Oral History - all
Michael Aguilar played instruments both in and out of his school music programs growing up, which proved to be a wonderful background later in his career. After nearly five years in the retail end of consumer electronics, Michael became National Sales Manager for the tape recorder division at... more
Jamey Aebersold’s name is synonymous with the play-a-long style music books, which have aided and inspired thousands upon thousands of musicians! Jamey does not refer to his publications as method books, but rather as a tool to have musicians tap into their creativity and use their imagination... more
Peggy Powell is near and dear to the NAMM family having participated in many events, especially those with her husband, Specs Powell. Specs was a studio drummer who helped Marty Cohen launch the Latin Percussion company based on his needs for percussive related hardware. Peggy played a vital role... more
Ryoichi Totsuka began his notable career in the music industry right after college as a salesman for Kawai Pianos in Japan. The experience inspired Ryoichi-san as he sought other opportunities to contribute to the piano side of the industry. In 1980 he helped establish the European office for Kawai... more
Bill Crow had a long and successful career as a jazz bassist for such Bebop pioneers as Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan. In later years he joined the board for the New York chapter of the Musicians Union, which led to his second career as a writer. He was asked to write a regular column for the union’... more
Robert Leininger worked for Crown International for 21 years both as purchasing manager and production manager. The Elkhart, Indiana based manufacturing plant produced a string of innovative and successful products including reel to reel machines, microphones, loudspeakers, and amplifiers. Bob was... more
Jason Lollar loves playing the guitar and even at an early age he had an eye for creating his own sounds. As he developed his skills and gigged with his friends, he realized some of the classic guitar pickups were no longer being made. He set out develop what is now a world renown line of products... more
Stephanie Lollar has passionately but quietly been in the background of the pickup company she and her husband Jason formed back in 1987. Since the beginning of the company, Stephanie supported the business in every way, including running the books, hiring employees and building the brand name. She... more
Honoring Gerhard Meinl 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 Gerhard helped us gather over the years.
Gordon Kennedy is the songwriter behind such hits as Eric Clapton’s “Change the World” and Bonnie Raitt’s “Gypsy in Me.” As many may also know, Gordon is a sought after musician who has recorded and performed with Garth Brooks, Ricky Skaggs and Peter Frampton (to name but a few). His parents sang... more
Bill Schnee has always enjoyed utilizing the latest technology to the fullest when it comes to recording music. As an award-winning engineer, Bill and his crew designed cutting edge equipment (alongside Doug Sax) for Schnee Studio to help optimize capturing a recorded performance - which included a... more
Simon Jones has a rich background with the guitar, which has come full circle with his role with the Yamaha Guitar Group. As a teenager he played, and even built his own guitar to play with his friends. He continued to play in college and took an interesting path within the pro audio and recording... more
Carla Olson grew up playing in 60’s cover bands all the while cutting her teeth as a songwriter. After performing in the band Silver Clouds, Carla teamed with Markus Cuff, David Provost and Kathy Valentine to form the Textones in 1978. Carla left after a few years, as did some of the other founders... more
Marco Moir, who studied at the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, began playing guitar for area bands. Over the years he developed the skills as a guitar technician and learned the craft of recording engineer. His long list of performers he has worked with over the years include Lynyrd Skynyrd,... more
Paul Hanoud always enjoyed providing the audio equipment for live concerts. While studying to become an electrician, Paul worked in a hi-fi store deepening his knowledge of the gear and the companies that developed and manufactured the equipment, especially loudspeakers. In 1976 he and his wife ... more
Salani, whose African name is Wamkanganise Nagaadza, feels very strongly about the role musical instruments play in honoring our ancestors. The Mbira, which he builds and plays speaks to the traditions of Africa and his own family’s roots. The Mbira is also known as the finger harp and is traced... more
Danielle Engen wears many hats at Electric Feel, something that seems to be a trend in her career in the recording industry. Always willing to pitch in and cover whatever needs to be done has led to her managing producers and iconic recording spaces. She was hired as an intern at the Sanctuary... more
Rick Kessel was the Publisher at MMR, working closely with Sid Davis, when he had a few ideas to expand their content to reach more specific readers. As a result the magazines School Band & Orchestra (SBO) and JazzEd were created. These publications played a vital role in addressing the needs... more
James Brady was front and center during the MIDI boom, working within the keyboard department at Rushworth’s Music House in Liverpool. The year was 1986 and the synthesizer was at its peak in popularity. As a musician, who was already using electric keyboards and analog synths to create his own... more
Dallas Smith began playing the clarinet at the age of eleven. By the time he was in high school he was in an all-star group and later focused on classical music throughout college. His love for jazz and new age music emerged over the years and Dallas found himself naturally adding classical... more