Pro Audio

Tom Beckman opened a music store with his band director while still in college in 1958. The relationships he created in the store lead to a road salesman job with C. Bruno. He traveled the country for nearly a decade before establishing his own distribution company, Beckman Musical. He later began a long association with Roland Corporation. Tom’s interview included a review of the changes he has witnessed in the industry over the past 50 years, including the growth of the NAMM show.
 

John Booth has played an enormous role in the development and growth of Roland within the United Kingdom. As President of Roland UK, he has witnessed the expansion of the market in England and assisted in creating the infrastructure to accommodate the growth within the company. As an industry leader, John has provided many contributions to address worldwide industry issues through his participation in the Global Economic Summit.  

Gene Fresco is one of the top sales reps of our industry. As a mentor and teacher, he has provided real and practical sales methods to countless men and women in and out of the music products industry. His first love is selling and he has made a career of it and the craft of teaching it to others. His pioneering skills revolutionized the Sunn Company in the early 70s. In fact, it was Gene's idea for them to sell lighting gear –get it Sunn light! Gene took on over 20 lines over the next 30 plus years and still enjoys the craft of selling.

Mateo Galanti and his family have been instrumental in the growth and development of the accordion and organ industry, both inside and outside the United States. Beginning in the 1950s, the accordion became one of the leading instruments in the industry; however, dealer relations were not yet well organized for imported goods. The Galanti family pioneered these efforts and worked the accordion explosion right into the organ craze of the 1950s and 60s. Mateo developed one of the first portable keyboards, which was the first of many innovations enjoyed by the company.

Mitch Gallagher grew up in a musical family. His mother and her sisters sang three-part harmony for dance bands, encouraging all of the children in the family to get involved with music. Mitch followed his love of music throughout college and into a salesman job for the Sweetwater Sound retail store beginning in 1992. He grew in that position and helped with the marketing side of the business and writing for the company’s newsletter. Mitch enjoyed writing about the gear and in fact left Sweetwater for a time to become editor of Keyboard Magazine as well as EQ Magazine. In 2005, Mitch returned to Sweetwater as Editorial Director in charge of the catalogs, newsletter, e-newsletter and website, a position he enjoys very much.
 

Dr. Sidney Harman, the founder of Harman-Kardon and Harman Industries provided a fascinating interview. He spoke of his early days and the innovative product line that helped develop the “hi-fi” industry (now referred to as the audio industry). He also took the time to outline the background for his influential business model of empowering employees with a sense of ownership in the work that they do. The model became the basis of his book Mind Your Own Business, which is used in universities and business programs around the world.  

Manfred Hibbing is known around the world as one of only a few top experts on RF Studio condenser microphones. He has designed and developed many award-winning innovations in microphone technology and he did it all at Sennheiser in Germany. Proud of his role in the company, he retired in 2005 from Sennheiser. His NAMM Oral History interview was completed on July 14, 2005.
 

Dennis Houlihan has played many important roles within the industry, all of which have been driven by his passion and love of music and music making. After years as a demonstration artist for Lowrey Organs, Dennis worked with retailers and suppliers alike, building his knowledge of music products in several countries. When he joined Roland Corporation U.S. as CEO and President, it was a perfect fit. His vision led to steady growth and market expansions.

Al Kahn, the founder of Electro Voice and the inventor of several important microphone models told a great story on how his company got its name. Mr. Kahn was an industry pioneer and an early supporter of AMC and a NAMM member since the year after the company was formed in 1932! When Mr. Kahn was interviewed for the NAMM Oral History program he recalled his early love of electronics and the story of when football coach Knute Rockne named his company after Al had created a PA system to assist Rochne in coaching.

Carson Kielsel discussed the entire history of Carvin Guitars during his interview. As the son of the founder and long time president, Carson provided insight as to the growth and development of the company. Carson expanded the visibility of the company and its products with noted endorsement deals and memorable product displays at the NAMM show over the years. Carson has also was at the company’s helm during the computer age and took advantage of technology to increase the awareness of the product line and to better communicate with their customers.