Fred Bigeh is the product engineer and one of the three founders of Audix. Fred has been the key designer for the company's product lines, notably the OM Series vocal mics and the D Ser...
Dick Schalk began working for the Rodgers Instrument Corp. in the 1970s when the Hillsboro, Oregon company was independently owned, then sold to CBS Musical Instruments. He remained with...
John R. Smith and his wife, Valerie Day, formed the 1980s pop band Nu Shooz, which charted several hits and helped established the synth sound of that decade. As a kid, John played guita...
Valerie Day became a pop star in the 1980s when she and her husband formed the band Nu Shooz. Their first big hit, "I Can't Wait" helped define the synth-heavy sound of the era, as well ...
Will Glover was among the first wave of surf rock guitarists when he formed a band with several friends from high school in 1961. The Pyramids, the Long Beach, California based rock grou...
Mark Slaughter was a founding member of the hard rock band, Slaughter, which has sold more than five million records and placed four songs on the Billboard Top 30 Charts. In addition to ...
Akil Thompson has been an active music maker since he was a kid playing guitar. Over his career he has toured with LeAnn Rimes and Kelly Clarkson, as well as built his own recording stud...
Keb’ Mo’ is the Grammy-winning blues guitarist and songwriter who got his big break in the music business thanks to Taj Mahal (interview class of 2016). He has performed as Keb’Mo’ ever...
Lij Shaw created the famed Backstage Studio at Bonnaroo, which has been the setting for countless hit recordings. The success of the studio has allowed Lij to do just what he loves to do...
Steve Castro has toured backline for over 25 years and loves it. Steve is a roadie’s roadie who has witnessed firsthand many of the major changes in technology that have affected live pe...
Chris Huston produced and served as the recording engineer for The Who, Led Zeppelin, and Blood, Sweat and Tears, to name just three. Chris helped shape the role of the engineer in an er...
Pytor Belov is currently the VP of sales and marketing at PRA Audio, and also the President of the Belov Group, LLC. His previous experience includes Director of Gibson Musical Instrument...
Bill Demkov has been interested in engineering since his first recording session. As a musician, Bill grew up exposed to a number of musical styles and instruments, including the guitar ...
Dan Melson was born into a show-business family. He worked as the assistant electrician for the Local 33 Stage Technicians Union for roughly 35 years. Over the years, Dan worked on hundre...
Alan Sanderson cut his teeth as a recording engineer while working for Ocean Way Studios in Hollywood, California. The opportunity gave Alan key skills in working in a large recording st...
Jocko Marcellino and eleven college friends formed a doo wop group in the late 1960s called Sha Na Na. Their hope was to keep the doo wop sounds of the 1950s alive and well in the ever c...
George Kirkwood joined the Rodgers Instrument Corp. in the engineering department just five years after the company was formed by Rodgers Jenkins and Fred Tinker. Beyond his fourth year ...
Rodgers Jenkins was the founder of the Rodgers Instrument Corp., based outside of Portland Oregon. Under Rodgers leadership, the company developed a strong engineering team that created ...
Randy Holden was a teenager when he formed a rock and blues band in Pennsylvania called The Iridescents. The core of that band moved to California to follow the wave of emerging Surf ins...
Bob Spikard formed an instrumental rock band with his high school buddies and they called themselves the Chantay’s. The band’s greatest hit, co-written by Bob, was entitled “Pipeline”! ...
Mike Vernon formed an instrumental rock band inspired by George Tomsco called The 3 Balls of Fire (the name taken from the first song they learned to play "Great Balls of Fire"). During ...
George Tomsco formed the influential rock band The Fireballs with several of his high school friends. The band became known for its instrumental recordings, which were very popular in th...
David Woo purchased La Jolla Music with a goal to focus on the lesson programs. His children took music lessons in the store and he wanted to capture the key element of the store by prov...
James Owen has been teaching at La Jolla Music nearly since the beginning. The store was established in 1962 and James started working there just a few years later. As a teenager, he wa...
Janine Ryder and her husband, Bob, owned La Jolla Music on Girard Avenue for several years beginning in the 1990s. At the time, the store needed new product brands, which Janine expanded...
Bob Ryder grew up surrounded by music and began playing saxophone at an early age. When he and his wife, Janine, had the opportunity to purchase La Jolla Music in the 1990s, Bob was thri...
Walton Smith has toured and recorded with the Christian artist Jeremy Camp since the early 2000s. While he grew up in the church, his musical style has been a balanced blend of contempor...
Paul Raley is the President of Paul Raley & Associates Inc., as well as PRA Audio Systems Inc. The focus of his company was to allow ease of use when it comes to wireless systems for ...
David St John began his career in music retail in 1967 and since that time he has devoted his career to bringing music and music lessons to the lives of his customers. David worked for a...
Christie Carter and her husband, Walter, are the proud owners of Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville, which has a family friendly feeling by design! Christie wanted to help create a plac...
