Pro Audio

Leslie Ann Jones is the renowned recording engineer and pioneering producer and mixer who helped re-define the craft of engineering in the 1970s and 80s. She is well known for her long list of successful and award winning projects as much as she is known within the industry as a giving and talented professional. She is also a past chair of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Board of Trustees and a multiple Grammy Award winner. Her impressive projects over the years include the films “Apocalypse Now” and “Happy Feet” as well as the album “Good Night, Good Luck” by

Al Kahn, the founder of Electro Voice and the inventor of several important microphone models told a great story on how his company got its name. Mr. Kahn was an industry pioneer and an early supporter of AMC and a NAMM member since the year after the company was formed in 1932! When Mr. Kahn was interviewed for the NAMM Oral History program he recalled his early love of electronics and the story of when football coach Knute Rockne named his company after Al had created a PA system to assist Rochne in coaching. In 1942 he released the first differential microphone and hired Al Wig

Ikutaro Kakehashi, the founder of Roland Corporation, created more than a successful business with a host of important innovations in electronic musical instruments; he has also paid tribute throughout his career to those who first inspired him. Mr. Kakehashi was born in Japan and formed Ace Electronics in 1964 with the goal of improving the electronic organ, following up on the work of his heroes, Mr. Hammond and Mr. Leslie. With the expansion of electronics in the late 1960s, he formed the Roland Corporation, which soon became one of the leaders in the industry. Perhaps the only

Dan Kasting grew up in an environment filled with tools and music, and his passion for audio engineering bloomed at the early age of 12. Just two years later, Dan’s innovative spirit led him to disassemble an organ, repurposing its components into smaller speakers. He swiftly moved on to repairing Leslie speakers, building his own speaker cabinets, and gaining recognition for providing sound for local bands. In 1972, his big break came when he ran sound for REO Speedwagon as they opened for the Allman Brothers Band, propelling his career in live sound to new heights.

Lisa Kaufmann is the Managing Director of the American headquarters of Genelec. The Finnish based company, an innovative loudspeaker and pro audio manufacturer, was founded by Dr. Ilpo Martikainen. Lisa's grandmother was a famous concert pianist and Lisa grew up in a very musical environment. When she began working in the music business, first at Lexicon, she felt at home in a familiar industry that brought out her creative side. She also received strong support from several industry leaders who became mentors to her, including Dr. Sidney Harman, whose encouragement has always bee

Mike Kay runs the pro audio department for Ted Brown Music in Tacoma, Washington.  Beginning in 1984, Mike brought his lifelong love of music and audio to the company, which had two locations at the time.  Not only did Mike take part in growing the audio product lines, he took part in the expansion of the company as it grew to multiple locations in and around Tacoma.  All the while he represented the company as a member of AIMM, which holds their annual meetings at the Anaheim NAMM Shows.  His passion for the business and for helping each customer is evident in all that Mike does.

Brian Kehew played a big role in the NAMM Foundation’s  Museum of Making Music’s 2009-2010 Waves of Inspiration: The Legacy of Bob Moog exhibit, which provided the NAMM Resource Center a chance to interview him for this Oral History program. Brian discussed his personal background in music and the development of his personal interest and love for electronic music and synthesizers. Brian spoke of his friendship with Bob Moog and other leaders of the industry as well as his thoughts on milestone products during the heyday of MIDI and sound synthesis. His second NAMM interview was ca

Keith Shocklee is a pioneering DJ who began performing at the local youth center on Long Island in 1974, only a year after Hip Hop was established. Keith gives credit to the radio disc jockeys he heard growing up as they would often give rhythming chase phrases as they introduced the next record, frequently talking over the intro of the song. Keith imitated those phrases and added his own feel whenever he would provide music for parties and local gatherings. Keith, who is also known as Wizard K-Jee, was an original member of Public Enemy, which was formed in 1985 along with Chuck

Karrie Keyes grew up with a deep appreciation and understanding of art. She played in both band and orchestra at school. As a teenager in Los Angeles in the early days of the punk rock movement, Karrie began helping load out gear for local bands. The staging company Rat Sound hired her and before long Karrie was mixing sound at live concerts by the likes of The Spin Doctors and Pearl Jam. As her reputation grew, she was asked to speak at various conferences, such as AES in 2012 where she was asked to join a panel of other women in Live Sound. The panel gave her a chance to meet ot

Carson Kielsel discussed the entire history of Carvin Guitars during his interview. As the son of the founder and long time president, Carson provided insight as to the growth and development of the company. Carson expanded the visibility of the company and its products with noted endorsement deals and memorable product displays at the NAMM show over the years. Carson was also at the company’s helm during the computer age and took advantage of technology to increase the awareness of the product line and to better communicate with their customers.  

