Texas
Harvey Vogel was having a difficult time finding and purchasing quality percussion instruments and accessories for his daughter Lauren while she was in high school. He decided to do something about it and Lone Star Percussion – a name that Lauren came up with instead of the "Harvey Vogel Percussion...
Lauren Vogel Weiss was playing in the high school band but struggling to find the accessories she needed. This program gave her and her father, Harvey, an idea. Together they formed Lone Star Percussion and worked hard to fill the need of providing instruments and accessories to students and...
Richard Gore’s father was a band director who expanded the school’s bookstore into a music store in Denton, Texas. As the store grew, Richard’s passion for music grew, as did his interest in the sheet music sold in the store. Richard’s parents, Harold and Betty, welcomed him into the business in...
Lyle Bird grew up in a musical family with his mother playing the piano daily. As a teenager he played trumpet in several swing bands during the big band era including with such leaders as Henry Busse. He played in a band during his navy service during World War II and again played in several small...
Jim Lehmann is the founder of Guitar Resurrection in Austin, Texas, known to its many customers as Guitar Rez! Jim played guitar in several local bands when he noticed the need, for himself and his friend, to purchase good gear. He opened the guitar shop and soon found a passion for helping fellow...
Jack Wyatt is well known in the piano industry as the historian of the Piano Technicians Guild. In fact, when the PTG opened a museum in their home office in Kansas City, MO, Jack was there to take on the project of telling the important story of the organization’s contribution to the industry....
Kenny O’Brien is the president of Music & Arts, a retail store chain that his father, Ken O’Brian, established. Kenny oversees the stores, which focuses on school music and print and has locations in 18 states including Arizona to Delaware to Ohio and Texas. Kenny is proud that he continues, as...
Bill Tarpley remembered the stories his father used to tell him about the early days of the family music retail store in west Texas. Times were hard during the era of the dust bowls and depression, but he credits his father’s skills as both a businessman and salesman in the success of the store....
Buzz Tarpley grew up in the music business. His grandmother was selling pianos as early as 1917 in West Texas. The Tarpley family officially opened a music store in 1927 in Pampa, Texas. Buzz recalled growing up in the late 1930s and 40s and the many radio sets his father would sell. He also...
Joe D McBrayer always took great pride in the craftsmanship he put into the servicing and restoration of pianos. In a career that began when he was a kid sweeping up the store, Joe D managed to do every job related to the buying, hauling, restoring and selling of pianos and organs. Ultimately, it...