Oral History - all
Peter Dods was an investment banker on Wall Street on September 11, 2001, which in his words, “uprooted my life and caused me to rethink what I wanted to do.” Having been a music maker himself, Peter returned home to Hawaii where he sought to open his own music store. At that time he learned that... more
Jason D Williams grew up with music all around him so it was no surprise that he devoted his life to playing. With a strong influence from boogie woogie and rockabilly, Jason D began performing in the style of Jerry Lee lewis at an early age. He soon discovered many other musical heroes and... more
Wendel Stoltz was only a year old when his father, a big band musician, opened a music store in Memphis. The year was 1949. Wendel’s father, Colie, continued to perform at night for many years until the store was established enough for him to focus on the business. Wendel worked in the store... more
Jack Pearson grew up listening to the Allman Brothers not knowing that one day he would join the band and tour the world playing the songs he loved. His talents on the guitar developed as a teenager playing along to his musical heroes like Duane Allman on records and the radio, but he cut his... more
Buzz Cason began his musical career as a singer in the late 1950s and early 60s. He formed The Casuals in Nashville and later sang with a group called The Statues for Liberty. As he continued to sing, Buzz wrote songs, some of which he would have his singing groups perform. When he teamed with... more
Birth Date: November 9, 1926
Deceased Date: September 19, 2016
Skip Buss played trumpet for several big bands on the road and in local hotel ballrooms during the great Swing Era of the 1940s. He decided to leave the road when his son was born at which time he gigged at local clubs and ballrooms at night and worked for a small music retailer by day. He joined... more
Ron Bienstock was playing gigs by night and the editor for the International Musicians & Recording World when he was hired by Hoshino to serve as their General Counsel. It was at that time when Ron realized he could combine his two loves, music and the law. In 1987 he opened Bienstock &... more
Cliff Acred began playing music in junior high school and later majored in music in college. He played in the 3rd Army Band out of Atlanta while in the service and once out returned home to Memphis. Cliff was hired to play bass in the house bands for Sun Records and later for Stax Records. At... more
Fred Rast is the founder of Fred Rast Mouthpieces and a music lesson instructor for Music Village. The store is located in San Jose, California and is his musical haven with students and employees he enjoys being surrounded by. In addition to his long teaching career, Fred began designing his own... more
Don Kong is the manager of Music Village in San Jose, California. Don worked for a few other music companies before begging to be hired by the store's founder, Joe Teixeina, in the early 1990s. Don has worked alongside Joe, who established Music Village in 1964, and has worked hard to maintain... more
Anita DeBlasio manages the Union Ave. location of Music Village in San Jose, California. The store was established by Joe Teixeina in 1964 to serve the musicians and to foster music in the lives of beginners. Anita has a true passion of the business and takes great pride in helping customers find... more
Craig Bosco is a musician and manager of Music Village, a retail store in San Jose, California. Craig's passion for music began at an early age and over the years he has become a professional bass player, all the while enjoying the thrill of working with fellow musicians and gear heads such as... more
Richard Abreau played music in school as a kid but got away from it during most of his professional career. Then in 2001, upon his retirement, Richard returned to music! Encouraged by a friend, he walked into Music Village and soon became one of the store’s greatest promoters! The store was... more
Birth Date: August 22, 1942
Deceased Date: December 16, 2020
Carl Mann sang in church as a child and grew up just a few years behind Elvis Presley, who, like Carl, brought the style of church musical expression to popular music when he began recording for Sun Records in Memphis. While playing guitar on several Sun Record sessions, Carl met and befriended WS... more
Woody Bomar began his career as a songwriter and went on to work in music publishing. In fact, Woody created Little Big Town and had a very successful run in the 1980s and 90s. Woody made the decision to put his songwriting on hold and focused on publishing. However, he applied is knowledge as a... more
Joe Teixeira opened a small music store in San Jose, California in 1964. As the fiftieth anniversary approached in 2013, Joe sat down for his NAMM Oral History interview to begin documenting the contributions of Music Village! The company has grown to two locations and focuses on teaching, just... more
Brad Wittmer and his friend and co-worker Richard Schiemer were given an opportunity to purchase the store they were working in, and they took it! The two met while working for Brighton Music Center and were approached by the owners to buy the store upon their retirement. Since that time the two... more
Smoochy Smith was hired by Sam Philips at Sun Studios in Memphis to play piano on a few sessions in the late 1950s. Smoochy was being requested for record dates from both local performers as well as others who heard his style on countless tunes. He soon recorded on several other labels such as... more
Richard Schiemer grew up in Brighton, Pennsylvania and often went down to Brighton Music Center for supplies and lessons. Little did he know at the time that one day, after college, he would work for the store and years later he would own the store along with a friend and fellow employee. ... more
Norbert Putnam is a studio musician’s studio musician. With a career that includes playing on most of the early Muscle Shoals recordings as well as hundreds of tracks with Elvis Presley, Norbert also played with and produced such artists as Jimmy Buffett, Dan Fogelberg and Joan Baez. At the heart... more