Music Retail
Cliff Acred began playing music in junior high school and later majored in music in college. He played in the 3rd Army Band out of Atlanta while in the service and once out returned home to Memphis. Cliff was hired to play bass in the house bands for Sun Records and later for Stax Records. At...
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...
Skip Buss played trumpet for several big bands on the road and in local hotel ballrooms during the great Swing Era of the 1940s. He decided to leave the road when his son was born at which time he gigged at local clubs and ballrooms at night and worked for a small music retailer by day. He joined...
Tony Falcetti grew up in the music business and developed his passion for music before he can remember. The store his parents started in Springfield, Massachusetts soon became the learning place for Tony and the hub for his own musical interest. He swept the floors, made sales and grew into...
Jeff Millar-Sax began his association with the music products industry as a consultant while developing a family of friends and companies he has proudly worked with over the years. One of his themes during his interesting interview for the NAMM Oral History collection was “only at the NAMM Show...
Peter Dods was an investment banker on Wall Street on September 11, 2001, which in his words, “uprooted my life and caused me to rethink what I wanted to do.” Having been a music maker himself, Peter returned home to Hawaii where he sought to open his own music store. At that time he learned that...
Jyotindra (JP) Parekh is the owner of Rice Music House in Columbia, South Carolina. He is very active in educational programs within his community and has served the industry on many levels including being on the NAMM Board of Directors. His long industry history includes over 25 years with his...
Richard Schiemer grew up in Brighton, Pennsylvania and often went down to Brighton Music Center for supplies and lessons. Little did he know at the time that one day, after college, he would work for the store and years later he would own the store along with a friend and fellow employee. ...
Brad Wittmer and his friend and co-worker Richard Schiemer were given an opportunity to purchase the store they were working in, and they took it! The two met while working for Brighton Music Center and were approached by the owners to buy the store upon their retirement. Since that time the two...
Tim Pratt is the president and one of the three owners of Dietz Music located in Omaha, Nebraska. In 1927, Mr. Dietz established a small music store to help provide musical instruments and lessons for the local community. Over the years the company has focused on serving the needs of the...