Gene Brown joined the Ovation Guitar Company within the first year of the company’s establishment in 1966. After serving in the United States Army during Vietnam, Gene was immediately off...
Earl Bryant has enjoyed a long career in the music business with a good many years related to artists within the Motown family. As a concert manager, Earl has worked with Smokey Robinson...
Bob Carbone is the co-founder of the Piano & Organ Center in Syracuse, New York. The store has a reputation for their quality products as well as creative lesson programs, which are o...
Bob Casey enjoyed a long career in pro audio and radio. It all began when he was four years old when he saw the large sound cones on his father’s truck. His father formed Edward P. Casey’...
Larry Fresch has worked by day as a sales manager for piano and organ companies and by night as an accomplished saxophone player and singer in Southern California. He grew up in Sandusky,...
Dr. John Hanbery joined the school band in the fourth grade in his hometown of Greenwood, Mississippi. He was encouraged and inspired by his band director, which is a strong reason why he...
Buddy Harman Jr. followed in the footsteps of his legendary father, Buddy Harman, one of the most influential studio drummers in Nashville history. Since his father’s passing in 2008, Bud...
Bob King worked at Hal’s Music in Mountain View, California after returning from Vietnam in the early 1970s. He was introduced to the wholesaling side of the industry and soon gained a j...
Larry Moudy sang and played the guitar for the musical group Up With People beginning in 1967. After being drafted and serving in the Vietnam War with the 101st Airborne, Larry returned t...
Rich Neville has spent his life making music and for decades has helped others obtain their musical dreams. Rich was a touring musician who turned to a career in music retail and never le...
Jack Redmond began playing the trombone at the age of nine, thanks largely to his mother’s support, who herself played the C-Melody Horn in movie theaters for Silent Films. Jack played th...
Tim Roethler found his calling during his service in the US Army, where he played saxophone in the army band. Recognizing the importance of instrument repair, Tim honed his skills in wood...
Howie Schwartz has had a passion for music and sound since he as a kid, which landed him in the Eastman School of Music playing bassoon. After his time in school, Howie worked as a DJ at ...
Jim Semeizer started playing saxophone when he was a kid and went on the road with the Les Brown Orchestra in 1962 for two and a half years. He learned repairs from his father, who was a ...
John Stavish and his sister took over the music company their parents established in the early 1950s. John recalls the first milestone of the business was when it moved out of the family...
Archie “Hubby” Turner served in the US Army during the Vietnam War and always felt the experience taught him, among other things, to appreciate the opportunity you have to add beauty and ...
Mike Vaccaro is a true piano salesman veteran! Having worked in the piano business for over 40 years, selling for several retail stores and running his own dealership for over 20 years, M...
Dusty Wheeler served as a medic in the US Air Force during the Vietnam War. After the war he attended college all the while playing guitar and giving lessons. In 1979 he opened Dusty’s Gu...
Peter Yarrow is the Peter in the wildly successful popular folk music trio Peter, Paul, and Mary. During his often musical NAMM Oral History interview, Peter spoke of the role music playe...