California
Jack Pinney grew up in San Diego, California, where he developed a love of music and began playing drums in the early 1960s. When some friends wanted to form a band, Jack was eager to join them, after all he had noticed the screaming girls following The Beatles and thought it looked fun. The...
Bob Riskin started working for McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica just a few years after it opened in 1958. Before long the shop was abuzz with the folk music boom and later played an equally important role in the folk-rock craze that expanded the shop to include electric guitars for the first...
Kevin Jarvis began working for Gelb Music in Redwood City, California in 1966 as a guitar teacher. The store was established in 1939 by Sydney Gelb, who was still running the store when Kevin joined the store. Kevin fell in love with the music business as he continued to teach and play...
Craig Bosco is a musician and manager of Music Village, a retail store in San Jose, California. Craig's passion for music began at an early age and over the years he has become a professional bass player, all the while enjoying the thrill of working with fellow musicians and gear heads such as...
Anita DeBlasio manages the Union Ave. location of Music Village in San Jose, California. The store was established by Joe Teixeina in 1964 to serve the musicians and to foster music in the lives of beginners. Anita has a true passion of the business and takes great pride in helping customers find...
Joe Teixeira opened a small music store in San Jose, California in 1964. As the fiftieth anniversary approached in 2013, Joe sat down for his NAMM Oral History interview to begin documenting the contributions of Music Village! The company has grown to two locations and focuses on teaching, just...
Don Kong is the manager of Music Village in San Jose, California. Don worked for a few other music companies before begging to be hired by the store's founder, Joe Teixeina, in the early 1990s. Don has worked alongside Joe, who established Music Village in 1964, and has worked hard to maintain...
Richard Abreau played music in school as a kid but got away from it during most of his professional career. Then in 2001, upon his retirement, Richard returned to music! Encouraged by a friend, he walked into Music Village and soon became one of the store’s greatest promoters! The store was...
Sarah Glew began her career in the music industry by selling records in a small store just south of San Francisco in Pacifica, California. Over time she added musical instruments and found that guitars were a great seller in the heyday of the Beatles and the British Rock Invasion. As the store...
Cassie Brueckner is the president of Pete’s Music store and the daughter of the founder. She grew up in the Anaheim, California store, where she learned to repair musical instruments and developed her skills as the store manager to take charge when Pete had a professional gig. As a brass player,...