Oral History Interviews

Benjamin Dudley is the executive director of the non-profit organization Free Guitars 4 Kids. Growing up with a passion for music and the guitar, Benjamin sang and played in his church and performed in three bands while attending Baylor University. These experiences gave Ben the opportunity to develop deep and meaningful connections with his bandmates as well as a connection with the audience. He has always looked for the chance to provide these same positive opportunities for others.

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 in his church. As he grew up he witnessed the incredible development of electronic musical instruments and synthesizers, his first being the Korg MS 2000. After coming to the United States from Germany and attending Berklee College of Music,

Tracy Newman Tracy Newman jumped into the Folk music scene in the early 1960s just as the genre was making its sweep across the country. She was among the early members of the New Christy Minstrels and had a long-standing gig as a performer and MC at the Bitter End in New York. There she met such notables as Woody Allen, Bud & Travis, The Limeliters and Phil Ochs who would become a friend. Tracy also began her long pursuit of songwriting, in particular writing children’s songs. In 1965 she recorded six episodes of a kids' PBS program on New York’s WNET entitled What’s New.

Bryan Galloup somehow convinced his parents to set up a guitar repair shop in their basement back in 1975. Their support encouraged young Bryan to learn all he could about the art of guitar repair. This would later play a big role in his desire to pay it forward by establishing his own school for luthiers in 1984. Bryan became an expert on flat-top steel guitars and enjoyed repairs on Gibson and Martins as each one taught him a little more about the instruments and how they were designed and constructed.

John Mello is the Manager for Wollmer’s Music and took part in the company’s 100th anniversary during the NAMM Show in 2023. John provided a historic look back at the store, which was established in Burlingame, California. The store had a large range of products including Maytag washing machines as well as Baldwin pianos and even listening rooms in the record department. The company stayed in the Wollmer family until the 1970s when Dave Garber purchased the store and focused solely on musical instruments. John was hired in 1985 as the store manager and guitar teacher having recent

Music journalist Robyn Flans has been an effective and passionate promoter of drummers ever since she heard the Beatles (and Ringo in particular) growing up. She took her skills to Modern Drummer magazine for which she wrote for over 40 years. Along the way she had some wonderful career highlights including interviewing Ringo and becoming close friends with Jeff Porcaro, a studio drummer best known for his gig with the band Toto. She wrote a book about Jeff called It's About Time, Jeff Porcaro The Man and His Music (2020) and continues to promote well-known drummers as well as tho

Roy Lamb has witnessed first-hand the many developments in Live Sound during his career. He began as an electrician for the Rolling Stones 1970 European tour and later became the Pro Lighting crew chief for the Moody Blues, among others. In 1980 he teamed with Mike Brown to form Edwin Shirley Staging, the first trucking company specifically for concert support. The following year he served as stage manager for The Who. His association with the band continues as production manager. In 2023, Roy was presented the Parnelli Lifetime Achievement Award for his countless contributions to

Jason Paul was in middle school when his parents decided to open a music store. Jason recalls painting the walls and the grand opening of the store, Piano Trends in Crystal Lake, Illinois. His parents Tim and Bobbi Paul included Jason in the business, but never pressured him to work in the store. That was just something Jason wanted to do and the more he became friends with the staff and customers, the more he enjoyed business. Besides his passion for music and the store, Jason also has a great story about watching the filming of Groundhog Day in nearby Woodstock, Illinois.

George Bunnell was the original bass player for the band Strawberry Alarm Clock. If you were listening to Top 40 radio in 1967, you were certainly hearing #1 hits from The Beatles, The Supremes, The Doors, The Rolling Stones, The Monkeys, and Strawberry Alarm Clock! Written before the term “psychedelic rock” was even a thing, Incense, and Peppermints was a seminal #1 hit, and considered by many to be the first and perhaps one of the best examples of the psychedelic sound of the late 60s.

Raul del Trejo often reflects back on the many lessons his father taught him about music and business. His father was a roadie for many local and traveling bands in Brazil. His motto was to offer his help in any way that was needed, which led to him repairing broken gear when needed. Soon he developed ways of making gear that was more durable and reliable. He established Staner Audioamerica with a focus on loudspeakers and Line Arrays. Raul grew up in the business and some of the long-term employees still recall watching him running around the factory as a kid.

