Oral History - all
Bill Clark began working for Vater Percussion right when the company was officially established. Alan and Ron Vater’s grandfather, Jack, started making drumsticks for his retail store in 1956 and in 1975 Jack’s son Clarence formed the official company. That is when Alan and Ron, along with their ... more
Dante Vater grew up in the family’s drumstick factory just south of Boston. Dante’s great-grandfather started making drumsticks for his music shop (Jack’s Drum Shop) just one year before Dante’s father, Ron, was born. Ron and his brother, Alan, expanded the business to manufacture sticks and... more
Chad Brandolini began working for Vater Percussion when he was just 17 years old. Back then he pitched in to help in all areas of the factory and production. Soon his skills for marketing developed and Chad played a vital role in Artist Relations for Vater. As new ways to promote and market their... more
Alan Vater’s grandfather, Jack, established a music store in New England and found a need to produce his own brand of drumsticks. Young Alan recalls watching his grandfather hand dip his drumsticks in lacquer, which inspired his father, Clarence, to work on developing a faster process. In 1975 the... more
Tom Field is the founder of TFA (Tom Field Associates) whose team provided lighting for a host of iconic live events such as Woodstock and the Newport Jazz Festival. In addition to the many innovative processes he created that have become standard in pro lighting, Tom has hired a long list of... more
Harold Cohen's name can be heard spoken by Chip Monck during the Woodstock film. After the Sha Na Na performance on Sunday evening and just before Jimi Hendrix appears on stage, Chip says softly in the microphone, "Turn it up Harold." And so Harold turned the controls on the sound system way up to... more
Bill Hanley is known as the Father of Festival Sound and for a very good reason. Beginning in the 1950s Bill and his brother Terry provided sound equipment for outdoor events and as the rock-and-roll era boomed, they found themselves inventing and innovating new ways to address the needs of... more
Terry Hanley formed his own company, Terry Hanley Audio Systems, following the formation of Hanley Sound with his brother Bill. Terry has a keen understanding of the ever-changing technology and always sought to provide state-of-the-art equipment to the events he worked. He helped improve many of... more
Mark Ethier is one of the founders of the innovative pro-audio company, iZotope. In fact, as of the recording of his NAMM Oral History interview in 2021, Mark was the only founding member still with the company. Mark's rich background in classical music was largely based on the support and... more
Steve Dawe grew up surrounded by music! His mother was a piano teacher and he studied the trumpet in college, but ultimately gravitated to the Hammond B3 as his primary instrument on stage. A 25-year career in electronics followed, though his love of music never left him. Motivated to return to... more
Josh Wilbur is a recording engineer who is well-known for his work with heavy metal bands. His passion for music began while he was in high school playing with friends as the drummer in local bands. With an interest for the recording process, Josh moved to New York to work at Soundtrack Studios.... more
Will Eggleston was always interested in how the music he heard on the radio as a kid was recorded. He was fascinated by the process and was determined to learn all he could. When he worked at Dirty Don's PA Palace (Atlanta, GA) in the recording department, he often found himself in the position of... more
Lisa Kaufmann is the Managing Director of the American headquarters of Genelec. The Finnish based company, an innovative loudspeaker and pro audio manufacturer, was founded by Dr. Ilpo Martikainen. Lisa's grandmother was a famous concert pianist and Lisa grew up in a very musical environment. When... more
Paul Stewart has a deep understanding of the Genelec line of speakers and not just because he is the company’s Senior Technical Sales Manager, but because he is a passionate music maker who knows first-hand the power of the products. Paul has played guitar since he was a kid and attended Berklee... more
James Nicoloro worked in a few small piano shops in New England, learning the art of tuning and the skills of restoration. He was asked to provide a piano for a women, who was so pleased with the instrument she recommended James to a friend. Before he knew it, James was in business for himself,... more
Māhealani Uchiyama felt a passion for music and dance from a very young age and could see the importance of expressing yourself through the forms and how it often touches a part of your soul that speech can’t always reach. While attending a Mbira concert she experienced a profound moment during the... more
Dusty Wheeler served as a medic in the US Air Force during the Vietnam War. After the war he attended college all the while playing guitar and giving lessons. In 1979 he opened Dusty’s Guitars in Leucadia, California with just four instruments on the wall and an amp (with two of the guitars and the... more
Art Olson brought his love for playing music together with his experience as an instrument salesman to form his own store, Artistic Pianos. The store opened in 1999 in Encinitas, California and has since moved to San Marcos where Art continues to offer a wide range of piano brands. He attributes ... more
Jim Hodsonis the co-founder of Advantage Post Sound Services specializing in complete sound design and mixing for Animated Television and Movies. As a kid Jim remembers seeing a Rolling Stone Magazine cover with Queen's producer standing next to a console and was mesmerized by the equipment. He... more
Mike Soldano says he was late to game, picking up the guitar when he was 20, but soon made up for lost time by jumping in with both feet! He studied the instrument and listened to live and recorded guitar heroes at every chance he got. Next he fell into building guitars and took a woodworking class... more