Oral History - all
Conrad Sundholm is the founder of Sunn Amplifiers and Biamp Systems, which revolutionized the music industry with several key design innovations, designs, and products. Although Conrad was building amps for his brother as early as 1961, Sunn became a big influence, especially on bass amp makers... more
Brad Boynton is the founder of Rhythm Traders Drum Shop in Portland, Oregon. He saw his passion for the drums develop as early as four years old and it has always been a source of true happiness. While studying anthropology in college, Brad traveled to Africa and lived with drum makers, which... more
Roger Giffin is a master guitar luthier whose guitars have been played by musicians around the world. He began building guitars as a teenager in London and went on to work for Gibson in the Custom Shop in Los Angeles. In addition, he has created his own line of instruments under the Giffin name... more
Jeff Douglas worked with Bob Willcutt in Lexington, Kentucky, and learned all about guitar building and repair. Bob’s store is legendary and well respected for the selection and quality repairs. His training in the store led Jeff to a gig as guitar tech for the Oak Ridge Boys beginning in the... more
Gary Morse points out that playing a pedal steel guitar can be complicated. The pedal steel guitar has a series of levers and pulleys that when used often, such as in country music, require maintenance and tuning. Gary ought to know as he is one of the top studio musicians in Nashville, often... more
Chas Sandford grew up dreaming of being a guitar player on stage. He built up a solid reputation within Nashville and has seen his dreams come true. ASCAP awarded him the Most Performed Song 12 times for tunes he has written, including “Missing You” performed by John Waite. Chas has also... more
James Slater is a Grammy Award nominated songwriter based out of Nashville, TN. He attended the University of Miami School of Music and has written songs for countless Grammy Award winners such as Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, and Rena McEntire. Slater is a pianist, which is different for Nashville –... more
Birth Date: February 23, 1948
Deceased Date: May 23, 2022
Thom Bresh was a Grammy Award nominated country music singer and guitarist. In the early part of his life, Thom worked as an actor and stuntman. He gained stage presence early on, acting as soon as three years old, and starring in Las Vegas at 15. He later found himself into music after portraying... more
Roy Wooten fully understands the meaning and need for strong music educational programs in the schools. His passion for music and his successful career as a performer have given him the opportunity to support the arts, which he does in a compassionate and compelling way, from his heart. At the... more
Paul Kimbarow grew up in the west side of the Bronx in NYC. He first started playing drums after seeing conga players in the streets of New York and being fascinated by it. The conga players would let him sit in, and he instantly knew that this was what he wanted to do with his life. He went on to... more
Yale Strom started on the violin when he was eight years old. He took lessons at school, and played in the school orchestra first in his hometown of Detroit, MI, but later on in San Diego, CA as well. He went on to be an acclaimed violinist, composer, filmmaker, writer, photographer, and playwright... more
Don Bird founded Conn Organs of Fresno in 1973 in Fresno, CA. He started his career in music, working for Sherman Clay, Co. in 1967 as a general manager of a single store, working completely by himself. He was offered a promotion – move to Philadelphia and general manage 3 Sherman Clay stores – and... more
H.B. Barnum started his life off as a child actor, staring in TV shows such as the Jack Benny Show and the Amos n Andy Shows. Throughout his life, however, he had a fascination with the piano. He went on to own his own record label, Little Star Records. Since then, he has been working as an... more
Fred Bigeh is the product engineer and one of the three founders of Audix. Fred has been the key designer for the company's product lines, notably the OM Series vocal mics and the D Series instrument mics which are now standards in the industry. Fred launched the company with Cliff Castle, VP of... more
Dick Schalk began working for the Rodgers Instrument Corp. in the 1970s when the Hillsboro, Oregon company was independently owned, then sold to CBS Musical Instruments. He remained with the company, within the engineering department, through a few different owners and presidents until his... more
John R. Smith and his wife, Valerie Day, formed the 1980s pop band Nu Shooz, which charted several hits and helped established the synth sound of that decade. As a kid, John played guitar and dreamed of being a rock star. He soon discovered that he had a talent as an arranger and songwriter,... more
Valerie Day became a pop star in the 1980s when she and her husband formed the band Nu Shooz. Their first big hit, "I Can't Wait" helped define the synth-heavy sound of the era, as well as establish the band as a hit maker. They charged with several other songs and continue to record and perform... more
Will Glover was among the first wave of surf rock guitarists when he formed a band with several friends from high school in 1961. The Pyramids, the Long Beach, California based rock group had a big instrumental hit with “Penetration” in 1963. The songs success led to several important... more
Mark Slaughter was a founding member of the hard rock band, Slaughter, which has sold more than five million records and placed four songs on the Billboard Top 30 Charts. In addition to his musical career, Mark is also a voice actor for the Cartoon Network. The acting job exposed him to TV and... more
Akil Thompson has been an active music maker since he was a kid playing guitar. Over his career he has toured with LeAnn Rimes and Kelly Clarkson, as well as built his own recording studio. Akil decided that when he was not on the road, he wanted to record and engineer. His studio is located in... more