Oral History - all
Clinton Muntean went back to school at Full Sail University at the age of 27 in order to get the foundational education to enter the recording engineering field. After graduating, Clinton found work with Soundelux Showorks as an intern and then as an editor. He then transitioned into a position... more
Ken Dattmore is the Marketing Manager for Yamaha within the strings department, which has been his passion for his entire career. He started in the industry with the William Lewis & Son Company, which brought violins into the hands of thousands of young music students around the world. Ken... more
George Mantoan got his start in music by playing in a rock and roll band. He took his knowledge of music products and ran a successful music store in downtown Chicago. He also offered credit to musicians in the area that needed to finance instruments, and would go around to local clubs on Saturday... more
Jimmy Gilmer was born in Chicago, but spent his formative years in Amarillo, Texas. As a singer and guitar player, Jimmy gravitated across state line to Norman Petty’s studio in Clovis, New Mexico made famous by the fact that Buddy Holly recorded there. After a fill-in gig with the Fireballs, a... more
Terry Christian is a noted recording engineer whose passion for music began as a drummer. While playing in bands as a tennager, Terry took an interest in the process of how records were made. After attending recording school in San Francisco, he applied for a job at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles. His... more
Howard Kalisky is the president of Efkay Music Group in Lachine, Quebec, Canada. Howard's father Fred founded the company in 1957, and Howard is following in his footsteps. Howard has also followed his father’s commitment to customer service and distributing such famous brands as Ibanez Guitars,... more
Michael “Omar” Omartian recalled always having a fascination with music growing up and quickly got involved by taking drum, accordion, and piano lessons as a child. Omar had the opportunity to play keyboard on the first Loggins and Messina records, worked with Hal Blain of the Wrecking Crew, and... more
Buddy Spicher started playing the fiddle for $10 a night at local square dances, but also played some rhythm guitar to accompany his brother at performances. During his NAMM Oral History interview, Buddy tells of how he acquired his first violin, by trading his brother a Coca Cola for his brother’s... more
Chris Syllaba grew up in Washington D.C. and found music throughout the city during his childhood years. He soon found a position within Jordan Kitt’s Music store in 1984 and rose through the ranks to his current position as the President and CEO. During his Oral History interview at the 2017 NAMM... more
Angela Currier was asked to leave her day job in order to assist her her husband, Cliff, run the family music store. While at first Angela was disappointed to leave her career, she soon fell in love with the store and its customers. Angela and her husband, Cliff, are still involved in the shop... more
Cathy Currier is the second generation to run Currier’s Music World, started by her father, Clifford. Currier’s Music World celebrated their 50th year in business in 2017 and Cathy and her mother Angela were present at the Summer Show in Nashville, Tennessee to receive a Milestone Award from NAMM.... more
Mike Martin grew up tinkering on his grandmother’s piano before and taking piano lessons throughout his school years. Hearing his first synthesizer helped provide the motivation to work towards buying his first one in the early 1980s which he still has today. Mike got his official start in the... more
Harry Shearer is an actor and musician who brought both talents together several time comedically in such films as “This Is Spinal Tap” and “A Mighty Wind”. In both movies, he played a bass player, which Harry has been playing, along with guitar, since he was a teenager. In the early 1980s, he was... more
Paul Shaffer served as the band leader and musical director for David Letterman's late-night television program from 1982 until David retired in 2015. Along the way, hundreds of noted musicians sat in with the program's house band allowing Paul to play alongside many of his friends and heroes. ... more
Crystal Gayle had a string of hit country songs in the 1970s including her big number one crossover pop hit, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blues." The recording provided Crystal the opportunity to record in many of the top studios in Nashville as well as several noted television appearances. During... more
Brian Reardon, owner of Monster Music in Levittown, New York, got his start manufacturing record racks to house albums and songbooks in record stores. One of his customers was Monster Music. Brian went on to eventually purchase Monster Music in 2005 and discovered his love for music retail. About a... more
Steve Bishir found his passion for engineering while attending Belmont University in Tennessee. Steve first had an internship at Omni Sound where he boasts his first job was cutting the weeds and soon transitioned to Brown studios. He worked with Brown Bannister on many successful recordings. ... more
Dale Williams with the RapcoHorizon cable company is extremely proud of the success and continued growth of Rapco in the marketplace. With an emphasis on only hiring musicians within the company, Dale even took up the guitar in an effort to connect with the staff. In his NAMM Oral History Interview... more
Lisa Williams works with The RapcoHorizon cable company with a focus on a telemarketing strategy. Starting in the late 1980s, Lisa joined Rapco after pursuing a career in purchasing. Rapco continues to grow and find success as an accessory line found in music stores across the nation. Lisa enjoys... more
Jim Horn, part of the “Wrecking Crew”, started playing the saxophone as a child and eventually expanded his musical reach to include the flute, oboe, and French horn, even playing the oboe on a Carpenters album. Jim firmly believes that the key to being a successful session player is having the... more