Illinois
Barbara Paulsen is one of the joyous and passionate people our industry is lucky to have in great numbers. Barb entered the music industry as the director of national and global sales for That Corp. in Massachusetts in 1986. Within ten years she would meet her husband and move to Illinois where...
Jeff Lindahl began playing guitar and performing with his twin brother at a young age. They continued to play together throughout high school and college. At the time, Jeff formed a number of rock bands and gave guitar lessons on the side for extra spending money. Over the years he also...
Maury Rhodes enjoyed a long career in the music industry with a focus on the music publishing side of the business. He oversaw the Chicago operation of the Carl Fischer Company before being hired by the Chicago area music retailer Quinlan &Fabish where he was placed in the customer service...
Evelyn Brue-Roeder opened her music store in 1940! Her main focus in the early days was music lessons, however she soon added sheet music, accessories and musical instruments. She developed a passion for steel guitars as she witnessed their development over her career. When the pedal steel guitar...
George Roeder played the flamenco guitar and sang in Barber Shop Quartets ever since he was young. While he was taking lessons from Evelyn Breu, he took a liking to the retail business –as well as his teacher. After the couple married in the late 1960s, they formed a tremendous team both as...
Peter Bartkus grew up in Rockford, Illinois and was proud to establish a music shop there in the early 1950s. Tru Tone Music became a hub for musicians and was known throughout the area for Peter’s creative and precise instrument repairs. With a passion for the accordion, Peter enjoyed the...
Johnnie Wilson has been involved with music in his church his entire life. He has performed at weddings and church services for many years. So, it seemed like a natural progression to open a music store to provide music to others. Johnnie and his wife are among the very few African-American music...
Shenae Wilson loves providing a musical instrument in the lives of the young children who come into her store. She feels blessed that she and her husband work so closely with local churches and that they play a role in the worship music created in their customer churches. As founders of Keyboard...
Rudy Schlacher has become of the great businessmen of the music products industry, which is incredible considering his humble beginnings. With an idea of detail, customer service and the budget, Rudy took his small music retail store called the Sound Post in Chicago and expanded the business. He...
George Quinlan Jr. began working in the store his father established before he can remember, sweeping up on weekends and helping with band rental season in the fall. George worked in every position within the store to learn first hand all he could about the business. He said he also did a lot of...