Roland Corporation
Dick Bell was surprised by the impact he had on the music industry, a fact that became clear to him at the NAMM Show 2009, when the Roland Corp gave him a retirement party and NAMM requested an interview for the Oral History program. He began his career in the music industry, as Dick said, “with no...
Tom Beckmen opened a music store with his band director while still in college in 1958. The relationships he created in the store lead to a road salesman job with C. Bruno. He traveled the country for nearly a decade before establishing his own distribution company, Beckmen Musical. He later began...
Dennis Houlihan has played many important roles within the industry, all of which have been driven by his passion and love of music and music making. After years as a demonstration artist for Lowrey Organs, Dennis worked with retailers and suppliers alike, building his knowledge of music products...
Brendan Callinan likes to say that everything he owns he obtained because of music. As a rock performer in the highly successful Australian group the Radiators, Brendan played and wrote several of the groups songs. After years on the road he was offered a job as a sales rep for Roland –beginning...
Rosemary Bailey was ten years old when she was hired by Hammond as a concert artist. Over the years, she took part in the growth of the organ market in the 1970s and had first-hand experiences bringing music to millions. Her interview was filled with remarkable stories of being in the industry when...
Chris Meyer grew up during the dawn of the synthesizer and wanted to both play and create electronic music. He earned a degree in engineering to pay for his hobby never realizing he could apply both passions as an electronic engineer. He began work at Sequential Circuits in 1984 just as Dave Smith...
Jeff Rona played a critical role in the coming together of the minds and companies that would agree on the MIDI specs back in the 1980s. The meetings took place at NAMM shows over several years and included Dave Smith, members of Yamaha and Roland to name a few. Jeff was the founder and past...
Geoff Brash was an iconic music retailer in Australia who became known around the world for his passion and his brilliant business knowledge. As the managing director of Brash Music, Geoff was a pioneer in multi-country trade and marketing. Over the decades he established long lasting relationships...
Gez Kahan, on a whim, offered to be the musical director for his college’s production of Tommy. The experience lit a fire under him and soon he was exploring all of the latest gear, especially electronic keyboards and synthesizers. In 1983 he was hired as a freelancer to demonstrate the first...
Paulo Caius played music as a child and enjoyed each chance he had to work with fellow musicians. When the chance came to open his own music store, Paulo jumped at it. Caius Music, located in Portugal, opened in 1980 and launched Paulo into the music industry. However, as he later discovered, he...