Music Retail
Vince Massimino was surrounded by music growing up as both of his parents taught music. His father was also a composer who wrote educational music. As a result, Vince played in bands (with his father in the early days) at dances and for weddings, and he estimates he has performed at over 1,000...
Marc Johnson was a band director for 27 years and in retirement felt he could help the younger generation of directors. While working for Mississippi Music as a school road rep, Marc has been able to do just that. With his knowledge and understanding of the struggles and concerns of the band...
Tommie Vaughn was just seven years old when his father purchased a piano. He played in church since age 11 and was inspired and encouraged by the church organist who also took time to show Tommie the technical side of playing. While gigging with the likes of Knight Bruce in the 1980s, Tommie...
Richie Jones Jr. began playing drums professionally when he was 12 years old for teen clubs and skating rinks. While gigging, he developed skills in production and worked for Morris Brothers Music in Jackson, Mississippi, which led to his interest in music retail. He was hired by Mississippi Music...
Jason Stanfield has always enjoyed finding new and funny sounds, which means he really enjoyed the synthesizer developments of the 1990s! He worked for Mississippi Music in Hattiesburg, Mississippi in the early 1990s where he fell in love with music retail. Jason later worked for Sam Ash in Florida...
Lauri Knapton is the founder of Knapton Musik Knotes in Janesville, Wisconsin. The store, which was established in 2000, provides musical instruments, lessons, and a long list of community outreach programs such as Rock Camp and Uke Circles. Lauri has been passionate about music since she began...
Fred Oster was encouraged by his cousin to play the guitar as a youngster, which quickly expanded to include playing the mandolin and the five string banjo. By the time Fred was playing banjo, during the height of the folk music movement of the early 1970s, he was hooked! He soon had the idea of...
Tim Dawson was inspired by his mother, a band director. All of her children played a musical instrument and Tim found the trombone! After serving as a band director for three years, Tim found an opportunity at Paige’s Music to continue his passion for music while helping to develop band programs at...
Beth Houlihan often reflects on the important role her mother played in establishing the family owned music store along with her father in 1974. Beth took note of the way her mother kept the books and worked with customers and suppliers, which has served her as President of Kidder Music. She has...
Steve Purcell grew up in a musical family and knew at a young age he wanted a life in music. After earning his degree, Steve was hired as a band director in 1977. Three years later he was encouraged to take a job at Paige’s Music calling on schools and helping band directors. He loved the idea of...