Music Retail
Larry Cragg is sometimes called the guitar repairman to the stars! He established a repair shop in Marin County, California, to offer an extensive selection of rare and vintage equipment as well as instrument repairs. Since 1969, Larry has repaired guitars for such artists as Carlos Santana, Bob...
David Dawkes is proud of his family's connection with the music industry. It was his grandfather who formed Dawkes Music. After losing hearing in one ear from playing in a band, his grandfather took to repairing instruments in his garage. This is where their family business began. From simple...
Frank Pampenella is the owner and president of PM Music Center in Aurora, IL and has worked in the music industry for over 30 years. He founded PM Music Center in 1982, when he transitioned his successful wedding consulting agency, and lesson studio into a full-service music center specializing in...
Bob Rupp was on his way to Hollywood to make his name as a session player when his car broke down in Denver. The year was 1979 and Bob never left Denver. Without a job, Bob played around town and made some side money selling Dragon Drum sets. The demand grew and soon Bob found himself making and...
Jon Dawkes talked about the long-term vision of music education promotion at Dawkes Music during his NAMM Oral History interview. With help from brother David, Jon puts great effort in to creating musicians within the local schools. One of Dawkes Music’s first promotional steps began with a...
Cris Behrens began working with Summerhays Music Center at the age of 19. He earned a degree in band instrument repair from Red Wing Technical College and spent his first five years at Summerhays repairing instruments. After catching the sales bug, Cris attended Utah Valley State College for...
Tom Van Hoose has become an expert on the Gibson 400 Series guitars and in fact even wrote the book on the subject. As a collector, Tom found himself surrounded by used guitars and decided in 1991 to open his own shop, Van Hoose Vintage in Carrollton, Texas. The business grew from attending the...
Greg Weast owned and operated Columbia River Music, a retail store in downtown The Dalles, out in Wasco County, Oregon. The location, 410 E 2nd Street, had its own musical history, having housed a series of music stores since the 1930s, including Cook Music, Fulton Music, Raben’s Records and Roth...
Ziggy Haspod joined his brother-in-law in running a small music store before working for The Music Stand in Tucson, Arizona. It was at that store where Ziggy met with many traveling sales reps and was introduced to the idea of selling products to music stores around the country. He soon had...
Alan Macpherson began his career working for the retailer, The Music Shoppe II in Toronto Canada. As a musician, Alan fell in love with the music industry, getting to talk gear with fellow players and working to provide the services they needed to obtain the instruments of their dreams. When Alan...