guitar and later his passion for the pedal s...
Lee Hargrove grew up in a musical home, one that not only produced Lee and his life long career in music, but also his sister, Linda Hargrove, who became a successful songwriter in Nashvi...
