Rob Ickes is a world class Dobro player who was a founding member of the contemporary bluegrass band Blue Highway. He was named Dobro Player of the Year for the thirteenth time by the IBM...
John Walker’s career in music all began with guitar lessons at six years old. This lesson studio’s focus was on ensemble performance, which allowed John to start playing gigs at 11 years ...
Chuck Tennin began his career as a recording engineer's assistant, which led to his own engineering gigs beginning in the 1960s. Along the way, Chuck learned firsthand the importance of ...
Herschel Blankenship’s love for music all began when he saw Buddy Holly on the Ed Sullivan show as a kid. It sparked his interest and led him down a path filled with performing and tourin...
Toni Buffa and her husband, Jerry, purchased Lemur Music from the founders in 1995. The fun name of the business comes from the first names of the couple who started the store in 1964, L...
Jim Peterson started La Jolla Music in 1962, just a few years after his career in music retail began. Jim worked as a gigging musician in and around San Diego at night and on weekends in...
Brian Setzer nearly single handedly brought back the popularity of the rockabilly electric guitar sound that was first established by Scotty Moore, Elvis Presley's first guitarist. Brian...
Richard Sherman was a musical film songwriter along with his brother, Robert Sherman. The duo specializes in animated musical-films. Some of their most famous work can be heard on films s...
Jerry Woods really enjoyed working in music stores. As a musician, it gave him a day job. As a passionate music maker, it gave him the incredible feeling of placing a guitar in the hand...
Larry Gosch is the owner of Encore Music in Auburn, California, and a long-time recording engineer. In fact, he has been recording bands and singers for nearly as long as he has been pla...
Taj Mahal helped expand the scope of the blues by incorporating elements of world music and a style of guitar playing that was rooted firmly in the African traditions that helped form the...
Lester Chambers performed with his brothers as the Chambers Brothers, a band that became a pivotal group beginning in the late 1960s. The band had style, so much so that bluesman Snooky ...
Freddie Roulette pioneered the use of the slide guitar in the blues style. When he began playing slide guitar he was emulating country and western music and felt the instrument would fit...
Snooky Flowers was asked to put a band together to go on the road and travel with a young blues singer named Janis Joplin. As her bandleader he helped to prepare her for road performances...
Misty Browning loved to watch the smiles on the faces of those in her church as a child when they began to sing. She noticed their mannerisms and expressions completely changed once the m...
Mal Stich worked for the BC Rich Guitar Company from 1975 until 1985, which was an important time of growth for the guitar maker. Mal helped the company's founder, Bernard Rico, expand th...
Chick Corea loved being a music maker! Nominated over 60 times for a Grammy, Chick was among the most high profile musicians we have been blessed to interview for the NAMM Oral History pr...
Michael Simmons is a co-founder of the Fretboard Journal and the author of several articles and books about vintage guitars and other fretted instruments. He began his career at Gryphon G...
Richard Johnston began buying and selling used fretted instruments long before there was a "vintage guitar market." Back when Richard started they were just known as used instruments, bu...
Frank Ford was beginning to build guitars and mandolins when he met Richard Johnston. The two guitar lovers decided to open a repair shop in Palo Alto, California called Gryphon Stringed...
Andy Penn opened one of the first music stores dedicated to drums and percussion in Northern California. As a drummer he wants to create a place for others to gather and be able to purch...
Paul Shuffield opened a small mom and pop music retail store with his wife in 2008, just a few weeks before the bottom fell out of the American economy and retailing suddenly became much ...
Perry Pedersen is a full blooded Basset Hound, who has been a show dog for several years. His role in the music industry started when he began joining his owners, John and Nedra, on walk...
Ed Seelig opened a small guitar shop when he was a teenager, having already made connections within the concert circuit selling used gear to traveling musicians. The store, Silver String...
Reiff Lorenz grew up in the music publishing business and, like his father and grandfather, Reiff is happy and proud to carry on the family tradition. The company was established back in...
Ed Stasium, the producer and engineer, started out his career in the music industry performing with the Band Brandywine in the early 70’s. He engineered and produced records for The Ramo...
Nedra Pedersen grew up playing French horn and studying all areas of music. She landed a job in the publishing side of Disney and worked with Hal Leonard on several projects including Th...
John Pedersen, the founder of Pedersen's Band & Orchestra in Burbank, California, began his career with a small instrument repair shop. The store, which began in the early 1970s, con...
Mitch Holder is among the legendary Los Angeles recording studio musicians known for playing all styles of music. As a well-respected guitarist, Mitch has played for nearly every studio ...
Ted Kraut loves teaching guitar! It's in his blood and very evident to anyone who talks to Ted for over a minute. His passion has inspired thousands of students over the years, first whe...
