Oral History Interviews

Oliver C. Brown was a member of KC and the Sunshine Band when they recorded their big disco hits that helped define an era of popular music. Oliver’s percussion instruments can be heard on “Shake Your Booty,” “Boogie Shoes,” That’s the Way I Like It” and “Get Down Tonight.” While influenced by Latin rhythms on the bongos and congas, Oliver added elements of rock music to his playing, which fit in nicely with the recording studio session work he sought in order to launch his career. The studio work led to a number of recordings and live performance opportunities including recording

Fred Armisen is an award-winning comedian and writer who was a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 2002-2013. Playing drums since he was a kid, Fred was heavily involved with punk rock bands in the Chicago area beginning in the mid-1980s. While his acting career took off, Fred has stayed true to his music roots and is often found at the NAMM Show trying out the latest percussion instruments and drums. In 2020, Fred hosted the TEC Awards during the Anaheim NAMM Show at which time he sat down for his NAMM Oral History interview. My wife jokingly booed him when they met, and she

Stefano Trabucchi’s father loved music and encouraged his son to play the violin when he was eight. Stefano was fascinated by the instrument and by thirteen wanted to build his own. The following year his supportive parents allowed him to travel to Cremona to study violin making in the same town as Stradivarius. He found himself immersed in the rich history of the luthiers of that region and after working in a local shop was able to open his own in 1992. Along with building instruments (over 500 violins, cellos and double basses at the time of this interview), Stefano focused on t

Michael Strickland was paid $25.00 for lighting his first rock concert in 1968 at the age of twelve. He knew The Grass Roots were in town to perform so he borrowed the overhead projectors and lights from his school and set them up for their show. The band was impressed, and Michael was hooked! He later formed the company Bandit Lites and went on to a very innovative and successful career. Over the years he served as lighting director for thousands of performers including Dolly Parton, The James Gang, Conway Twitty, Kenny Rogers and Garth Brooks. Michael also toured with Alice Coop

Donez McNeely sang in choir during her school days, following in the footsteps of her older sister who was a lead singer in a band. In 1980, Donez (whose name is derived by combining her two grandmother’s names) was hired by Samuel Music in Illinois as a filing clerk. The founder, Lowell Samuel, saw her potential in sales and moved her to his wholesale company MIDCO. The company was sold, and the name changed a few times, but her office and position did not change much over the years. The company KMC Music is now under the ownership of JAM Industries, and Donez proudly continues t

Paulo Nogueira is the co-owner of Americo Nogueira LDA along with his brother José. Their store in Portugal originally opened in 1860 and in 1947 their father began working at the store. In 1965 he purchased the store and renamed it, after himself, and began focusing on selling the popular musical instruments of the day, including home organs and guitars. Paulo grew up in the family business and found he had a real passion for the music industry and its people. He and his brother take pride in carrying on the family tradition of running a friendly neighborhood music store that enc

Drew Schlesinger started playing organ after seeing The Doors on The Ed Sullivan Show. While in college, Drew purchased his first Moog synthesizer and attended the Boston School of Electronic Music to learn synthesis with ARP 2600's and modular synths. Drew knew he wanted to be involved with programming synthesizers. The release of MIDI was an exciting time for music technology and he developed sounds for the Casio CZ-101 that he sold to music stores. This led to writing a book on programming CZ synths for Alfred Music and a career creating presets for manufacturers like Korg, Cas

Charles Wright had a desire to form a solid soul band that would take the drive of R&B and push it to the limits. With an amazing cast of musicians, Charles formed the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, which recorded a string of hit songs including the classic “Express Yourself.” Charles took pride in writing the song and the classic bass riff, played by his longtime friend Melvin Dunlap. Over his long and incredible career, Charles covered early Doo Wop era all the way into the funk and soul sound of the 1970s. What always remained with him was his passion for the music!

Hans Dörner grew up in the music town of Schönbach/Luby surrounded by musical instrument makers - including his grandfather the violin maker and tonewood dealer Joseph Trasny and his uncle violin maker Hans Trasny, who was master of the guild until 1945. Hans lived in Luby until 1946 and worked for a short time at Amati, a newly formed Czech cooperative for the production of music instruments. Supplied with parts from workers in the region, as Mr. Dörner remembers, Amati already exported instruments by late 1945 to England and the United States.

