Oral History Interviews

Dennis Chambers has always had music in his life and started playing professional gigs before he was ten years old! He joined the group Parliament-Funkadelic in 1978 and is considered to be one of the best funk drummers out there. Dennis has a playing style that is unmatched which makes him a great insight for product design. He has worked closely with drum companies over the years and was possibly responsible for the invention of the boom cymbal stand! Dennis has played with many greats throughout the years including John Scofield, Steely Dan, Santana, and many others. He also be

Lana Negrete grew up in her father’s music store and always had a passion for music and the arts, but she wasn’t sure if music retail was for her. Everything changed when she became a mom and saw the need for more robust school music programs. She wanted to ensure that all kids were given the same opportunity in music education and built a program to do so with Santa Monica Music Center. Lana’s commitment to the community has only grown over the years and the community in return have supported her and Santa Monica Music Center during some difficult and trying times.

George Augspurger is the award-winning studio designer who began his career as a product engineer. George was hired by JBL in 1958 and served as Technical Service Manager and later as Manager of the newly formed Professional Products Division. Over the years he worked with several leading recording studios in the Los Angeles area including Capitol and Disney. In 1970 he formed Perception Inc and focused on designing recording studios. He has taught several classes at the university level on topics including loudspeaker system design as well as studio acoustics.

Michael Feinstein is a student of the American Songbook as well as its cheerleader and Pied Piper! Throughout his career he has specialized in promoting the songs and songwriters from the Tin Pan Alley era of American popular music and as a result assisted in keeping those wonderful tunes in the public eye nearly one hundred years since many were written. Michael’s passion is clear in each of his projects and each of his albums serves as a work of entertainment as well as a history lesson into the careers of such songwriters as George and Ira Gershwin, Hugh Martin and Irving Berli

This video is of our annual NAMM Tribute, created in honor of our members and music industry friends who passed away in 2020 and early 2021. This Tribute was shown for the first time virtually at NAMM Believe in Music Week on January 21, 2021. All moving images within this video indicate those who have been interviewed as part of the NAMM Oral History program. Larger segments of their interviews are posted here on the NAMM website (use the "search this site" white box type their name).

Dan Slick grew up in Johnstown, PA playing the family’s upright piano but soon switched his focus to the organ. He began his career in the music industry working at Fulton Piano and Organ and has since worked with several other companies over the years including Baldwin and Technics. In 1984 he and his wife briefly owned their own store, Good News Piano and Organ in Colorado Springs, CO. Dan believes that both the personal and professional relationships he has developed over the years is just as important as the business itself.

Michèle Vice-Maslin has always had a passion for music and songwriting. She grew up with her family in Queens, NY and started playing instruments and writing poetry at a young age. After high school, Michèle moved to Arizona to study music and creative writing at the University of Arizona, and ultimately ended up in Los Angeles, CA. She relized that her songwriting could trancense genres and became more involved in writing music for television and film. Michèle has gone on to become an Emmy award-winning songwriter and has worked as a music supervisor, publisher and producer.

James “Peaches” Hergen has always known that he would have a career in lighting. He remembers at a young age going to roller rinks with his family and would get lost in admiring the lights. The passion exploded when his parents got him a DJ light for Christmas and James was set on his journey. He continued studying and working with lights in high school and college and went on to get a job working for Six Flags. This job allowed him to work on professional gear that he wasn’t used to and ultimately trained him for the next step in his career. After Six Flags, James went on to work

Dave Lauser accidently discovered the drums while helping clean out a friend’s room and was allowed to keep the sticks he found as a reward. His curious nature developed into a passion for drumming that grew even more when his parents got him his first drum kit, and ultimately Dave turned that into a career in music. Since then, Dave has shared the stage with many musicians, including his close friend Sammy Hagar. In his 2020 virtual NAMM Oral History interview, Dave recounted his favorite memories playing with Sammy and some of his earliest remembrances of playing the drums.

Ketty Lester sang several ballads while in a recording studio in Los Angeles in 1963, under the assumption that the point of the session was an audition to explore her musical range and style.

