Full Interview
Chris Leonard grew up surrounded by gear! His father served as sound engineer for local events and at church. This exposure ignited a passion in Chris and set his career path in the direction of Live Sound. Among the gigs important to him in his early career were providing sound for the...
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...
Brockett Parsons is proud of the musical education he received in grade school, which was furthered by participating in the school band program at his high school. He went on to graduate from Berklee College of Music. He cut his teeth on classical and jazz while having a strong interest in R&B...
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’...
Michael Aguilar played instruments both in and out of his school music programs growing up, which proved to be a wonderful background later in his career. After nearly five years in the retail end of consumer electronics, Michael became National Sales Manager for the tape recorder division at...
Jamey Aebersold’s name is synonymous with the play-a-long style music books, which have aided and inspired thousands upon thousands of musicians! Jamey does not refer to his publications as method books, but rather as a tool to have musicians tap into their creativity and use their imagination...
Bill Crow had a long and successful career as a jazz bassist for such Bebop pioneers as Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan. In later years he joined the board for the New York chapter of the Musicians Union, which led to his second career as a writer. He was asked to write a regular column for the union’...
Karla Redding-Andrew’s father, Otis Redding, committed himself early on in his short career to philanthropy. The soul legend started a camp inviting 600 school students to learn about music and the arts back in 1966. Otis also awarded scholarships to young students and after his untimely death in...
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...