Lou Witt grew up on a small farm in Iowa and one day asked his band director in school for an instrument. He was given a trombone and has played the instrument ever since. He enjoyed pl...
Ray Williams grew up in the Caribbean. His father, a police officer, played music during his time off of work. Ray’s brother played guitar, Ray picked up the bass, and he was always encou...
Verdine White has become a close friend to the NAMM family thanks to his dedication to music education and music advocacy programs around the world. He has supported the efforts to keep ...
Jimmy Vivino wanted to be a blues guitarist when he first heard “Foxy Lady” by Jimi Hendrix! He has since been a successful musician both on stage and in the studios. He and his brother ...
Allan Small played music as a young student and earned his degree in music education, then became a band director for almost a decade. As a band director in Pennsylvania he was involved ...
Sivamani has become the lead drummer and percussionist for India’s renowned film composer, AR Rahman, and as a result has gained a following among young musicians. Sivamani provides his ...
Ellis Seal was working for an aerospace company, working long hours and never having the time to spend with his family or his hobby of guitar building. In 1998 he opened his own company a...
William Scarlett has dedicated his career to band instrument repair and the history of the many instrument makers in and around the mid-west. He studied the York Band Instrument Company ...
Masaru Sawano began playing guitar as a young student when he first heard the Beatles. He took a liking to music and the first job he took after college is the one he still has, working ...
Leo Saleh was the very first person from Indonesia to be included in the NAMM Oral History program, which was an honor for us! His father enjoyed playing piano and Leo recalls music all ...
Alan Rosen sat down for his first interview for the NAMM Oral History program in January 2014. It was a special occasion as it was Alan’s 30th anniversary of his first show and his 30th ...
Tim Page was 16 years old when his brother, Bob, opened a small store in Pasadena, California called The Guitar Shop. Bob asked Tim to cover the store one day as he needed to run to the ...
Bob Page opened a small store in Pasadena, California, in 1971 called The Guitar Shop. Nearly from the beginning his brother Tim was involved. By the time Bob moved the store to Leucadi...
Dale Olson attended the University of North Texas back in the 1950s when the music program and the trumpet degree, which he earned, was just developing. Dale is proud of the programs at ...
John Clauder played drums and percussion in the LA recording studios in the 1950s, 60s and 70s and can be heard on many hits, such as those produced by Phil Spector. John played in front ...
Gary Asher was working at Nuncie’s Music in Birmingham, Alabama when he provided a tour and interview for the NAMM Oral History program, just three years after the program began.
Ethan Neuburg began arranging for bands while in college but did not originally land a job in publishing. He was working as an office worker for Warner Communication, when he was given t...
Erik Zobler was passionate about sound and music from an early age and seemed destined to carve out a career surrounded by other passionate music makers. As a studio engineer and produce...
Lynda Garcia is first and foremost a music teacher, which was not only her background but her life’s passion. As she taught, Lynda developed methods and materials that assisted individua...
Roger Glenn recalls with a smile the years he attended the NAMM Show as a product endorser, showcasing the FRAP. As a second generation jazz musician (his father was Tyree Glenn who play...
Kenny Smith serves as the Managing Director of the Peavey Hollywood store on Sunset Boulevard. However, this is only part of what he does in the shop. Kenny is a born salesman and enjoys...
Bryan McCann is the president of Instrumental Music stores, with three locations in 2014 in and around Ventura, California. Bryan’s career began when he teamed with a friend to purchase ...
Jon Andersen has enjoyed playing music nearly his entire life. A jazz saxophonist, Jon played in a number of small and large bands over the years and found work with several noted musici...
Jim DePriest has been teaching for 28 years, He has taught students at Stuart-Menlo Community Schools, West Burlington Independent Schools, Notre Dame Catholic Schools, and Mt. Pleasant C...
Cliff Unruh has a background in marketing and was pursuing such a career when he was given the opportunity to sell Hammond Organs –and he jumped at the chance. He fell in love with the i...
Scott Russ grew up in the music business, crawling around the floor. His parents opened a music retail store in 1947, before Scott was born. Growing up, Scott fell in love with the Hamm...
John O’Reilly is the composer and editor whose musical career spanned educational and textbook materials to movie scores and classical works. He was published by Shawnee Press and G. Sch...
Bill Wallin is the instrument repair technician at Chafin Musiccenter in Lake Worth, Florida. Bill began working for the company alongside the store's founder, Paul Chafin. While Paul's...
Henry Stone wanted to record musical artists that were not able to sign deals with the large record labels of the late 1940s. As a result, Henry found a string of artists and provided th...
Danny Marquez began playing drums in his father's church from the age of four! One day as a teenager he walked into Chafin Musiccenter in Lake Worth, Florida for a set of sticks. While ...