David Kirby, originally from England, started out as a professional musician touring in Germany in the mid 70’s. Playing bass, he also took charge of fixing and upgrading the equipment as well as managing the band. After five years of touring the band broke up and David partnered with Adam Hall in England to sell fittings for flight cases and parts for speaker systems in Germany. His company expanded quickly to now successfully distribute and develop audio and lighting products. David’s early days on tour with his band shaped his sense on what musicians really need and Adam Hall c

Paul Kirk has been the audio engineer for the Buccaneers football team in Florida since 1999 and credits his love of music and sound starting with organ lessons when he was 7 years old! His family encouraged his interest in music and when he was a teenager he switched to bass guitar and joined a rock band in his neighborhood. In 1981 he was hired by a local music store while still playing in bands. It was during that time that his love for audio engineering really took off as he would often be the “sound guy” for his bands and others who heard he could help them.

Don Kirkendall was hired by Electro Voice founder Al Kahn to serve as the company’s advertisement manager in 1954. Don’s creative approach to the company’s line of speakers and microphones earned him several industry awards and increased sales annually for 3 decades in a row. Among the most noted campaigns was for the Buchanan 644 microphone, which gained a reputation for its solid body and durable sound.

Charles Kitch formed Sound Productions, Inc. in Irving, Texas in 1973.  With the slogan, the "the Soundman's Connection," Charles has helped pioneer the pro audio industry from the early days.  Over the years he was on the front lines as innovations and trends changed within the industry and was often first to offer advice and support to those seeking help.  As the reputation for customer care grew, so did the business.  It is not uncommon for sound engineers to travel from all over to the Dallas area just to see Charles and his team.

Sherry Klein grew up outside of New York City during the height of the folk scene. She loved to go to Greenwich Village and has amazing stories of meeting Joni Mitchell and going to Woodstock during that time. While attending college she was introduced to sound and recording, and she was hooked. Being a woman in a recording studio in the 1970s had its challenges but Sherry never let that stop her. When she moved to Los Angeles, she landed a job working at Larrabee Studios and later moved into television work and later as a re-recording mixer. Her passion for music and audio comes

Bill Klein began his career at Harman on September 17, 1987 and has played a key role in the creation and logistics of the company’s distribution centers around the world. Bill started off in order entry before becoming a manger, director, and then Vice President of Sales working with the JBL brand. While serving as Director of Global Supply, Bill was able to call on all he had learned from his previous roles within the company and his knowledge not only of the product line but of the needs of each department as it related to parts and products. As a result he helped establish the

Doug Kliever is a sales manager for Sound Productions, whose love of audio gear began when he built his home recording studio. The studio allowed him to make money doing side jobs, including recording many of his friend’s bands. He walked into his local Guitar Center one day to purchase some audio gear and walked away with a job that lasted seven years. It was a great experience that inspired a friend working at Sound Productions to encourage Doug to apply for a sales position. In 2011, he did! What impressed Doug most about the company was the integrity and business philosophy of

Keisuke Kobayashi is the Director and Chief Marketing Officer for Audio-Technica in Japan.  His long and very interesting career in the music products industry started when he began working for Yamaha in the 1970s.  The company asked if Keisuke-san would travel to the United States as a management trainee.

Kool DJ Red Alert, from Harlem New York, grew up listening to the Caribbean music of his grandparents as well as his brother's record collection. He was greatly inspired the day he first witnessed the father of Hip Hop, Kool DJ Herc, performing. He soon began bringing his turntables out to the park to play music for the people.

Gene Kornblum’s father formed the famed St. Louis Music Company, which played a legendary role in the music products industry during most of the 1900s. As President beginning in the 1960s, Gene expanded the company with several important product lines including Ampeg basses and amplifiers. Under his leadership, the territory covered by the company’s sales representatives also expanded. Gene sold the business before his retirement; both events were the end of a vital and important era in the history of the music products industry. 

Markos Kounalakis’ passion for music developed in the 1980’s when he worked at a broadcasting company in Sweden. The radio station had such powerful antennas that the government of the Soviet Union could not jam the signal. As a result, the music Markos played was able to be heard behind the Iron Curtain. As his career developed as a reporter for Newsweek during the fall of the Berlin Wall, he had a front row seat seeing western music flood into that area.