Harald Lorenz is the fourth generation of peg turners originating from a traditional farming community named Ursprung/ Počátky in the Czech Republic. The family looks back on 125 years of producing tuning pegs. Father Emil and his brother Alfred Lorenz resettled to Bubenreuth after 1945 to provide pegs for the booming production of stringed instruments during the 1950s and 1960s. Harald decided he did not want to continue the tradition of making tuning pegs when he started his career as a dental technician. In 1987, Harald changed his mind and joined his father Emil's company. He

Thomas Schreiber, grandson of Wenzel Schreiber, today runs his own repair shop and takes care of the woodwind instruments of several music schools in the region of Frankfurt. After an apprenticeship at Buffet Crampon in France starting in 1977, Thomas joined his father’s company ESM in Austria for a few years and then was employed at the Schreiber Company in Nauheim, Germany as operations manager. In this position he filled the role of his father Ernst to modernize and make the production of clarinets, bassoons and oboes more efficient at Schreiber. In this role he worked closely

Dr. Susanne Schnitzer shares her memories growing up in the Kirschnek family. Grandfather Franz Krischnek, founder of Kirschnek String Instruments, was a businessman with worldwide connections (many of them to the United States) while his daughter Ilse Fischer managed the rest. She took the children on daily errands through Bubenreuth center of the Schönbach luthiers after 1945. Susanne remembers going to the Framus Music Kindergarten and picking tone woods with her mom. She studied to become a doctor of medicine, has her own medical practice, and at the same time is the right han

Roland Wilfer is a fourth generation master luthier of the Emanuel Wilfer Double Bass Master Workshop. The workshop was founded 1905 and is specialized in crafting fine double basses for classical music, jazz, rockabilly and blues. Owner Roland Wilfer visits three trade shows a year to meet his clients, many musicians and enthusiasts of the basses that he and eight employees of the fine workshop make. Marketing is done by word of mouth. The business has shifted from wholesalers to musicians contacting Roland Wilfer directly, and that’s just fine with him.

Rudolf Neudörfer, bow maker, grew up in the Czech Republic after 1945 and went to the Violin Making School in Luby, learning the craft of violin making from his teacher Bohumil Pechar and Hans Schmirler. He then worked at the Cremona cooperation for string instruments in town until he escaped socialist Czechia by posing as a ski coach at the Olympic Games in Innsbruck 1964. After an apprenticeship in bow making in Bubenreuth his path led to Switzerland where he worked at the Finkel workshop for six years before opening his own workshop. During stays in the United States at the Wei

Bastian Teller is a bridge maker in the 5th generation. Since he was a child, Bastian wanted to step into his father Manfred’s footsteps. After receiving his state certified diploma for mechanical engineering he started in the family’s workshop. Over many years he learned from his dad how to choose the right maple wood. Bastian describes the art of making bridges as a precise mix of “modern industrial education with traditional craftsmanship.” In 1999 the company introduced CNC machines and has shifted its focus from mass-production to quality bridges for the high-end market.

Hagen Weise was born in Dresden. He shares his experience of his apprenticeship at Musima in a state run production in East Germany before 1989. Per day, four-hundred classical guitars were built until the material allotted for the day was used up. The guitar makers sometimes finished their work at 2 PM. After reunification Hagen Weise moved to Bubenreuth and started working at the Paesold workshop where he switched to making violins. In 2004 he received his master diploma. A colleague who worked at Höfner Klaus Clement and Hagen decided to open their own shop. Today Hagen Weise w

Norman Treitl’s grandfather was Otto Josef Klier, who established the Klira company to be the third largest music instrument production during Bubenreuth’s boom years. Norman Treitl can tell how Klira started out producing violins, soon thereafter adding guitars and electric guitars to their portfolio. When the grandfather died in 1961 his wife Rosa took over. She lead the company through good times and slower days when the production had to switch to making wooden badminton rackets to keep Klira's employees going. When the Framus company went bankrupt Klira bought the building an

Jerry Fuller recorded a Rockabilly version of “Tennessee Waltz” which was a favorite of Elvis Presley and gave Jerry extra status among Elvis and Rockabilly fans alike. Yet it was his skills as a songwriter that resulted in big hit records for Ricky Nelson, Gary Puckett and Al Wilson! Ricky Nelson recorded several of Jerry’s songs including “Travelin Man,” which was originally intended for Sam Cooke. He did however record another song written by Jerry, “Fools Paradise."

Honoring Bob Wilson for his invaluable service in assisting the NAMM Resource Center in obtaining fantastic interview contributions to the NAMM Oral History Program. This video contains some of the highlight interviews that Bob helped us gather over the years. Thank you Bob!

