Drums
Gary Panton grew up in Niagara, New York, and played the drums and vibes in high school. It was there that he started his first band, a jazz trio. In 1970 he was hired by Dick Crino in Dunkirk, New York, to work in his small music store. While Gary started on the sales floor, he soon followed Dick’...
Jim Mingo learned much more than he can put into words from his experience in his school's marching band. Jim developed many skills he uses to this day including how to work within a team and how to listen to others. While playing in college he worked for a sound company and later would provide...
Gary Hobbs is a third generation professional drummer. His grandfather Harry led several big bands during the Great Depression era and his father, who later became a strong leader within the Vancouver, Washington Chamber of Commerce, played for swing bands during World War II. Gary has played drums...
Mel Brown didn’t have the money growing up to afford drum sticks so he used rolled up newspapers to bang out a beat nearly everywhere he went. At the age of 17, young Mel was playing in area night clubs. While attending Portland State University (on a full scholarship), he met Marvin Gaye while the...
Jack Bruno was just 16 when his rock band, Apple Pie Motherhood Band, landed a record deal with Atlantic. The band was based in Boston and drove down to New York to record there, and even after the two albums were completed Jack decided to stay. He later moved to Los Angeles in the mid 1970s where...
Terry West started playing in bands at an early age and continued throughout his twenties and thirties. He was always one to maintain a day job, and his many roles at an outdoor advertising company combined with his experience as a working musician turned out to be the perfect training path for his...
Bill Koepnick is the co-founder of Advantage Audio in Burbank, CA where he specializes in creating and recording sound effects for movies and television. Bill got interested in music at a young age and was an avid fan of The Ventures. His instrument of choice was the drums and he played in the band...
T. Bruce Wittet is the widely read drum journalist who began his musical passion playing harmonica. His love for all things music led him to an exciting career playing in the school’s jazz ensemble, gigging in coffee houses and working as a studio musician for over 12 years. These experiences...
John Maier had parents that were both singers and would often hang out at the theater where his parents would perform. He used to get in trouble for tapping his pencil during tests and would have to take his test outside of the classroom – early signs of a promising drummer! After developing a love...
Ron McMaster grew up in the Sacremento area and joined a rock band while still in school. The band went through a few name changes before settling on Public Nuisance. They released a single and later recorded a full album (Gotta Survive), which was not released at that time. Years later the album...