Oral History - all
Steve Lukather lives to make and play music, epitomizing the passionate musician. Steve grew up knowing that one day he would be a rock star and was driven to see that happen. Growing up in Los Angeles surrounded by and playing music with friends such as Jeff and Steve Pocaro, Mike Landau, and... more
Deceased Date: May 1, 2015
Wil White worked for Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center for nearly 30 years! It all began on October 6, 1987 when he was looking for a job and answered an ad for a cashier. He was hired by the founder, Mr. Levin, who impressed on Wil his passion for music. Wil witnessed firsthand the way... more
Mike Kay runs the pro audio department for Ted Brown Music in Tacoma, Washington. Beginning in 1984, Mike brought his lifelong love of music and audio to the company, which had two locations at the time. Not only did Mike take part in growing the audio product lines, he took part in the expansion... more
Birth Date: June 11, 1934
Deceased Date: March 7, 2022
Sharon Brown was a teenager when she first began working for Ted Brown Music. While in high school she met and began dating the founder’s son, Warren. Soon she discovered she had a real love for both Warren and the music business. She ran the record department and after marrying Warren, she... more
Reese Marin is the president of Bellevue American Music in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue, Washington. The store reflects Reese's passion for music with carefully designed display space catering to the customers and sparking interest to those walking in the doors. His career began in San... more
Al Di Meola has long been known for his impeccable technique, perfect sense of rhythm and timing, and lightning fast displays of guitar virtuoso. Al has also become a very unique and multi-faceted composer. Al strives hard to build upon and improve with every album whether they be original... more
Donn Bennett had the happy "accident" of falling into the retail music business. As a young drummer he had to pay for his own lessons, which led to him teaching drums to some of his friends in the neighborhood. When he gained a full schedule of students it led to having accessories and instruments... more
Herb Trawick and Dave Pensado became lifelong friends after meeting in a lobby of a recording studio in Los Angeles. Both were looking for a gig in music and exchanged contact numbers. Over the years the team established a weekly online program called “Pensado’s Place, which is all about... more
Randy Fuchs has a boundless depth of knowledge about the music industry that spans over 30 years involving countless products, industry players, and artists. Randy started at a young age working retail in Sam Ash before moving onto Crescendo Associates and representing a number of key manufactures... more
Birth Date: January 30, 1965
Deceased Date: November 22, 2020
Scott Summerhays was the President of the company his parents established in Salt Lake City back in 1936. Scott and his brother Briant worked together to grow the family business and eventually split the company into separate entities, both based in Utah. Scott had been a key player within NASMD... more
Larry Manley first met the former CEO for NAMM, Larry (Link) Linkin, while he was working at a bank in Escondido, California where Link held NAMM's business accounts. It was during a time when NAMM was growing and Link thought it was a good time to elevate and strengthen NAMM's financial staff, and... more
Niclas Luthman has a long history in the music industry. Beginning in 1989 at a NAMM show, Niclas started his distribution company by "accidentally" taking on the M-Audio line for Scandinavia (the original business was to develop software and accessories for synthesizers). Niclas built on this... more
Ted Berquist had a touch with fame in the 1960s with the group, the Novas. Their song, “The Crusher” was picked up by the national billboard charts and shot the group to stardom. After the group disbanded, Ted went on to pursue a career selling Hi-Fi products. Always passionate about musical... more
Mark Dunkley is the president of Dunkley Music Inc. in Boise, Idaho. In fact this is just one of three locations that are situated along southern Idaho. Mark's parents opened the first location in downtown Boise, where Mark remembers going to as a small child. After earning a business degree and... more
Gary Winder has been active in music sales for over 30 years. Gary worked with G. Leblanc and Coda Music Technologies before he moved on in 1997 to join Yamaha, finally serving as Director for National Sales. While with Yamaha, Gary created strong working processes with his team that not only... more
Niko Bolas has been a key producer and studio engineer in the music industry since the late 70s. In 1979, Niko started Record One Studios where he went to record a number of influential groups including Neil Young, Herbie Hancock, KISS, and John Meyer to name a few. In 1998, Niko launched Sonicbox... more
Jerry Grochowski was dedicated to the efficiency of Hal Leonard’s production and distribution operations. His service to the company involved working with many of the processes still in place since his retirement that make the company an industry leader in customer service. Jerry’s interest in... more
Anthony Ortega has been a mainstay on the west coast jazz scene since the 1940s. Growing up in Watts, Anthony went to school with and was exposed to many of the Los Angeles jazz musicians of the era including Charles Mingus. Playing sax, clarinet, and flute Anthony went on to play and tour with... more
Benny Turner grew up in a music family and after his brother, Freddie King, took him to a session with Howlin’ Wolf and Willie Dixon, he was hooked. While Benny played guitar with the Kindly Shepherds in the 1950s, he also spent time playing bass with Freddie and touring with R&B singer Dee... more
Al Maniscalco is a musician at heart. Prior to joining what was then Buffet Crampon USA in 2006, Al Maniscalco maintained a successful 20 year career as a performing musician and educator. He has released four recordings as leader of the Al Maniscalco Quartet, and has performed throughout the... more