California
Jon Andersen has enjoyed playing music nearly his entire life. A jazz saxophonist, Jon played in a number of small and large bands over the years and found work with several noted musicians in and around his neighborhood, Santa Barbara. When he was approached by his longtime friend Nick Rail, to...
Kenny Smith serves as the Managing Director of the Peavey Hollywood store on Sunset Boulevard. However, this is only part of what he does in the shop. Kenny is a born salesman and enjoys teaching others fresh and effective ways to sell musical products. He feels nothing is more important than...
Alan Rosen sat down for his first interview for the NAMM Oral History program in January 2014. It was a special occasion as it was Alan’s 30th anniversary of his first show and his 30th winter show, as he has not missed one since first attending! Capturing this interview was also important for...
Cliff Unruh has a background in marketing and was pursuing such a career when he was given the opportunity to sell Hammond Organs –and he jumped at the chance. He fell in love with the instrument as well as the history of the product. He enjoys bringing music and the sound of the Hammond into...
Thomas Austin was a key part of the Sherman Clay team for over 40 years! The store chain focused on pianos; however, Thomas recalls the home organ boom in the 1970s as the company was a Hammond Organ dealer. The company was formed in San Francisco in 1870 and grew to be the biggest (for a time)...
John Waltrip began being involved in music as a small child and in fact, became the main pianist for his church as a teenager. He played in the school bands and studied music in college. He taught music after college before being drafted. Even in the army, John sang in the choir group, which...
Cecil Ramirez started in the music industry in retail, at the Music Box in Lodi, California. He created a keyboard studio feel within the store in1983, which was an exciting time of technological advances in electronic instrumentation. Cecil remembered the early days of MIDI and the synthesizer...
Allan Small played music as a young student and earned his degree in music education, then became a band director for almost a decade. As a band director in Pennsylvania he was involved with a program created by the Selmer Company called Bands for America. The training for this program was a...
Betty Kline was getting a little tired of running to town for band accessories when her husband, a music director, needed something for his students. What started out being a large box of accessories in her home developed into some of the key band and orchestra music stores in the Sacramento area...
Penny Kline grew up in the music business as her mother was the founder of Kline Music in Sacramento, California and her father was a band director in area schools. When her father needed musical accessories for his students he asked his wife to run downtown to the music store. After months of...