Full Interview
Bill Schnee has always enjoyed utilizing the latest technology to the fullest when it comes to recording music. As an award-winning engineer, Bill and his crew designed cutting edge equipment (alongside Doug Sax) for Schnee Studio to help optimize capturing a recorded performance - which included a...
Ron Whittaker was just eleven years old when his father started a music retail store in Long Beach, California. Whittaker Music opened in 1946, just after World War II and Ron still remembers the struggles his father had in gaining instruments as manufacturers were still short on raw materials that...
Simon Jones has a rich background with the guitar, which has come full circle with his role with the Yamaha Guitar Group. As a teenager he played, and even built his own guitar to play with his friends. He continued to play in college and took an interesting path within the pro audio and recording...
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...
Rick Kessel was the Publisher at MMR, working closely with Sid Davis, when he had a few ideas to expand their content to reach more specific readers. As a result the magazines School Band & Orchestra (SBO) and JazzEd were created. These publications played a vital role in addressing the needs...
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...
Dr. George Shaw has had a big impact on the lives and careers of thousands of young musicians. As a music educator and sought after musician, George always looked for opportunities to engage and inspire students. While teaching at Long Beach City College, George asked many of his jazz friends to...
Susan Mazer and her husband, Dallas Smith, established the C.A.R.E. Channel, which serves over a thousand hospitals by providing peaceful and relaxing music 24 hours a day. Their goal was to reduce the noises of a healthcare setting and to help patients benefit from the healing power of music....
Darrell Leonard really enjoys his role of writing and arranging music. After touring with a band in the late 1960s, Darrell found himself arranging “Put A Little Love In Your Heart” for Kim Carnes to perform on the Joey Bishop television program. This opened up many opportunities for Darrell who...
Hedges Capers rose to fame in the late 1960s as half of the folk rock duo Hedges & Donns. He and his singing partner, Donna Carson (who was later his wife for several years) began singing together in 1967 and only had a few weeks rehearsal before making a big splash at the Troubadour in West ...