Dan Miller grew up with music all around him and joined the school band the first chance he got. Dan was the first to admit how fortunate he was to have opportunities to go to many clinics in Chicago and meet some incredible and influential musicians. One of these musicians, Bobby Shew, became not only a mentor but a lifelong friend. Seeing the impact firsthand that fellow musicians can have on a young student, Dan proudly provided the same opportunities that were afforded to him, whether in clinics or in individual lessons. He loved playing his horn and he loved teaching others t

Beeb Birtles developed a passion for music at a young age when his parents bought him a piano-accordion while growing up in Amsterdam. After emigrating to Australia with his family, Beeb started singing and playing bass in bands with friends from high school. This passion for music eventually developed into a career once the band he was playing in started to get shows in the bigger cities. Beeb went on to be in groups such as Zoot and Mississippi, and ultimately ended up in the group Little River Band when he, Graeham Goble and Glenn Shorrock discovered the harmonies the three cou

Derek Brown is best known for playing the style of music known as Beatbox Sax. This way of playing the saxophone incorporates percussive playing techniques that were developed by Derek. He grew up in southwest Michigan and graduated from Hope College with a degree in jazz and classical performance, and then obtained a master’s degree in jazz studies from the University of Cincinnati’s Conservatory of Music. While playing in jazz clubs and working to become a professional jazz player, Derek created his YouTube channel and released his first album BEATBoX SAX. Derek’s YouTube channe

Gail Muldrow is a vocalist and guitarist who grew up completely surrounded by music. Living in the Oakland area, she would often take trips into San Francisco to experience the vibrant music scene. One of her close friends while in high school was Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone. Sly allowed Gail and some of her friends use his gear and even had Gail record with the band. Gail has also performed with other groups including Graham Central Station, Johnny Otis, Prince, Merl Saundersand and The Blues Mothers. 

Graeham Goble is a founding member, main songwriter and the architect of Little River Band’s sound. Graeham always had a deep and passionate love for songwriting! When he bought his first Banjo and was taking lessons, instead of practicing, he prepared songs he wrote to share with his teacher. He played in several bands growing up in Australia and in 1974 moved to London with Beeb Birtles and met Glenn Shorrock. When the three sang together, blending their voices, Graeham knew they had something very special.

Benjamin Scheuer is a musician and songwriter who specializes in combining his passions for all style of music and musical theater to express himself. He began songwriting at a young age and realized early on that it was what he wanted to do with his life. In 2014, Benjamin wrote and performed The Lion, a one-man autobiographical musical that went on to win the 2015 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance.

Leo Lyons became a professional musician early on in his life while playing with bands in London, England. He gravitated to the skiffle genre, playing first the banjo and then the guitar, but then took up the bass and joined the group The Jaybirds with guitarist Alvin Lee. The Jaybirds later changed their name to Ten Years After and put out their debut record on Deram Records. The band built up their European following, and soon started touring around the United States as well. This allowed them to participate in historical music festivals such as the Newport Jazz Festival, the Wo

Larry Wexer was the first member of his family to be born in America and was always encouraged to learn music by his grandparents. After growing up during the folk movement in New York, he obtained a master’s degree in ethnomusicology from Indiana University. A music store that he frequented, The Mandolin Brothers, offered him a job in 1988. He worked there for almost 10 years before becoming a freelance dealer of vintage instruments. Larry has also had the privilege to personally know many famous luthiers, including Jimmy D’Aquisto – a legendary builder of archtop guitars that La

Fred Zeagler was always in band growing up and aspired to be the greatest Band Director of all time. He comes from a very musical family and grew up with his brother Grayson in the music store his parents opened in 1968. After studying to become a Band Director in college, Fred realized what he really wanted to do was to work at the store. Now that he’s retired, Fred stated in his 2020 Oral History interview that the people and relationships are what he misses most about working in the music industry.

