Authors-Writers
Dr. Merryl Goldberg grew up inspired by music. Her parents wanted her to learn guitar, but she always had a soft spot in her heart for the saxophone and would sneak in lessons whenever possible. Eventually, her parents gave in, and after graduation, Merryl launched a 13-year career preforming with...
Dave McCluskey was like so many of his peers growing up in Liverpool after the Beatles who joined a rock band. He started off on guitar but switched to bass. In 1988 he landed the perfect job that allowed him to gig at night, while working in music retail during the day. Dave was a salesman for...
Tony Bolland was just 16 when he got a job at Plug In, a rock shop in Liverpool. The store was part of Hessy’s Music, the famous store which sold instruments to the Beatles in the early part of their career. Tony loved music retail and in fact later managed the main Hessy’s Music store, which was...
Phil Hilborne turned the pages while next to his mother as a child as she played the piano. That early experience was not only a wonderful memory, but a useful training opportunity to read and understand music. He developed into a guitarist and a writer. Phil was able to convey thoughts and ideas...
Don Cusic recalls that in 1964 he was greatly influenced by three musical discoveries: Roger Miller, Hank Williams, and The Beatles! After forming his own band and playing Bluegrass music for some time, Don became a professor of music at Belmont College in Nashville. During that time, he began...
Nick Bowcott is a founding member of the British heavy metal band, Grim Reaper. Nick put the band together in 1979 and by 1985 had gained commercial success namely due to Nick’s guitar skills and the band’s lead vocals by Steve Grimmett. While still with the band, Nick began writing about the gear...
Jim Merod is the founder of BluePort Sound recording studio and BluePort Jazz, his record label. Since the early 1990s, Jim has recorded a long list of legendary jazz, blues, and latin musicians including Herbie Hancock, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Kenny Barron, Clark Terry, and Wayne Shorter,...
Larry LeBlanc was just 14 years old when he wrote a story about the local music scene for a Toronto newspaper. He was soon asked to write for a monthly magazine for teens called the Canadian High News. His growing knowledge of local clubs and bands gave Larry the opportunity to book bands, which he...
Larry Dvoskin can trace his passion for music back to an early age when he was classically trained on the piano. He purchased a guitar while in high school to gain the attention of girls and soon joined a rock band. Later, Larry gravitated towards the emerging electronic keyboards and the Hammond...
Stephen Webber is a professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and helped create the Music Production/Engineering program. After working at Mid South Recording Studio in Nashville, Stephen learned firsthand the need for serious studies on the subject. While teaching at Berklee he developed...