Guitars
Terry Oliver grew up in Southern California and remembers the day his father took him for guitar lessons at RC Allen’s guitar shop in 1964. The famous luthier had dozens of projects in the works including building a hollow body guitar and a banjo. In 1967, Terry’s father requested that Mr. Allen...
Cesar Rosas was born in Hermosillo, Mexico, in the state of Sonora, and was greatly influenced by the music he heard as a child growing up. He was exposed to traditional Mexican music and instruments, and continued to play the music of his heritage even after moving to East Los Angeles as a...
Fred Bernardo was repairing and teaching guitar in his local music store when the idea came to him to open his own shop. In 1972, with one guitar and a set of strings he was given as a promotion, Fred opened for business. The store grew, and within a year, Fred began hiring a staff and sought to...
Mark Guerrero has had a passion for music ever since he was a young boy growing up in East Los Angeles. His father was singer/songwriter Lalo Guerrero, who inspired a generation of Chicano musicians. Growing up, Mark was surrounded by a wide variety of music both in his home and in the community,...
Matt Guzzetta loves to design things. He designed a motorcycle that won a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for a coast to coast ride on only one tank of gas. As it turned out, one of his car shops was next door to the American Dream guitar shop where Bob Taylor and Greg Deering (among...
Charlie Redden played guitar in bands when he was in school and always has had a passion for playing. After working for Amazon in the early days of that company's history, back when they only sold books and CDs, Charlie earned a degree in economics at San Diego State University and soon found an...
Mike “Monte” Montefusco played both trumpet and piano as a kid before playing bass guitar professionally for several years. Like many touring musicians, Monte worked in a local music store while off the road, which ignited his passion for the music products industry. Beginning in 1996, Monte joined...
Chris Wellons was playing percussion in grade school, and about the same time, he took an interest in wood working. He was hired as a cabinet builder while still in school and continued in the field until he was made aware of a job at Taylor Guitars in 1992. Chris was the 34th employee and was...
Tim O’Brien joined the Taylor Guitar team in the marketing department back in 2013. At the time, the digital world was changing with the rise of smart phones and social media. Tim assembled a team that took a fresh approach to marketing and helped the company make great use of their own unique and...
Tony Louscher saw Jimi Hendrix live at the San Diego Sports Arena in 1970, which became an inspirational event in forming his musical passion. Just a few years later, Tony began working at the American Dream guitar shop where he met Greg Deering, Bob Taylor and his lifelong friend Kurt Listug. He...