Pearl Musical Instrument Company
Terry West started playing in bands at an early age and continued throughout his twenties and thirties. He was always one to maintain a day job, and his many roles at an outdoor advertising company combined with his experience as a working musician turned out to be the perfect training path for his...
Dennis Chambers has always had music in his life and started playing professional gigs before he was ten years old! He joined the group Parliament-Funkadelic in 1978 and is considered to be one of the best funk drummers out there. Dennis has a playing style that is unmatched which makes him a great...
Garry Hyde opened a small music store under his parent’s house back in 1962. Having a very famous musician as a father, he asked to use his dad's name for the store. Billy Hyde was a noted drummer who gained great popularity on a late-night TV program in Australia during the late 1960s and 70s. ...
Mike Daws moved to Melbourne from England in 1974 where his brother-in-law, a drummer, introduced him to Billy Hyde. Billy was a well-known drummer who helped his son, Garry, run a successful music store. Mike took a liking to Billy and Garry and was soon hired to help run the business side of a...
Jim Phiffer accepted a position at Pearl Drums which would lead him to a 20 plus year career in the music business. While at Pearl, Jim was the Vice President of Sales and Marketing, eventually making his way to President and CEO of the US division. Jim shared his talent for selling and his love of...
Lol Tolhurst formed a rock band with some friends in high school that went on to revitalize and define music in the 1980s. The Cure enjoyed wide success with millions of albums sold, live performances around the world, and was among the first acts to chart hit records before alternative rock became...
Andy Strayer began his career in the music industry working for a music store, which he joined right after earning his music business degree at Wingate University in North Carolina. After several years in retail, Andy became a manufacturer’s rep for Leblanc and later for Pearl Drums. Along the way...
Robert Morrison was fully involved with marching band and percussion in school and into college, where he studied music education. His involvement with school bands and music education landed him the job at Pearl Drums to help build the marching and concert band division, which he began to do in...
Walt Johnston was best known throughout the industry for his role in introducing the Pearl Drum Company to the United States. After a gig selling band instruments, Walt was hired by CMI to bring the Pearl kits to the American market. His success was based on several elements, not the least of which...