Tony Escapa was inspired to play music from his father, fittingly who he was named after. Younger Tony began beating on furniture at an early age and was given drums when he was nine year...
Stevan Micheo is the founder of Micheo Music, which has four locations in Puerto Rico. His passion for music runs deep and can be traced back to his mother who was a musician who instille...
Gerald Ishibashi is the musician, music retailer and concert producer who has taken part and witnessed some of the biggest changes and developments in our industry. With a love for music,...
Jeff Jacobs grew up in Chicago and remembers going to Gand Music to buy his first very own instrument, although his parents had an upright piano in their home. Jeff’s purchase was the eve...
We pause to remember those we have lost in our industry since our last gathering each year. Join us for performances by The LA Scots Pipe Band and Guitarist Doyle Dykes as we play a video...
DJ Modgirl (AKA Kellee McQuinn), whose exuberant style adds flair and vitality to any party is a bit of a celebrity in Palm Springs. With a weekly dance mix radio show on KGAY 106.5 and h...
Rob Shanahan was interviewed on the day Palm Springs unveiled a star on their Walk of Stars dedicated to Hal Blaine. The legendary studio drummer was first a hero then a friend to Rob, wh...
DJ Ken Heath grew up in a very musical family and was always encouraged to follow his passion for music. His mother and uncles performed on the radio over the years and Ken dreamed of per...
Humberto Vela is the Executive Director of The Academy of Musical Performance, which seeks to provide musical training for young students in the Coachella Valley. The AMP’s mission is to ...
Kate Spates is a Co-Founder of The Academy of Musical Performance located in Indio, California. The AMP was the idea of Roman Whittaker who recognized the need to support music education ...
Clem Burk is the rock drummer who has played with the group Blondie since 1975, a year after the band was formed. With the band, Clem played on all of the band's tours and hit records suc...
Ron Mesh is a tour manager for some of the biggest names in Live Sound. Ron cut his teeth as an audio engineer for touring bands such as Uncle Sam and the Chesterfield Kings, a Punk Rock ...
Brian Ray had the most remarkable beginning of his amazing musical career when he was hired by Bobby Pickett to play guitar on Pickett’s big hit “Monster Mash” for a fundraiser. The event...
Bud Roberds was two months shy of his 103rd birthday when he was interviewed for the NAMM Oral History program about his life in music. His father was an avid musician, always bringing in...
Ney Nakamura established Marutec Music, a distribution company based in Brazil in 1994. The company distributed Yamaha consumer keyboards in the early days and later expanded into the gui...
Tana Douglas wrote a book about her life in Live Sound, released in 2022, entitled LOUD: A life in rock n’ roll by the world’s first female roadie. The title leaves out the fact that she ...
Tina Morris is the Studio Manager for one of the most iconic recording spaces in Los Angeles, The Village. With an impressive background in music performance and sound technology, managin...
Lucas Van Der Mee, Principal Design Engineer for Apogee Electronics, has a fascinating background in Live Sound and studio engineering. He spent ten years on the road as an audio engineer...
Roger Robindore found himself overdubbing at an early age. While he was born in Pennsylvania, Roger became a recording engineer in Paris for several years in the 1990s. He had some wonder...
Greg Laney started working at Westlake Studios in 1982, right in the middle of the Michael Jackson Thriller session. It was an exciting time and Greg witnessed firsthand the producing tal...
Keith Alexander played the important role of Director of Operations for the Los Angeles-based swing band, the Big Band Alumni. The band, whose leader is Bill A. Jones, was established in ...
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...
Sam Glenn has had a marvelous career as a saxophonist in big bands and many Los Angeles-based recording studios. He took clarinet lessons at Kitt’s Music in Maryland (now Jordan-Kitt’s Mu...
Lanny Aplanalp says he was happily playing football in school at the age of 16 with a focus on sports when he first heard the jazz saxophone. He was hooked and everything changed for him!...
Larry Dougherty has always been grateful for the vast pool of great musicians who made up the swing bands of the 1940s and 50s. This allows so many to go on the road with a number of band...
Michael Feisthammel is a lifelong history teacher who has a passion for the construction and design of pianos. He acquired a Chicago-made Conover '77 grand almost 20 years ago. The high q...
John Papadolias began working at Lyon & Healy in Chicago in 1999 as a harp technician. The job is perfectly suited for John who has a long history as a musician and instrument tech. E...
Massimo Dolce was born in Italy and became his family’s first musician when he studied piano at the age of nine. He focused on business management in school with his driving passion for m...
Bogdan Pawlikowski grew up in a family of violin luthiers. His uncle John and father Walter both achieved notoriety for their handed crafted instruments as well as their well-respected re...
