Music Manufacturing
Bryan Eagle developed a love for the blues at an early age, which ran as a thread throughout his life, first as a kid listening to early R&B records to college working for a concert production company. When he was approached to help direct the St. Blues Company, Bryan jumped at the chance to...
Karl Schulze’s grandfather worked in the piano business during his career, so it certainly was not out of place when young Karl began learning the craft of piano building. Karl worked for the C. Bechstein Piano Company, which was founded in 1853. When the company went up for sale in 1986, Karl...
Lee Hargrove grew up in a musical home, one that not only produced Lee and his life long career in music, but also his sister, Linda Hargrove, who became a successful songwriter in Nashville (she penned hits for George Jones, Johnny Cash and others). Lee too wrote songs, although his focus was on...
Earl Matzkin was arrested by the East German Army in 1985 for trying to pass the Berlin Wall that divided the country without the needed visas in order to visit the Petrof Piano Company. Earl had high hopes for exporting the piano to the United States, but was unaware of what was required to enter...
Bill Price was active in the band instrument business after being involved with other industries and as a result has a very unique and positive perspective on the music industry. Bill was hired to join CG Conn by his longtime friend Bill Cordier. Together they had an interest in purchasing the...
Mark Wentling is the CEO and President of Ashly Audio in upstate New York. As an engineer Mark established himself within the industry as a creative and passionate contributor to such companies as MXR, Fender and the Music Man. The amp products he worked on in those early days continue to...
Michael Laiacona wanted to create a guitar box with special effects just for himself. In fact, when he first showed it to the members of Taj Mahal in 1971, Michael didn't even have a name for it, nor did he think at the time it would be a product someone else would buy. When the band ordered...
Bob Berkman has a passion about the player piano and the player piano rolls. Bob's grandparents had a player piano when he was a child and he grew up fascinated by the instrument. Once while in dental school, on a long weekend, Bob traveled to the QRS factory to make his own roll, having no idea...
Paul Monachino grew up in the Rochester, New York area during the big band era. He played trumpet and set out to see as many of the dance bands as he could including his hero Harry James. After serving during World War II, Paul was hired by the American Piano Company in 1946, the same year he was...
Kate Riessland was born in England in the years following World War II and soon found she had an interest in learning all she could about the German culture. While in Germany, in 1969, she answered an ad for a job with the Götz Company. The company was looking for someone with perfect English and...