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...
Ray Scherr was hired by Wayne Mitchell, the founder of Guitar Center, to help strengthen and develop the small store. Ray added the culture and helped drive the growth of the company fro...
Alexander Pietschmann is CEO of Adam Hall. His dad, a professional musician works for Adam Hall as a salesman. Alex joined the company in 2006 after studying law and business. During his ...
David Kirby, originally from England, started out as a professional musician touring in Germany in the mid 70’s. Playing bass, he also took charge of fixing and upgrading the equipment as...
Markus Jahnel, COO of Adam Hall started out working for the company when he was 15 years old. After 30 years working closely with David Kirby he is now a partner since 2013 overseeing the...
Siggi Jäger is a founder of Human Base. He specializes in hand crafting bass guitars. Sigge started making instruments in the mid 1980’s at Hoyer Guitars in Tennenlohe near Erlangen, Bava...
Petra Woodfull-Harris recalls taking lessons on the recorder at the age of six, followed by the piano three years later. She enjoyed the idea of improving her skills and of expressing he...
John Tumpak is the author and music historian who has focused most of his writings on the golden age of swing during the Big Band Era of the 1930-40s. As a result, John has interviewed a...
Allan Rosenthal has served as NAMM’s Certified Public Accountant beginning in the 1980s, when the trade association moved its headquarters from Chicago to Carlsbad, California. Allan has...
