Yves Tieche opened a small shop building guitars in 1976, later expanding into a store and becoming a Martin dealer. While attending the 1991 Frankfurt Music Fair, Yves met Armand Zildjia...

Kim Pang attended the NAMM Show in 1994 as a guest of the Zildjian company. While he there he accepted a job offer with the famous cymbal makers right on the spot. He was put in charge of...

Slim Jim Phantom and his two school friends, Brian Setzer and Lee Rocker, formed the iconic band Stray Cats in New York back in 1979. They revived the rockabilly style of the 1950s with a...

Colin Schofield recalls the day when he was eleven years old and received the Alice Cooper album “School’s Out.” The record changed his life by providing him with a passion for music, esp...

Willie Bam Bam Parker’s mother has said that at birth, her son came out swinging and she knew even then that he was going to be a drummer. At age 3 his love of drums was rewarded his with...

Neil Larrivee was just four years old when he began playing drums. His father was a manager for rock bands and music was all around Neil as he grew up. He served in the Drum and Bugle Cor...

Zach Frederick has been around music his entire life. His brother, Alex, is a professional classical percussionist and Zach was playing his first instrument in the fourth grade. What he d...

Sarah Hagan wanted to play the drums more than anything when she was young. After asking so many times, her parents finally agreed and got her a snare drum and signed her up for lessons. ...

Frank Capp .always fancied himself a jazz drummer, although he successfully played many styles of music. As a session player in Los Angeles, Frank played on many hit recordings, among the...

Steve Gadd has a long and strong friendship with the music products industry going back to his first visit to a music store as a kid and his long career as a product endorser and NAMM gue...

John Roderick studied percussion at the Hart School of Music, which proved to be a great benefit for his long and successful career in the music products industry. John has worked for sev...

Bob Henrit has been a regular artist at music trade shows all around the world for decades.  As a top rated drummer who has performed with many bands and stars over the years, Bob has end...

John DeChristopher was playing in a band when he would visit the EU Wurlitzer Music Store in Boston.  Those early store visits for gear led to a job and John’s introduction to the music p...

Jerry Donegan began his career in the music industry in October, 1966, when his brother arranged for him to get a job in the shipping department of the Zildjian Cymbal Company. He found t...

Sam Denov retired as the percussionist and timpanist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra after playing with the group in concerts, on the road and in recordings beginning in 1954.  Sam hel...

Roy Haynes knows jazz! His ideas and techniques have made him a legendary drummer who in many ways helped develop Bebop and Free Jazz, a form of post Bop jazz that was popular beginning i...

Gerry Brown went to school with Stanley Clarke, who always encouraged Gerry to follow his passion for music. Years later the two old friends recorded an album together called School Days!...

Keith Carlock looks forward to providing in-store clinics for music retailers because it gives him the opportunity to talk to the young musician just as they are getting started.  Having ...

Leon Chiappini is the Head Zildjian Cymbal Tester who gained his skills and phenomenal musical ear from two of the true icons in the industry, the father and son team of Avedis and Armand...

Paul Francis, Quality Manager, fondly recalled the early days of his career at Zildjian and spoke with pride of the history of the company as he has come to learn it. His understanding of...

John King is among the most noted cymbal testers in the business. Working alongside Armand Zildjian in the factory in Massachusetts. John learned the fine skills of a tester and worked wi...

Lennie DiMuzio was told for years that he ought to write a book about his career and his many stories, so he did! Lennie was the artist relations director for Zildjian Cymbal Company for ...

Craigie Zildjian has accomplished what no other woman has done in her company’s over 380-year history; she has become president of the Zildjian Cymbal Company. She has also been a pioneer...

Deborah Zildjian proudly recalled stories of her father and her grandfather, two of the most successful leaders of her family’s 380 plus years as cymbal makers. Deborah has a compelling w...

Armand Zildjian had many friends in the music industry and even years after his passing, the stories of Armand and his role in the industry seem to be everywhere.  As president of the Ave...

Butch Miles was born in Ironton, Ohio on the 4th of July during a family reunion. Raised by his single mother, Butch decided to play drums when he was asked to join the school band. By th...