Lyndon Laney built his first amplifier in his father’s garden shed with little thought of turning his craft into a business. That was the case until his friends began requesting his amps...
Alberto Kreimerman opened Hermes Music Stores in the United States with branches in Mexico beginning in 1982. His goal was always to serve music makers with quality products and service a...
Wendal Jones began playing double reed instruments as a child in grade school. He switched to saxophone for a time to play in a number of dance bands in the Colorado area. After college, ...
Yoshitada Hoshino is the president of Hoshino Gakki Company, a music company that has remained in his family since first opening in 1908 to sell sheet music in Japan. The distribution seg...
Michael Harris began working in the music industry officially in 1967, however, since his father and uncle both worked in music retail in Chicago you can say Mike grew up in the business....
Ralph Grierson’s father was a sawmill operator who loved playing music after work and on the weekends. As Ralph grew up, his father encouraged him to develop a career in music. After coll...
James Goldberg grew up in Washington DC and was a journalism major in college, which led to jobs as a writer for newspapers. He later received his law degree at George Washington Univers...
Mitch Gallagher grew up in a musical family. His mother and her sisters sang three-part harmony for dance bands, encouraging all of the children in the family to get involved with music. ...
John Eaton spent the latter part of the 1960s composing for electronic musical instruments such as early synthesizers developed by Robert Moog and Paul Ketoff. His microtonal music includ...
Michael Diehl opened a small store in Freehold, New Jersey after serving in the United States Navy during World War II. He attended college on the GI Bill and found that he could run the ...
Joseph Blumenthal had his sights on being a schoolteacher during his college days when he began to focus on working in retail. He worked at Sears and later at the Good Will Store in New E...
Mike Adams has a background in mechanical engineering as well as manufacturing, which seemed to fit perfectly when he began working with Bob Moog back in 2002. Bob was looking to expand h...
Lloyd Stark began his career in the music industry as a teacher in a small string shop in Berkeley, California, providing lessons on bluegrass instruments such as the guitar and banjo. Wi...
Rob Turner’s first instrument was the drums; in fact it was the drums that brought him to establish one of the world’s best-known guitar pickup companies! While on tour in the early 1970s...
Michael Schmitt is the president of Peter E. Schmitt Music in New Jersey, the wholesale business his great uncle formed back in 1926. Michael’s father expanded the company over the years ...
Alan Poster grew up in the music products industry beginning in the 1960s during the folk and Beatles boom. He worked with Jerry Hershman for several years getting a strong background for...
Aspen Pittman grew up in the 1960s as a student of the folk music movement. He studied the art form and performed on every type of string instrument there was to play. During high school ...
Larry Peyser spent most of his career in the music wholesale business. Larry’s sister married Abbott Buegelesien after World War II and over the years Larry did not just work for the comp...
Robert Morrison was fully involved with marching band and percussion in school and into college, where he studied music education. His involvement with school bands and music education la...
Lloyd Meyer was the president of Renner US, the world-renowned provider of piano keyboard actions. His long and productive career began with retail experience in Minnesota at the large Da...
Rudi Metzler watched the Beatles on TV in his home in Germany and wanted to be the next Ringo Starr. He earned money washing cars, taking over a year to earn enough for his first drum kit...
William Metcalfe’s father began working for A. P. (Pops) Schuttler in a little music store in Evansville, Indiana, back in 1930. When his father bought the store in a ten-year deal beginn...
Michael MacDonald has been a key-figure in the world of audio engineering and sound reinforcement as both a field technician and as part of corporate staff including as the president of J...
Pat Brown has a most familiar face. His smile can be seen in the ProMark booth at every NAMM show and PASIC convention. More than a friendly smile, Pat has proven to be a strong supporter...
This video is of our annual NAMM Tribute, created in honor of our members and music industry friends who passed away in 2009 and early 2010. This Tribute was shown for the first time at ...
Ed Thigpen, known as Mr. Taste for his remarkable touch and feel as an innovative drummer, had a few (hundred) tricks up his musical sleeves when it came to brush work on the snare drums ...
Paul Youngblood has become the expert of the BOSS effects pedal products due to his longevity with the Roland company. He has witnessed first hand, and took great part in the development ...
Roberto Weingrill Jr. spoke during his Oral History interview about the early days of his family’s business and the many changes that have occurred over the years. His great-grandfather m...
Rob Walker has been a leader in the global music products marketing that seemed to shift into high gear in the mid ‘90s when he was CEO of the Australian Music Association (AMA). Rob was ...