Composer/Songwriter
Zenobia looked forward to church every Sunday growing up in the Los Angeles area. She loved to sing and cut her teeth on the old gospel hymns. Zenobia pursued singing and was cast in the Broadway musical Hair, worked with director/choreographer Michael Bennett and became a successful backup singer...
John Kurzweg is the recording engineer behind a host of successful albums including those by Creed, Jewel, Puddle of Mudd, and Eagle Eye Cherry. The Creed classic My Own Prison was recorded in John’s house as was John’s own album Wait For the Night, which was released in 1987. He grew up surrounded...
Karen Lafferty played an important role in the early growth and development of Contemporary Christian Music. She put music to the Bible verse Matthew 6:33 in 1974, thus creating the early and influential praise and worship song “Seek Ye First.” The song was released on Maranatha! Music, a Christian...
Dennis Alexander has sought to engage and inspire music makers at all levels throughout his long and successful career as a music educator. As a professor of music with a focus on pedagogy, Dennis began to notice the ways in which his students successfully learned to read and study music. In 1986,...
Michael Campion has attended the NAMM Show since the late 1970s, first as a wide-eyed musician, then as a retailer and finally as an exhibitor. Tracing his evolving roles at the show mirrors his fascinating career in the music industry. Playing in garage bands led to his involvement with...
Larry Blank was greatly influenced by attending Broadway musicals with his parents as a kid. As a result he studied drama yet realized he wanted to be a musician. Larry played piano growing up and as a teenager had opportunities to perform for small musical shows. Word soon spread of his abilities...
Gordon Kennedy is the songwriter behind such hits as Eric Clapton’s “Change the World” and Bonnie Raitt’s “Gypsy in Me.” As many may also know, Gordon is a sought after musician who has recorded and performed with Garth Brooks, Ricky Skaggs and Peter Frampton (to name but a few). His parents sang...
Dallas Smith began playing the clarinet at the age of eleven. By the time he was in high school he was in an all-star group and later focused on classical music throughout college. His love for jazz and new age music emerged over the years and Dallas found himself naturally adding classical...
Carla Olson grew up playing in 60’s cover bands all the while cutting her teeth as a songwriter. After performing in the band Silver Clouds, Carla teamed with Markus Cuff, David Provost and Kathy Valentine to form the Textones in 1978. Carla left after a few years, as did some of the other founders...
Mark Stein played an important role in psychedelic rock in the 1960s as keyboardist for Vanilla Fudge. His dad was a singer and was always supportive of Mark’s career in music, which began when he played accordion as a child. His dad, who later became Mark’s manager, booked him on a television...