Oral History - all
Ryan Smith remembers with pride the day in the 5th grade when he joined the school band playing drums. That special feeling of making music and being a part of something bigger than himself has stayed with him. In fact, as a employee at Beacock Music in Vancouver, Washington, he is able to relive... more
Kieran Downes played piano as a child, but switched to bass in high school to play in a friend's band, and later discover his true musical passion when he picked up his brother’s guitar. While experimenting with building his own instruments at night, Kieran had an impressive educational journey... more
Steve Hall has become a master at mastering! The art of mastering engineering (the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from the final mix to a data storage device) has developed over the years, especially influenced by the change in technology for which Steve embraced throughout... more
Jim Hallwyler is a music retailer in Eugene, Oregon whose introduction to the industry was thanks to his father's friend Lyle Heater. The LD Heater Company, formed by Lyle's father in 1918, became an important distributor of musical instruments and one of the first in the industry to provide "... more
Sylvia Massy has always been fascinated by art in all forms. She began painting at an early age and as a teenager had her own radio program. As a musical performer she first focused on learning the skills needed to record her own music but soon discovered many of her friends were requesting her... more
Rob Eastman and his wife DeAnna established Musician's Friend in 1983, which became the leading mail order musical instrument business in the country. Rob's father, Bud, opened a music store in San Jose, California in the mid 1960s and began writing a small newsletter for his customers. By 1967... more
Jim Armstrong worked in the music publishing industry for many years, both for Charlie Hansen and Columbia Music. His music career began at the famous music retailer in southern California, Wallich’s Music City in 1968. He soon switched to working for innovative publisher Mr. Hansen in Florida,... more
Greg Martin was able to combine the many musical styles he admired growing up when he helped form the Kentucky Headhunters. The band made up of friends began playing together in 1968 and in 1986 officially changed their name from the Itchy Brother to the Kentucky Headhunters. They released their... more
Trish Montgomery is the Accounts Manager for Amro Music, a 100-year-old music retail store in Memphis, Tennessee. She began working for Amro in 1990 when Chip Averwater, the grandson of the founder, hired her to do data entry as the company updated their computer programs. The position soon grew to... more
Barry Trobaugh gives great credit to his childhood music teachers and band directors for the passion and love he has for being a music educator. After receiving his bachelors degree from Memphis State University, he returned to earn his masters in school administration as he felt the latter would... more
Jimmy Haslip is a true musician’s musician with a career filled with hundreds of recording dates and live sound events that date back to his teen years. Perhaps best known as an original member of the Yellowjackets, Jimmy grew up in Long Island, NY and was exposed to nearly every style of music and... more
Brady Massey was so inspired by his music teachers and band directors while in school that he decided to follow in their footsteps. After receiving his bachelors in music education and his masters in composition, Brady’s first teaching job was in Turman, Arkansas. From the very first day in music... more
Randy Dorman joined Kenny Rogers' road band in 1977 and worked with the legendary country singer until his last tour in 2017. Along the way Randy performed with each one of Kenny’s guest artists (including Willie Nelson, George Burns, Dolly Parton and Ray Charles) and also appeared on Kenny’s many... more
Marty Sheller is the award winning arranger and jazz trumpeter whose musical skills can be heard on hundreds of recordings. He worked with Mongo Santamaria for many years (yes, that is Marty taking the trumpet solo on “Watermelon Man”) beginning in 1961. Marty was also the house arranger for Fania... more
Sonny Landreth was born in Canton, Mississippi and grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, grounding his musical foundation in the blues, jazz, zydeco and rock and roll. He played trumpet in school and switched to guitar in order to play in a rock band with fellow high school friends. One of his bands,... more
Jim Palenscar opened up his small shop, Steel Guitars of North County, in Oceanside, California back in 2000. While in college, Jim heard the steel guitar on Jackson Browne’s recording of “Redneck Friend” which soon led to a lifelong interest as a player and repairman of the instrument. When asthma... more
Nick Averwater is part of the fourth generation of the Averwater family to be working at Amro Music in Memphis, TN. Nick fondly remembers his time as a kid running around the store and working odd-jobs for extra money. After obtaining his MBA with a focus in finance and completing an internship... more
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... more
Robert Estrin grew up studying piano alongside his sister with their father who was a noted concert pianist and teacher. He was first exposed to the French horn while in school and learned that instrument as well - a challenge that improved his musical ability overall. He would go on to attend the... more
Clyde Fitch provided the help and support to his wife, Bonnie, which was greatly appreciated when opening her music retail store in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1981. Her passion for music and education brought them both to the decision that she could serve students and teachers alike with strong customer... more