Roland Schuster is a bridge maker in the town of Bubenreuth, which has been the center of production for string instruments in Germany since 1945. He started his craft in the workshop of Ernst Heinrich Roth and later worked for Josef Teller specializing in bridges. When violin makers asked him to make customized bridges, he realized that this was his calling. Since 1996 Roland has had his own workshop making bridges of the highest quality that align to his customer’s requests.

Günter Lobe is a violin maker who is known for his faithful copies of Stradivari and other famous violins. He was an apprentice from 1977 to 1980 in the Ernst Heinrich Roth workshop in Bubenreuth, Germany and in 2008 Günter became master of the guild of string instrument makers with about 50 members in the area. He organizes group exhibits with his colleagues at trade shows and has been appointed to the jury for the masters’ examination. Günter received many outstanding awards for his artistry throughout his career and can pride himself to count the Sultan of Oman as one of his cu

Willie Chambers and his brothers fell in love with gospel music while growing up singing in church. Even though they received some strong criticism, they expanded the places where church music was heard, including night clubs and bars in the late 1950s and early 1960s. With the support of Pete Seeger, the Chambers Brothers branched into folk music and later into rock and roll. They recorded several albums and scored a 1968 hit with a psychedelic soul anthem that ran 11 minutes called “Time Has Come Today.” They pioneered folk rock and played a vital role during the Civil Rights mo

Hans-Peter Messner's story begins in Trossingen. After he completed his studies in economics and law, he started working in sales and marketing for his uncle's company, Hohner, which is primarily known for its accordions and harmonicas. Here Hans-Peter gained experience with the Hohner line of electric pianos and digital sound systems. In 1986, Hans-Peter left Hohner and bought into the GEWA company, which at that time produced and distributed violins and cases in Mittenwald, Bavaria.

Titus Tost studied computer programming in the mid-1980s in East Germany. He enrolled in a newly established study program called the Studio for Electronic Sound Generation (SEKD) in Dresden. Titus found the perfect outlet for his programming genius and passion for music. The Commodore 64 (later an Amiga computer and a Yamaha DX7), a rarity in East Germany at the time, were literally used around the clock to create programs and to manipulate sound. In 1989, after the fall of the Berlin wall, Titus and two other students were made assistants at the SEKD.

Terry Lowe is the founder of Timeless Communications Corp. (TCC) and the publisher of several important trade magazines including FRONT of HOUSE (FOH), Musical Merchandise Review (MMR) and Projection, Lights & Staging News (PLSN). Terry played drums professionally until his mid-20s when he shifted focus to a career behind the scenes with roles as manager and booking agent for several bands and marketing/advertising manager for music magazines (He was with Performance magazine for 3-years and Mix Magazine for 7-years.) as well as launching PLSN in 2000, which was just months af

This video is of our annual NAMM Tribute, created in honor of our members and music industry friends who passed away in 2019 and early 2020. This Tribute was shown for the first time at the NAMM Show in Anaheim, California on January 16, 2020. 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).

Michael O’Dorn remembered the moment he met one of his musical heroes, Merle Travis. Mr. Travis flicked a thumb pick to young Michael, who soon developed an even greater appreciation for the man and his music. The two became friends and Michael worked long and hard to understand and later teach the many guitar techniques that made Mr. Travis so unique. In 1993, Michael began working with the D’Aquisto String Company, which led him to his first NAMM Show. Five years later he was approached by William Bay of the Mel Bay Publishing Company to write a method book dedicated to Merle Tr

Jonathan "Sugarfoot" Moffett grew up in New Orleans and used the style he developed in clubs, starting at the age of 10, to create a unique place in music history. His first significant recording in 1979 of “Don’t Stop the Music” by Yardbrough & Peoples led him to an introduction of the Jackson family and a world tour. He continued his career as a touring drummer for Michael Jackson, Elton John and Madonna, which included such high points as backing up Madonna during the first Live Aid concert in 1985.

Ellen White did not work in the music store her husband Jerry operated for many years and yet her supportive role helped that little retail business grow into the White House of Music chain consisting of multiple locations. Both Jerry and Ellen were teaching when Jerry decided to join his cousin in the music business. Jerry followed his passion in music while Ellen continued with her passion of teaching. Her steady salary allowed Jerry to put all of his earnings back into the business. When he bought out his cousin, Ellen suggested the store be renamed to White House of Music.

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 and his wife, Ellen, both became schoolteachers and Jerry continued to play on the side. When he had an opportunity to join his cousin at a small music store in 1961, Jerry jumped at the chance. With many long hours and rarely taking money out of the business, that little store grew into the White House of Music with six locations. Jerry became active in the Scull Groups, as well as serving as Tr