Los Angeles CA

Gus Acevedo is the owner of the International House of Music in downtown Los Angeles, a store that first opened in 1902. Gus purchased the store from the Schireson Brothers and over the last thirty years he and his business partner, Oscar Naranjo, have focused a great deal of their energy and staff training on customer service. In recent years the store has seen an increase in Latino customers and has proudly been able to provide the highest level of service and products thanks to a dedicated sales staff.

Marty Albertson began working at the Guitar Center in San Francisco when the small chain’s founder, Wayne Mitchell, was still active in the business. Marty was there to see the store locations expand and grow and was very much a part of the executive branch of the company when it was first offered as a publicly-traded company. As Chairman of Guitar Center Marty is still active in the major decisions, but also finds time to serve on a number of music related organizations including on the board of the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation.

Buddy Collette changed music in more than one way. As a noted reed man, he played jazz along some of the greatest players in history including his boyhood friend, Charlie Mingus. Buddy was instrumental in the birth of the Los Angeles jazz scene. Beginning in the late 1940s, Buddy set out to break the color line within the American musicians’ union, which at the time separated the black performers from the whites within their directories. Thanks to Buddy’s efforts the Los Angeles chapter of the union was among the first to classify all members as equal.

Don Griffin is the founder and president of West LA Music in Los Angeles, CA. Don’s background in music and customer service made his store the idea stop for many of the rock and studio musicians in southern California. Don was one of the very first music retailers to break into the pro audio and lighting fields as early as the late 1960s. Don served as the president of the NAMM Board of Directors from 1987-1989.

Fred Sanchez is the founder of the band El Chicano, the Latin soul group from Los Angeles, that helped define Latin Rock in the late 1960s and 1970s. The band was formed by several high school friends who sought to combine Latin percussive styles with jazz and modern rock. Among their hits were “Viva Tirado” and “Tell Her She’s Lovely.” During Fred’s NAMM interview he was joined by fellow original member Mickey Lespron and Jerry Salas.