Music Retail
Chris Syllaba grew up in Washington D.C. and found music throughout the city during his childhood years. He soon found a position within Jordan Kitt’s Music store in 1984 and rose through the ranks to his current position as the President and CEO. During his Oral History interview at the 2017 NAMM...
Mike Martin grew up tinkering on his grandmother’s piano before and taking piano lessons throughout his school years. Hearing his first synthesizer helped provide the motivation to work towards buying his first one in the early 1980s which he still has today. Mike got his official start in the...
George Mantoan got his start in music by playing in a rock and roll band. He took his knowledge of music products and ran a successful music store in downtown Chicago. He also offered credit to musicians in the area that needed to finance instruments, and would go around to local clubs on Saturday...
Neal Pomerantz developed a passion for music at a young age. He started on the guitar and had aspirations to become a rockstar. In 1988, Neil took a job at a local music store to make some extra money while playing, but he never thought it would turn into a career. Neal is now the Vice President of...
DeDe Heid met her husband Todd while selling his music store, Heid Music, their newspaper advertising. After attending numerous NAMM Shows with Todd, as well as other business meetings, DeDe decided to get involved with the store around 2009 and now serves as the Executive Vice President of Heid...
Brian Reardon, owner of Monster Music in Levittown, New York, got his start manufacturing record racks to house albums and songbooks in record stores. One of his customers was Monster Music. Brian went on to eventually purchase Monster Music in 2005 and discovered his love for music retail. About a...
Terry Bissette began playing drums as a kid in South Florida, where he lived through the heyday of live music in the 1970’s and 80’s, performing six nights a week at various clubs. He took an interest in music retail, especially with drum kits and percussive instruments. Terry became the main drum...
Robert Christie grew up listening to classical music at home and naturally gravitated towards percussion instruments. When he was five years old he began to play drums in church, and later on continued his studies in school. He went to Valparaiso University in Indiana where he was one of the first...
Todd Heid of Heid Music grew up watching the shop operate and found his passion for the business during his high school years. In the early years of Heid Music, the store had a large product spread including household appliances and TV sets. Todd’s father took over in 1985 with a focus on expanding...
Summer Pittman began taking piano and voice lessons at Contemporary Music Center when she was seven years old. After studying with many teachers, Summer also started playing guitar. She helped her father with designing that layout of the store, and focused on bringing a vibe to the rooms, and...