California
Eleanor Giacoletti began playing piano as a child. While in college, studying music education, she realized she had a strong passion for providing meaningful lessons to young students. In 1978, she attended a Yamaha Music School program and talked her husband, Bob, into opening a music school. The...
Glenn Treibitz purchased Hollywood Piano from the original owners which was established in 1928. As the “go to” piano store for movies and television, Hollywood Piano has provided pianos to the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Frank Sinatra, the set of the television hit Frasier, and Casablanca. Hollywood...
Evan Skopp is the president of Inside Track International, which is a boutique sales & marketing firm that works with luthiers and guitar manufacturers. He started out in music at an early age, playing the piano, cello, and guitar. After relocating to Santa Barbara for a job at a law firm, Evan...
Jim Salzer opened his first store in 1966 with a focus on selling records. At the time Jim was a concert promoter in Southern California and really understood what teenagers and young adults were interested in hearing. His concerts involved acts such as The Doors, Led Zeppelin, and The Grateful...
Rob Joly was playing in a surf band in 1966 when Leo Fender hired him to work at a teenage fair. The fair attracted young students and Leo felt the event would be great to introduce his new line of guitars. As a thank you gift for his help, Leo gave Rob a P-Bass! Just a few years later, Rob began...
Eric Schoenberg opened his own guitar shop in Tiburon, California after working music retail on the east coast for decades. Over the years he watched the vintage guitar market grow and develop. He also designed his own line of Schoenberg Guitars beginning in the 1980s. The folk craze of the late...
Dana Bentley opened Bentley Drum Shop in Fresno, California in 1992. The store has hosted over four special events and clinics each year and provides in-house lesson programs that have inspired and encouraged musicians throughout central California. Playing drums since he was in the fifth grade,...
Perry Capalbo spent many years working with his dad, Nate, at the family music store, Downey Music. Downey Music was opened by Nate Capalbo when he left La Habra Music, which was founded by his brother, Toby Capalbo, who was interviewed by the NAMM Oral History program in 2010. Perry and his...
Mike Capalbo worked as manager at Downey Music which was started by his dad, Nate Capalbo. The family owned and operated, Downey Music was established in 1952 when Nate left La Habra Music. Mike recalls how his father, Nate, used his passion for music and some financial help from his parents, to...
Kevin Prosser took over the piano and organ store his parents established in the mid-1980s. His brother later came into the business, which had several locations throughout Washington State. In the late 1990s, Kevin opened a store in Palm Springs and ran it for several years. During that same time...