Oral History - all
Tim Jones brings both passion and a dedication to the customers he serves in Texas. Starting his first store in Midland in 2003, Tim expanded to the communities of Odessa and Abilene. Tim makes it a direct point to provide support to the communities he serves in the form of local scholarships to... more
Jody Espina had a long history as both a musician and educator before deciding to launch his own line of saxophone and clarinet mouthpieces. Jody honed his playing at a young age before moving on to study at Berklee. Following college, Jody went on to teach music including serving as Director of... more
Doug Davis has been involved in the music industry for most of his life. Getting the bug to play while playing in the Honor band in school, Doug went on to get a degree in music education and teach in Iowa public schools for many years. Additionally, Doug has worked in retail music for over 30... more
Charles Conrad comes from a very long line of music retailers. Charles’ grandfather started the store in 1890 and it has been in the same location since. Having seen years of change in the music industry, Conrad Music Service has managed to adapt to the times and needs of the local communities it... more
Abe Thomas has shown remarkable insight and made great strides forward in the music therapy arena. Able to identify a unique instrument, the OmniChord, and immediately see its value to non-musicians, Abe embarked on a path that lead him to partner with Suzuki and bring the instrument into music... more
Bill Putnam Jr essentially grew up in the music business. Bill’s father, Bill Putnam Sr., started Universal Audio in 1958 and was basically the inventor of the modern day recording console among many other fundamental recording technologies. Re-founded by Bill Jr. and his brother Jim in 1999,... more
Ray Parker Jr may best be known for writing the soundtrack to Gostbusters, but his legacy goes back much further. Starting in Detroit as a teenager, Ray got the opportunity to work and tour with Stevie Wonder. Ray eventually went on to do writing and session work in LA, before finally going on to... more
Loren Zimmerman owned Byerly Music in Peoria, Illinois during the 1970s and 80s and is credited for being among the first music retailers to have locations in shopping malls. When he purchased the company from his father-in-law, Eldred Byerly (who served as President of the NAMM Board from 1963-... more
Randy Wood is the president of The Music Shoppe in Normal, Illinois. The store specializes in band instrument repairs and strong customer service. The store goes back to the days when a former college band director, John Noonan opened a small retail and repair store. In 1961, Randy's father, Tom... more
Carl Thacker was a teenager when he began repairing band instruments. In fact he was a Charter Member of NAPBIRT and attended the first annual convention before he was 20 years old. After a long career as the instrument repair technician for Illinois State Universally, Carl devoted himself full... more
Birth Date: July 18, 1948
Deceased Date: October 5, 2015
Craig Schertz worked for Byerly Music in Peoria, Illinois and saw an opportunity to purchased two of the company’s ten locations when his boss and the current owner, Loren Zimmerman, was ready to retire. The stores continued to grow throughout the 1970s and 80s and when Craig decided to sell the... more
Andrew Schertz runs Schertz MusiCenteR in Bloomington, Illinois, with this father Randy. Andrew's uncle, Craig, once owned Byerly Music, which had locations throughout Centeral Illinois. Andrew grew up with the music business all around him and even as a boy sweeping up the store and pricing... more
Julie Jurgenson is among the pioneering women in the band instrument repair side of the music industry. She was trained at Red Wing and worked for a couple of shops before opening her own in Rochester, Minnesota. All along she wanted to service a large number of instruments and found it possible... more
Joe Butkevicius became a flute specialist as an instrument repairman. Over the years Joe worked in music retail, for Pearl Flutes and now is employed by KHS. Joe has also been very active with NAPBIRT, the National Association of Professional Band Instrument Repair Technicians. In addition to its... more
Deacon John Moore has been a noted studio musician in New Orleans for decades. His performance and recordings have not only represented the New Orleans Sound over the years, he has helped define it! Deacon John was very active in the studios of New Orleans in the heyday of R&B and can be heard... more
Dale Krevens has been involved with Tech 21 since before its inception. In fact, Dale was instrumental in urging Andrew Barta to start his own business (when he was originally only looking to sell the technology) and came up with the name SansAmp. Taking the company from a single product prototype... more
Tony Levin is one of the most prolific bassists in history having recorded as a session player with numerous groups including Pink Floyd, David Bowie, and Yes, regular gigs with groups including King Crimson and Peter Gabriel, and finally maintaining a solo career with numerous releases under his... more
Peter Stroud is probably best known for his work as guitarist with Sheryl Crow. While that gig may have helped Peter come to greater recognition, he first developed his love of gear while working in a music store. This love of gear has lead Peter to try and perfect his sound while playing bigger... more
Nancy Vernon and her husband, Gene Monnig, own and operate Cadenza Music in St. Paul, Minnesota. Nancy is very active with the music teachers in and around the area and works hard to build those relationships so the store can best serve the needs of teachers and students alike. The store, which... more
Gene Monnig is the owner of Cadenza Music in St. Paul, Minnesota. The store is an important place for music teachers in and around the Twin Cities as Cadenza keeps close tabs on the method books and sheet music requested by students both in school and private lessons. More than the sheet music... more