Sheldon Dingwall wasn’t yet a teenager when he began machining his own guitar bridges. The process of guitar building has been in his blood ever since, as has his interest in all things music. When he was 19 years old he owned his own record company, which was followed by three years touring with a local band. In 1987 he formed a company building replacement scalloped guitar necks, which soon developed into selling full bodies. Sheldon also created parts for other companies (OEM) and his own brand, which includes models that have been in production continuously for over 30 years.

Teddy Gordon owns the guitar-focused make’n music stores in the Chicago area. His own journey in music has been an interesting one, beginning with his mother who was a singing clown. Music seems to have always been a part of his life. He played bass in his high school jazz band while at the same time building his own guitars. His rock band would later open for a number of big-name groups such as Whitesnake and Judas Priest. Teddy purchased make’n music (that’s correct, no capital letters) in 2003, which was founded in 1973 by Greg Bayles. The shop offers boutique and vintage guita

Mike Smith, the jazz saxophonist who toured with Maynard Ferguson, Buddy Rich, and Frank Sinatra, is also closely associated with the music products industry. Mike plays an important role at JJ Babbitt designing and testing mouthpieces. Always looking for ways to improve on the playability of their products, JJ Babbitt president and owner Steve Rorer remarked that “Mike has been key to our team as we strive to provide musicians with mouthpieces that allow them to find and develop their own sound.” Mike has played gigs at Andy’s in Chicago for over 30 years and can be heard on such

Jim Mack has had a long and successful career in the music and sound industry, which all began while in high school playing guitar and taking a keen interest in the business side of music. Jim worked in music retail, music manufacturing and as a rep before being hired by Keith Barr at Alesis in 1994. The company had released the innovative ADAT just a few years earlier at the NAMM Show and Jim was there for the big success of that product and the launch of others. With a focus on sales and marketing, Jim’s career included important contributions to TASCAM, PreSonus and Ashley Audi

Carle Vickers’ grandmother was a noted soprano and pianist who gave him a great appreciation for classical music as well as piano lessons. He began playing trumpet and saxophone in grade school and continued throughout high school. While studying pre-med, Carle was

Reggie McBride picked up the phone in 1973 only to hear the voice of Stevie Wonder inviting the young musician to join him at the Record Plant recording studio in New York City. The project was an album called Fulfillingness’ First Finale, which was the beginning of many projects with Stevie.

Joshua Curlett was enlisted as a stage hand for his church when he was a kid. That experience led him to pay close attention to the inner workings of stages and live performances. While in college he promoted many concerts and soon opened his own consulting firm. One of his customers was SoundPro located in Irving, Texas. The company was established by Charles Kitch in 1973 as Sound Production Inc. and was assisted in its growth and development by the late Jeff Humphrey. Joshua officially joined the team in 2010 and became the CEO. The original goals of the company created by Mr.

Ray Everitt recalls quite clearly buffing band instruments as a kid in the family’s store. The store was established in 1901 by a band director named Brook Mays, who played a key role in the expansion of school music programs and marching bands throughout the state of Texas. The store was later purchased by his grandfather, then his own father, Billy Everitt, for whom Ray works very closely. Ray began his career at Brook Mays in 1996 while still in school and working part time in their Austin store. Just a few years later Ray designed the company’s first website.

Bruce Adolph is the energetic advocate of worship music and musicians who in 1998 established Christian Musician Magazine. As president of the Adolph Agency, Bruce oversees several publications as well as special events and educational programs which are all designed to assist worship and praise musicians and directors. Having a strong background with musical instruments, he ran The Carpenter Music store in California for over a decade, Bruce understands the needs of music makers. He attended the NAMM Show in 2003 when he was about to launch his magazine Worship Musician, where Ya

Greg Phillips is a strong supporter of music education and music making all throughout Australia, lending his skills and talents as a promoter, producer, writer and advocate. His passion was first sparked by the Beatles when he was five years old and later when he saw AC/DC perform at his high school. Greg wanted others to enjoy the benefits of attending live performances.

