Artist Relations
Kenji Chiwaki followed in the footsteps of Toru Hora as the president of Buffet Crampon Japan. Hora-san opened the branch in Tokyo in 1967 and helped establish the brand within the Asian market. Kenji joined the company in 1986 and has focused on the three elements he learned from his predecessor...
Chris Thomas has worked in several areas of the C.F. Martin & Company factory in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Chris worked in the binding department among others before having the opportunity to work with Dick Boak in Artist Relations. Chris has worked with many of Martin's most recent artists to...
Ren Wall proudly followed his father's footsteps and worked in the Gibson Guitar Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He began working for the company in 1960 and continued until 1982. A few years later he returned to the very same factory to work for Heritage Guitar Company, which was formed by...
Dave Weiderman was raised in a family with a great love of music. Dave’s father owned a music store in Chicago, where Dave was able to meet some of the great musicians of the time. His early years as a player were influenced by watching Buddy Rich live and wanting to make music of his own. His...
Larry Ramirez had a fascinating career in music! As a trumpet player he landed his dream job designing instruments for many of his childhood heroes! While working for Leblanc, Larry was assigned to repair the instruments of many of the company’s top endorsers. Over time he developed friendships...
Dave Surber’s father was a United States Navy musician who worked for the Leblanc Company after he retired from the navy. When Dave was looking for a job his father found one for him in the buffing room at Leblanc. Dave moved into polishing clarinet keys while his father worked with artist...
Joe Cook began working in the music products industry with Selmer in 1966 with a focus on the saxophone products. He joined the Gemeinhart Flute Company in 1986 and remained with the famed Elkhart, Indiana firm until the time of his mini interview in 2011. While working with the Selmer Company,...
Dan Smith was inducted into Fender’s Hall of Fame for good reason. Dan designed the re-launching of the famous guitar company after it was sold by CBS. Dan’s vision was to bring the product back to the early concepts that originally made the Fender name famous. His success led to a long career with...
Bruce Bolen has had a long and colorful career in the music industry spanning nearly 50 years and with two of the best-known guitar makers in the world. Mr. M.H. Berlin, the president of Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI), first hired Bruce into the industry. At the time, CMI owned Gibson Guitars...
Tom Kowalczyk served a long post as the artist relations director at Kurzweil Music. Tom had begun his career in music retail in the 1970s and became an expert on electronic keyboards as a salesman and musician. Ray Kurzweil, the company founder and instrument innovator, hired Tom to assist with...