Oral History -
R. C. Allen was a guitar luthier that used the style of his many friends of the era in the early 1950s in Southern California when guitar innovators were reshaping the instrument and grooming it for a new birth. RC was building his own unique instruments when Leo Fender and Lowell Kiesel of Carvin were also just starting out.
Spencer Aloisio began working for the Slingerland Drum Company in 1969 and stayed with the company until 1980. During that time he worked on the selling, promoting and marketing of the popular percussion products. Spencer worked his way up from factory employee into the office as sales manager and then as Vice President of Sales and Marketing.
This is the full length NAMM Oral History interview with Marco Alpert, which was captured on January 16, 2011. For his biography and web-clip, please follow this link: https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/marco-alpert
Marco Alpert has had a fascinating career in the music industry and lucky for the NAMM Oral History collection he shared many of his stories with us. Marco was an electronic music composer in Los Angeles when he happened to meet the two founders of E-mu. Marco was hired to promote the innovative synthesizers that Dave Rossum and Scott Wedge were creating for E-mu.
AJ Altieri began working in the music retail business in the mid 1970s after a childhood filled with music. He played in bands as a student along with being a Drum Major, before performing in area rock bands. He began working in Elliott Rubinson’s Thoroughbred Music in Tampa, Florida.
Grace Altieri has a background in law but was willing to put that career on hold when her husband decided to open a drum shop in Tampa. AJ was working for a local music store and was really growing the drum segment of the business, so, when a chance came along to open his own store he jumped at it.
Steven Ambrose first started liking country music after hearing Johnny Cash through headphones during a recording session. This prompted him to develop a toll that could be used by all musicians to get the same sound. The result was the first set of in ear monitors – something that the music industry would learn to love and not be able to live without.
Mark Amentt was brought into the music products industry to help direct the then, newly established AIMM group, to better serve its members. The group soon grew as did its noted annual meetings, which take place the day before the Anaheim and Summer NAMM Shows begin.
Jim Anastasi served as the trumpet tester for the King Band Instrument factory in Cleveland, Ohio for nearly 40 years. While testing some 200 instruments a day, Jim also had dozens of students each week, many who met him at Stebal's Music for their lessons, as well as playing out. His professional playing career began when he was a teenager and continued into his 90s!
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 musicians in and around his neighborhood, Santa Barbara. When he was approached by his longtime friend Nick Rail, to assist with his band instrument business, Jon jumped at the opportunity. For ove