Jerry Douglas fondly recalls his first guitar, a Sears Silvertone, which he replaced with a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe when he was 16 years old. When he was about 14 years old he began hangin...
Brian Donaldson is an exuberant cheerleader for NAMM’s Museum of Making Music, where he volunteers as a docent. He joined the team in 2016 and can often be found leading tours, jamming wi...
Greg Phillips is a strong supporter of music education and music making all throughout Australia, lending his skills and talents as a promoter, producer, writer and advocate. His passion ...
Joshua Curlett was enlisted as a stage hand for his church when he was a kid. That experience led him to pay close attention to the inner workings of stages and live performances. While i...
Sandy Gennaro’s skills as a drummer can be heard on recordings and live performances by artists such as Hall of Famers Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Bo Diddley and Cyndi Lauper, The Monk...
Jeff Jacobs grew up in Chicago and remembers going to Gand Music to buy his first very own instrument, although his parents had an upright piano in their home. Jeff’s purchase was the eve...
Dan Hagedorn grew up watching his father run the family’s music retail business and always knew he would work in the music industry. His father, known as Crazy Al, began his business in t...
Jim Collins was given a Silvertone Guitar by his dad following the Beatle’s appearance on the Ed Sullivan television program, an event he still recounts with enthusiasm. Jim took a day jo...
Kerry Marx is the Music Director for the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. He began working for the Opry in 2000 as a member of the staff band. The band regularly backs up the many ...
Will McFarlane has proudly traveled the world touring with some of the biggest names in music as a journeyman musician. He toured with Bonnie Raitt in the 1970s, which was a wonderful exp...
Denny Mack was surrounded by music his entire life! His father was a Vaudeville performer and it seems all Denny ever wanted to do was be involved with music. He played drums at sock-hops...
Michael Campion has attended the NAMM Show since the late 1970s, first as a wide-eyed musician, then as a retailer and finally as an exhibitor. Tracing his evolving roles at the show mirr...
Mark Altekruse, like so many passionate members of the music industry, specifically remembers the lessons he learned from one of his earliest and most influential music instructors. Tromb...
Bill Hanley is known as the Father of Festival Sound and for a very good reason. Beginning in the 1950s Bill and his brother Terry provided sound equipment for outdoor events and as the r...
Bob Hardy was greatly influenced by the American rock and roll artists he heard on the radio as a kid growing up in 1950's Liverpool, during which time he was a pupil at the Liverpool Ins...
Jim Armstrong worked in the music publishing industry for many years, both for Charlie Hansen and Columbia Music. His music career began at the famous music retailer in southern Californi...
David Garretson is a special representative for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, which represents motion picture technicians, artists and allied crafts of the Uni...
T. Bruce Wittet is the widely read drum journalist who began his musical passion playing harmonica. His love for all things music led him to an exciting career playing in the school’s jaz...
Jim Wilson incorporates his experiences as a gigging musician (he formed a duo in college and later played a Fender P-Bass in several rock bands) into the work he does as a piano technici...
Billy Amendola is the Editor At Large for Modern Drummer magazine whose background as a musician makes him perfect for the job! His passion for music began at an early age and by the time...
Don Cromwell realized music was his passion when was playing in bands with his friends at a young age. His sophomore year of high school he switched from guitar to bass and never looked b...
Benmont Tench was drawn to music at an early age playing piano and being interested in composing and songwriting. He would frequent local music stores and check out all the new instrument...
David Rushworth started in the family business, Rushworth's Music House, in 1966 when he was in his early twenties after leaving University. David quickly moved up through the ranks from ...
Chris Montez recorded a number of hit records including “Let’s Dance” in 1962 followed by “Call Me” and “There Will Never be Another You.” He also scored an international hit with “Cartas...
Mark Schulman remembers seeing The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show when he was three. The moment he saw Ringo something resonated within him and he knew what he wanted to do. Mark...
Frank Murphy opened Frailers Guitar & Banjo Shop, which is situated in Runcorn, Cheshire on the banks of the River Mersey - just southeast of Liverpool England. The store was establis...
Billy Butler started in the early 1960s singing with the Merseybeats group, The Tuxedos, having also sang with The Merseybeats and even performed on the same stage as The Beatles. He soon...
Tim Miller was watching The Ed Sullivan Show when the Beatles came on and changed his life. From that moment on, he wanted to play drums! Tim’s very supportive father drove him to lessons...
Joey Welz was a member of Bill Haley’s Comets as well as Link Wray’s Wray Men. He played piano in the early days of Rockabilly for Bat Records with his own group as well as with The Jay R...
Chris Mulkey is a well-respected actor who has appeared on hundreds of movies and television programs dating back to the mid-1970s. Chris is also a passionate music maker who has carried ...
Dave McCluskey was like so many of his peers growing up in Liverpool after the Beatles who joined a rock band. He started off on guitar but switched to bass. In 1988 he landed the perfect...
Tony Bolland was just 16 when he got a job at Plug In, a rock shop in Liverpool. The store was part of Hessy’s Music, the famous store which sold instruments to the Beatles in the early p...
