Oral History - all
Palmi Snorrasen grew up in Iceland and was formally trained on the trombone, vibraphones, and accordion as a teenager. By his eighteenth birthday, Palmi was playing professionally and he later moved to Australia in 1961 and by the end of the decade was working in music retail. He purchased and... more
Richard Snape is a passionate and active member of the Australian music industry. He began playing flute in school and later worked for several music stores in and around Melbourne including Allans Music and Allans Publishing. In 2006 Richard became a shareholder and an Executive Director of the... more
Neville Kitchen was a school teacher when he married Linda May in 1969. Her father, Bill May, the founder of Maton Guitars, soon asked for some assistance. Neville joined the company to help for a short time when he soon discovered he loved the staff and the products. He remains with Maton to this... more
Chico Fernandez was born in Toronto and began playing drums at the age of three! He studied piano when he was eight and later reconnected with the drums, which he played in local bands both live and in the recording studios. He later moved to Los Angeles where he opened a music teaching studio. ... more
Linda Kitchen is the daughter of Bill May, the founder of Maton Guitars. Bill established the guitar company in 1946, which has since become an important producer of acoustic and electric guitars. Since her involvement within the company in the 1980s, Linda has focused on the acoustic guitar models... more
Michael Coleman and his wife formed a music store near Melbourne in 1989. Today, Cranbourne Music, remains a family business with their three children's involvement. An early milestone of the store's success was gaining the Casio line of products and with a strong foundation, Cranbourne branched... more
Tony Hosking grew up surrounded by music. His father, Ray, was a respected studio session trumpeter and helped young Tony land his first job in the brass department of Allan's Music store in Melbourne. Over the years, he had several fascinating jobs within the industry including reviewing each... more
Colin Steel is the founder of Keyboard Corner and KC's Rock Shop, both located in Melbourne, Australia. Colin began his career in music retail at Brash's Music in 1968 during the great home organ boom. Having talked his parents into purchasing a Wurlitzer organ when Colin was 14, he knew all... more
Barry Croll played a vital role in the expansion of music education throughout Australia. Playing music since he was five and having performed for troops in Asia, as well as clubs all around the United Kingdom, Barry knew firsthand the importance of good musical training. As a result, he took on a... more
Mike Daws moved to Melbourne from England in 1974 where his brother-in-law, a drummer, introduced him to Billy Hyde. Billy was a well-known drummer who helped his son, Garry, run a successful music store. Mike took a liking to Billy and Garry and was soon hired to help run the business side of a... more
Garry Hyde opened a small music store under his parent’s house back in 1962. Having a very famous musician as a father, he asked to use his dad's name for the store. Billy Hyde was a noted drummer who gained great popularity on a late-night TV program in Australia during the late 1960s and 70s. ... more
Tony Fenelon cut his teeth on the Theatre Organ and became the artist in residence at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne in the early 1960s. He recalls performing demos at the NAMM Shows beginning in the 1970s for companies such as Lowrey and Roland. Tony was on hand for the big unveiling of the... more
Joe Lamberti worked in his Father and Uncle's music business as a kid and saw many changes over the years. His Uncle Tony opened a small music retail store in the early 1940s and his father joined a few years later. The two brothers grew the business and expanded into manufacturing, importing and... more
Peter Sullivan grew up in a musical home with both his mother and father playing piano. Peter played piano, ukulele, as well as double bass as a youngster and became passionate about playing and teaching music. He developed into a well-respected studio musician and landed the job of Music Director... more
Bruce Rowland is the skillful film composer who scored the music for the movie "The Man from Snowy River." He was still a teenager when he was playing piano to big bands and jazz groups around Melbourne, Australia. He became the musical director for several children's TV programs including "The... more
Peter Trojkovic was the sound engineer for the band his two brothers, Luke and Drago, formed in the 1970s. Peter soon expanded his duties to managing and securing the audio gear needed for live performances. Those tasks soon led to renting gear to other musicians and thus a Live Sound rental... more
Drago Trojkovic and his brother, Luke, formed a band in Melbourne that soon employed their brother Peter to run the sound. As more sound gear was needed, Peter established a Live Sound rental company. When Luke and Drago decided to get off the road they joined Peter in business. Luke opened a... more
Abraham Laboriel has often been called the most recorded bass player of all time. Bass Player Magazine placed him on their top 50 bass players list and listed Abraham as having performed on over 4,000 records and soundtracks. Among the projects he spoke about during his NAMM interview were those... more
Dave Bray began working in the music industry when he joined the Billy Hyde team in the 1970s. Hyde had a strong drum shop at the time and was just expanding into wholesaling, thanks in large part to Billy's son, Garry. Dave helped in the early days of the wholesale division of Billy Hyde’s, which... more
Lindsay Stodden's career in the music and audio industry has had to do far more with helping his customers find the right product for their needs rather than pushing a given make and model. He worked for Allen's Music in Melbourne, Australia as the audio manger where he soon realized he enjoyed... more