Full Interview
Harry Sparks is the founder of the Famous Old Time Music Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Harry grew up in the folk and bluegrass era of the 1960s and joined a band at a young age. Over the years he began repairing instruments, at first for his band mates and friends, which led to him opening the store...
Daniel Fisher has a long and interesting history in music, which began as a child when his parents discovered that he could play by ear at age 5. His education continued on a Hammond B3 organ when nuns taught Daniel in their convent and he began playing synthesizers starting in the mid-1970s. In...
Jim Kincaid has fond memories of his father singing and playing his guitar. Jim’s father was the folk singer and publisher, Bradley Kincaid, who helped pioneer folk music on the radio in the 1920s and 30s, throughout the Midwest and the New England area. His father retired from his music career at...
Jack Casady played electric bass for the Jefferson Airplane before forming the band Hot Tuna with his lifelong friend, Jorma Kaukonen. Jack and Jorma played together in Jefferson Airplane at the beginning of that band in 1965 and while the band continued to record, they formed Hot Tuna in 1969....
Ami Belli grew up in the Philippines surrounded by music. She played piano as a girl and would often sing with her mother and sisters. She earned her medical degree and moved to the United States, where she focused on alternative medicine. While practicing in Los Angeles, she met Remo Belli, who...
Barbara Gensmer established herself as one of the top church organ dealers in the United States, having sold and installed over 1,200 units since the 1970s. She focused on Minnesota and Wisconsin, and stayed loyal to the Rodgers Instrument Company for most of her career. In 1991, when Rodgers...
Luigi Bruti was an accordion champion as a teenager and was asked by the Siel Musical Instrument Company to demonstrate their latest products. It was the beginning of his life long career in the music products industry. Luigi became a product engineer helping with several noted instruments,...
Dana Bourgeois formed Bourgeois Guitars in 1993, having already worked as a luthier on several projects including those with Paul Reed Smith and Eric Schoenberg. His passion for guitar building began in college when he read Classic Guitar Construction by Irving Stone. His first repair shop was...
Frank Baxter is the proud founder of Piano World (PianoWorld.com). Having programed webpages in the early 1990s, Frank used his skill and his insight that the web would soon be growing, to create a platform for his business. As a piano technician, Frank found his online marketing very successful as...
Pete Langdell grew up in Northern Vermont and takes great pride in the fact that he has lived and worked in the same area his entire life. When he had an opportunity to establish his own musical instrument company, Rigel, making mandolins and guitars, he insisted the factory be located in Vermont. ...