Jan Pitman is the wife of the late studio musician and member of the Wrecking Crew, Bill Pitman. Jan shed light on the man behind the thousands of records her husband performed on such as the Beach Boy’s Pet Sounds album, and hits such as “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” which appeared in the 1969 movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Jan shared many memories of their life together and the many friends they made along the way.

Donna Simpson is the daughter of famed studio musician Bill Pitman and recalls with a smile being in the recording studio while her father played with the Beach Boys. Donna learned much more about the depth of her father’s contributions when she was older because he was always so humble about his musical career. It gives her great comfort to know the recordings her father’s played on will forever be heard.

Rosemary Pitman is the daughter of Bill Pitman, the sought after studio musician known as a member of the Wrecking Crew. Rosemary has many fond memories of spending time with her father and slowly learning about his life and amazing musical career, although Bill was modest talking about the many historic recordings he played on. Her father often downplayed his role in music, “it was just a job” he would say. His kindness and love towards her mother, Jan, were also important traits of her dad. Rosemarie can proudly pick out his playing while listening to music at home and while out

John Hopkins became best friends with Chuck Surack, the founder of Sweetwater Sound, thanks to one phone call. Running his own heating and air condition company by day and helping his classical trained pianist wife by night, John found himself answering an ad in a magazine to purchase a keyboard upgrade. The year was 1988 and when John called Sweetwater for the purchase, the founder and owner, Chuck Surack, answered. They became fast friends and in fact Chuck hired John in 1992 and the two worked together until Chuck stepped up to chairman.

Ola Strandberg is the luthier, founder and Chief Creative Officer for Strandberg Guitars located in Uppsala, Sweden. Ola actually played drums as a kid, but when the family moved and the kit did not fit in the truck, he took up the guitar. Early in his career Ola was working in a music store where he repaired and set up guitars and by the end of his teens he had made a few guitars of his own. After a 15 year career in the software industry, Ola needed a mental break, which brought him back to his passion for guitar building.

Frank Wells has served as a radio and audio technician, installing, maintaining and modifying audio gear for broadcast and recording facilities, as a professional audio journalist, and as a marketing and PR consultant over a long career. It all began for Frank while he was serving in the Air Force in radio, followed by broadcast radio work that in turn led him to Music Row in Nashville as a studio tech at Masterfonics Studios where he was introduced to the Audio Engineering Society (AES) by owner Glenn Meadows.

Joe Goodman began playing gigs around the Los Angeles area since he was very young with his primary instruments being the piano and trumpet. With a Marching Band scholarship for college in Hawaii, Joe performed in hundreds of clubs and hotels throughout the islands and created a show band called Solid Gold. After college he returned to Los Angeles where he worked for a local piano dealer before establishing his own retail store, Goodman Music in 1977. The store expanded to 11 locations and became known for providing emerging technology such as the synthesizer and hard disc recorde

Pat Boone was 88 years old at the time of his NAMM interview and celebrating 70 years in show business, achieving stardom in movies, on TV, and especially in music! Having sold over 45 million records, he has been atop the charts of Top 40, pop, country, and Gospel. Members of Generation X, Y, Z, or Millennials may not be familiar with Pat, but just imagine if, say Taylor Swift, who dominates the music charts today with every release, also had her own weekly television show, made regular appearances on other TV shows, and starred in a major motion picture nearly every year. Then y

The under-the-radar role of school road reps, those who serve the needs of band directors and music teachers is sometimes overlooked. However, it is never overlooked by the stores and educators served by these passionate individuals, many of whom had once been band directors themselves. You will hear stories from Mike White, Mary Garbrecht, Jeff Shrieve, Tim Dawson, Steve Purcell, Jonathan Breen, Wayne Thompson, Jim Kidder, John Jarvis, Kayla Davis, Don Langlie, Dave Rivard, John Bertrand, Dale Dawalt and Mac Johnson.

Look at this collection of government officials, educators, and artists providing their views on why it is essential to advocate for strong music education programs. You will hear from Former Secretary of Education Richard Riley, Senior Policy Advisor Leo Coco, Music Advocates Robert Morrison, John Jarvis, William Thomas, and Karl Bruhn as well as artists TM Stevens, Verdine White, Graham Nash, Quincy Jones and baseball great/musician Bernie Williams.