Al Smith discovered the harmonica when he was just three years old and hasn’t been without one since he got his first a few years later. He played with others in his neighborhood while growing up, and soon learned of multiple keys – which led him to acquiring a good number of harmonicas! While in the Navy, he played many shows, which resulted in him auditioning and joining the Harmonica Rascals. A highlight of the group was a nine-month residency at Moulin Rouge in Hollywood playing two shows a night. Al still enjoys playing his harmonica and performing in other various groups wit

George Hergen grew up during the folk boom in New York of the mid 1960s and fell in love with the luthiers of guitars and banjos as well as some of the colorful dealers in his area. He became friends with the legendary builder Jimmy D’Aquisto, and Stanley Jay, whose music store on Staten Island sold some of the most incredible instruments George had ever seen. His friendship with Stan not only led to working behind his counter when needed but traveling to NAMM Shows, guitar conventions and guitar workshops and factories. Luckily for us, George took photographs of many of his trips

Boots Randolph was a legendary saxophonist who redefined what the instrument's role was in both rock and roll and country music. In this special vignette, Chuck Surack, Founder of Sweetwater Sound, and Tim Smith, Studio Musician and Professor at Frost School of Music, sit down to remember their dear friend and pay tribute to his legacy. This conversation took place at the Sweetwater Studios in Fort Wayne, Indiana. 

Dana Messina was always intrigued by all the machinery in factories thanks to his engineering background, but his business skills are what lead to his success at both Selmer and Steinway. Dana was able to help streamline the business while never compromising on the quality of the product at both companies. Though Dana may have initially been seen as an outsider to some in this industry, his respect and understanding of his customers and his commitment to the business has proven he is anything but that. 

Jim Foldvary was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, and was exposed to music at young age since his father was a violinist. Jim took up the guitar with some of his friends and remembers playing shows and school dances when he was younger. His first job was on the floor of the Stock Exchange at 17 years old, which was followed by an addressograph job, and then ended up working for the Gretsch company. While at Gretsch, Jim worked in about every position he could, starting with making ukuleles and then banjos. After Gretsch was purchased by Baldwin, Jim relocated to Arkansas to open u

Ed Rider grew up playing guitar and writing songs, and later played trombone in the school band. After serving in the United States Army and also playing in the Army Band, Ed found a music wholesale job working for Southland Music. This job later evolved into Ed working as a rep having his own territory. After working for Southland Music, Ed started his own rep company called Rider Marketing Service Inc., which later became USA Reps. After all this time, Ed is still working as a rep and credits the relationships in the music products industry as his driving force.

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 junior salesman to manager, selling transistor radios and pianos. Eventually, he became director of the company when his father retired. David had the personal touch and was well-liked by his employees, some of whom he stayed in touch with long after the store closed. David also owns the rights to the iconic photo of John Lennon and George Harrison being presented with Gibson guitars in the Rushwo

Jimmie Vaughan took time from his 2020 tour schedule for his NAMM Oral History interview during which he spoke about his early days as a musician. Jimmie recounted his Uncles playing music while he was growing up as well as some of his influences including bluesman Freddie King who would later become a personal friend. While speaking about his signature model guitar, he remarked how he sometimes cannot believe all of the incredible things that have happened to him during his career. With that statement and a smile, he headed to sound check.

The NAMM Oral History Program is a collection of one-on-one interviews with people involved in the music products industry that was established by NAMM in 2000. The mission of the program is to preserve the history of the music products industry, including industry innovations, the evolution of musical instruments and music retail, as well as improving music education worldwide.

Rosa Gil del Bosque was the only female founder of Amigos de la Guitarra de Valencia, an organization dedicated to presenting concerts that showcase the classical guitar in and around Valencia, Spain. Rosa, who began playing guitar as a child, wrote several songs for the guitar including “Melancolia” and “Evocación Romántica.” A small group of guitar enthusiasts, including Rosa, collaborated to form the AGV back in 1950. Over the years Rosa arranged many of the over 600 concerts that the AGV has hosted. She served as president for several decades lending her skills and dedication

Beverly Noga learned all she knows from her mother about the music business. Helen Noga was one of the owners of the Blackhawk Club and the Downbeat Club in San Francisco, California, who later became the woman who discovered Johnny Mathis and brought him to the height of his career. Later, Beverly worked with them in publicity and promotion. After Helen retired, Beverly formed her own publicity office, Contemporary Public Relations in the early 1960s and worked with such artists as Cream, The Bee Gees, The Turtles, Three Dog Night and several others.