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...
Ken Lofton attended high school in Evansville, Indiana, in 1957 and recalls visiting his local music store during the school’s lunch hour. That retailer, Goldman’s Store, became Ken’s han...
John Denny is a very active volunteer for NAMM’s Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, California. If there is a tour, a special musical event, or a dulcimer that needs moving, John is your...
Christian Dean is the co-owner and guitar tech for The Magic Flute in San Rafael, California, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. In 1978, he purchased his first guitar from The Magic F...
Chaco Amazè fell in love with music at a young age, after all his father was a music teacher and his mother was a dancer of Mexican folklore music. His father introduced young Chaco to J...
John Pedersen is a master repair technician with a focus on stringed instruments. John found himself in the position of purchasing a music store with his wife back in 1983. The wonderful ...
Ally Amaral grew up surrounded by music. Her father playing piano and her sister in the marching band were important influences on her, particularly when she began playing clarinet in the...
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...
Bogdan Pawlikowski grew up in a family of violin luthiers. His uncle John and father Walter both achieved notoriety for their handed crafted instruments as well as their well-respected re...
Walter Pawlikowski was born in Maruszyna, Poland, not long after World War II. His older brother John became a well-known violin repairman and luthier, which inspired Walter to follow in ...
Scott Gauthier is the Repair Shop Manager for the Arlington Heights location of Quinlan & Fabish, a chain of music stores in the greater Chicago area. Scott was encouraged by his moth...
Fritz Tasch was born in Kecskemét, Hungary and apprenticed in a violin making school in Mittenwald, Germany. He learned the trade of first building violins, violas, cellos and other histo...
Steve Cooley was just a kid when he heard Earl Scrugg playing banjo on the TV show “The Beverly Hillbillies.” The performance lit a spark in Steve who began playing guitar and banjo with ...
Jim Greenhill opened Jim’s Music store in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The area was brimming with recording activity in 1977 when Jim opened the store and as a result, most of the studio sessi...
Don Hilsberg fell in love with the harp when he was in the third grade and was taken to the symphony. His parents could not afford a harp, so young Don began taking organ and piano lesson...
David Kolacny has a remarkable family history steeped in bringing music to others. His grandfather took over a small music store in Denver in 1930 and since that time the store and its st...
Patrick Jacobson, along with his friends and fellow Roper Music employees Seth Strickland and Kris Kjeldgaard, became owners of the store in 2019. Their mentor and teacher, John Handley, ...
Kris Kjeldgaard finished her degree with a music major and a minor in business and went job seeking. She was not sure what the direction of her career would take and in fact, looking back...
Dan King was exposed to music at a young age. His brother played in band and as soon as he could, Dan himself began playing trumpet in his school band. He joined the US Marines and while ...
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...
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...
Chris Arent is the instrument repair technician for Ted Brown Music in Tacoma, Washington, a position that is near and dear to him. Chris has always been closely associated with band and ...
Bill Hesterman has always been fascinated by the pipe organ. He studied piano and organ as a child, and with the good fortune that one of his teachers was an organist for the Mormon Taber...
Henry Barnes is a wonderful example of the type of luthier and repair technician you want working on your musical instruments. With a background in building guitars for Charvel, Grover Ja...
David Millard was a teenager when he first walked into Folk Music Center, his local musical instrument store in Claremont, California. The now iconic retailer was a true mom-and-pop opera...
Domingos Caeiro has always been interested in the mechanics of brass and woodwind instruments. He received training in Paris and moved to Portugal in the hopes of establishing his career....
Cindy Singer met her future husband, Danny, when they were young kids. They began dating in their late teens and were married soon after. Inspired by their love of dancing and music, they...
Jerry White and his brothers all played musical instruments growing up on their family farm in Wisconsin. Their father was a professional musician who played in popular dance bands. Jerry...
Tony Louscher saw Jimi Hendrix live at the San Diego Sports Arena in 1970, which became an inspirational event in forming his musical passion. Just a few years later, Tony began working a...
Shane Henker has always been drawn to musical instruments, first as a player and later as a repair technician. While serving in the US Marine Corps, Shane played in the Army Reserve Band ...
Chris Barker’s grandfather played the piano and made sure each of his grandchildren had a piano in their homes as well as the opportunity to take lessons. Chris was inspired by Elvis Pres...
Wes Lee can recall music in his home as far back as he can remember. His father was an award-winning band director and jazz musician. Like his father, Wes first started playing trumpet, b...
