Tracy Newman Tracy Newman jumped into the Folk music scene in the early 1960s just as the genre was making its sweep across the country. She was among the early members of the New Christy...
Benjamin Dudley is the executive director of the non-profit organization Free Guitars 4 Kids. Growing up with a passion for music and the guitar, Benjamin sang and played in his church an...
Bryan Galloup somehow convinced his parents to set up a guitar repair shop in their basement back in 1975. Their support encouraged young Bryan to learn all he could about the art of guit...
Shaunna Hall is the producer of the Dogghouse Studio located in the Hyde Street Studios complex in San Francisco. She loves the space and feels both she and her clients pick up the vibe, ...
Trent Berry and his twin brother have always been musical. They formed bands together starting in junior high school. While in college at Kent State University, Trent played guitar for pu...
Cindy Lee Berryhill is the creative singer/songwriter whose twist on Folk Music (with a bit of a Punk Rock edge) has led to several albums and performances around the world. In 1987 Rhino...
Bruce Waters grew up with his guitar ever-present. He played for small events around the Chicago area as a kid and started providing music lessons when he was 18 years old. He later toure...
Mark Casstevens has always had a deep passion for music. He sang in church choirs and began piano lessons at age six, eventually teaching himself guitar. In high school in Ft. Worth, TX, ...
Walt Aldridge attended the University of Alabama, majoring in business when he switched over to the University of North Alabama, enrolling in their music business program because they had...
Billy Sanford purchased his first guitar, a Stella, at a pawn shop in his hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana, when he was 13 years old. Still a teenager, Billy became a member of the staff...
Chris Leuzinger was just nine years old when he saw Elvis Presley on the Ed Sullivan Show and begged his father for a guitar. By the time he was 12, young Chris was already in a band with...
Ann Foster is the matriarch of the Foster Family String Band and a guitar player in this Bluegrass group. Her husband Bill and his brother sang as a duet growing up so it was natural for ...
Robb Lawrence loves playing the guitar as well as gathering the history of his instruments. He has written books and articles for magazines, including Guitar Player and has provided lectu...
Sharon Sagar is the daughter of Paul Barth, the founder of Bartell Guitars. Paul started his guitar and bass manufacturing factory in Riverside, California, in 1964. As a teenager, Sharon...
Paul Brett knows a good story when he hears one and when he began digging into the history of the Bartell Guitar Company, he was hooked. Researching the California guitar manufacturer fro...
Ray Russell is the noted English studio musician and composer who has also performed with a number of bands over his long career including the prog rock group Mouse. His guitar can be hea...
Syndenn Sweet was the first woman hired as a luthier at Bookmans Entertainment Exchange in Tucson, Arizona. This distinction is one she makes with pride, especially considering her father...
Jason Lollar loves playing the guitar and even at an early age he had an eye for creating his own sounds. As he developed his skills and gigged with his friends, he realized some of the c...
Simon Jones has a rich background with the guitar, which has come full circle with his role with the Yamaha Guitar Group. As a teenager he played, and even built his own guitar to play wi...
Carla Olson grew up playing in 60’s cover bands all the while cutting her teeth as a songwriter. After performing in the band Silver Clouds, Carla teamed with Markus Cuff, David Provost a...
Bill Lloyd is one half of the country duo Foster & Lloyd. Along with his partner Radney Foster, Bill wrote and recorded several hit songs including “Crazy Over You” and “Since I Found...
Dusty Wheeler served as a medic in the US Air Force during the Vietnam War. After the war he attended college all the while playing guitar and giving lessons. In 1979 he opened Dusty’s Gu...
Hedges Capers rose to fame in the late 1960s as half of the folk rock duo Hedges & Donns. He and his singing partner, Donna Carson (who was later his wife for several years) began sin...
Mike Soldano says he was late to game, picking up the guitar when he was 20, but soon made up for lost time by jumping in with both feet! He studied the instrument and listened to live an...
Andy Marshall has had a deep and rich musical education both in the classroom and on stage. In 1986 he established THD Electronics to focus on manufacturing guitar amplifiers.
Earnie Bailey was mesmerized as a kid, sitting in the front row of an Earth, Wind & Fire concert and seeing all the instruments up close! This experience inspired him to go to the lib...
Tim Olsen set out to build his own guitar out of a cigar box and other items found around the house. He was in the fifth grade at the time! He learned that the luthier Harvey Thomas lived...
Leanne Trevalyan was just twelve years old when she taught herself how to play the guitar using the Mel Bay method book on a no-name instrument her mother picked up at Montgomery Wards. L...
Jerry Miller is a founding member of the innovative and influential ‘60s rock band Moby Grape. His roots in music go back to his grandfather, who was a famous violin maker in Sweden. When...
Kieran Downes played piano as a child, but switched to bass in high school to play in a friend's band, and later discover his true musical passion when he picked up his brother’s guitar. ...
Greg Martin was able to combine the many musical styles he admired growing up when he helped form the Kentucky Headhunters. The band made up of friends began playing together in 1968 and ...
Randy Dorman joined Kenny Rogers' road band in 1977 and worked with the legendary country singer until his last tour in 2017. Along the way Randy performed with each one of Kenny’s guest ...