Peter Kowalczyk found an old Silver Tone Guitar in his attic as a kid that belonged to his father, who encouraged Peter to play.  He surrounded himself with music and found a position years later in high school in the school play as a music tech.  It was there that Peter first put his hands on a mixing console.  And the rest wasn’t quite history, but close.  Peter found his passion in audio engineering.  Hired by Meyer Sound, Peter found great satisfaction in working with loud speaker technology as a driver tester as well as acoustic research and testing within the R&D of loud

Eddie Kramer is perhaps best known as the recording engineer for Jimi Hendrix, but he also worked for the Beatles and countless other performers during his long career.  Eddie is also a clever innovator who has designed products and tools that have solved problems for recording engineers over the years.  His approach to recording has been an influence on generations of engineers and his passion for music has resulted in articles and books on the subject, which have provided meaningful advice to countless others.  Just as remarkable to his skills as an engineer is his kindness and

John Krivit was interviewed at the NAMM Show in Anaheim 2016 and covered his career in the audio industry as well as his work as President of the Audio Engineering Society (AES).  As an Associate Professor in Boston, John has dedicated his work as an educator to finding connection points for students looking to matriculate into their professional audio careers. 

Rick Kukulies helped design and develop the Kustom line of amplifiers in the 1970s. His electrical engineering background along with the advances in technology during that era resulted in the highly successful Kustom product line. When the Hanser Music Group purchased the Kustom line, Rick stayed on and worked side by side Jim Hanser on a number of products including a series of home entertainment systems and speaker units.  

Sandy La Mantia was only the third President of Shure Incorporated. The founder’s wife, Rose, hired Sandy to run the company for which she is still chairperson. The company has had a very significant history in the innovation of microphones, headphones, and speakers. It has also played a vital role in the development of the pro-audio market, beginning rather small in the 1950s. Sandy’s attention to the history of the company was apparent during his interview. In addition, it is clear he followed the leadership of Mr. Shure in developing innovative products, along with maintaining

Stanley Lager formed Dale Electronics Corporation in New York City in 1956. The company, well known as Dale Pro Audio, was among the very first to fill the growing electronic needs of vendors, installers, and the general public. Stanley befriended the Shure Brothers and sold that line of products in the very early days of the Shure microphone. He also opened the sales path for Electra-Voice and several other key pro audio pioneers. Stanley played a significant role in the defining of the pro audio market.  

Michael Laiacona wanted to create a guitar box with special effects just for himself.  In fact, when he first showed it to the members of Taj Mahal in 1971, Michael didn't even have a name for it, nor did he think at the time it would be a product someone else would buy.  When the band ordered several boxes, Michael teamed with his friend Keith Barr to establish MXR in 1973.  Two years later Michael formed the audio interfacing equipment manufacturing company, Whirlwind USA.

Roy Lamb has witnessed first-hand the many developments in Live Sound during his career. He began as an electrician for the Rolling Stones 1970 European tour and later became the Pro Lighting crew chief for the Moody Blues, among others. In 1980 he teamed with Mike Brown to form Edwin Shirley Staging, the first trucking company specifically for concert support. The following year he served as stage manager for The Who. His association with the band continues as production manager. In 2023, Roy was presented the Parnelli Lifetime Achievement Award for his countless contributions to

Greg Laney started working at Westlake Studios in 1982, right in the middle of the Michael Jackson Thriller session. It was an exciting time and Greg witnessed firsthand the producing talents of Quincy Jones and the incredible skills of his engineer, Bruce Swedien. Bruce would become a mentor to Greg. With the advent of digital recordings, Greg was among those who noticed some issues with the sounds, a problem that would be solved by Apogee’s filter. This introduction to Apogee led to a job with the company working closely with one of the three founders, Bruce Johnson.

Charles Lawing formed the Memphis music store Strings & Things in the 1970s and grew the business in size and product line along with his partner Chris Lovell. Charles enjoyed the service side of the business and spent many hours working with customers and sound equipment and gear to address their needs. In recent years Charles has focused his attention on installation of gear, this time for churches and places of worship in and around Memphis. Once again he is committed to customer service and getting the sound just right.  

Meg Leighton is a beloved floor manager at the NAMM Show, but did you know she was also a pioneering Live Sound rigger? She was among the few women climbing scaffolding for touring rock bands in the late 1980s and 90s. It all started while she was in high school and attended a comedy program in Boulder, Colorado. She was fascinated by the many people she saw behind the stage. After hanging around the club they soon put her to work and her skills on all levels of roadie roles soon developed. The first stage she helped build was at Folsom Stadium in 1985 for Van Halen’s 5051 tour.