Oral History - all
Terry Oliver grew up in Southern California and remembers the day his father took him for guitar lessons at RC Allen’s guitar shop in 1964. The famous luthier had dozens of projects in the works including building a hollow body guitar and a banjo. In 1967, Terry’s father requested that Mr. Allen... more
Ken King performed in several Country and Western bands in and around Los Angeles beginning in the 1940s. While playing his guitar as a guest on the Spade Cooley television show in late 1949, two fellow musicians in the band (Jimmy Wyble and Cameron Hill) showed Ken the new solid body Fender guitar... more
Tim O’Brien joined the Taylor Guitar team in the marketing department back in 2013. At the time, the digital world was changing with the rise of smart phones and social media. Tim assembled a team that took a fresh approach to marketing and helped the company make great use of their own unique and... more
Mike “Monte” Montefusco played both trumpet and piano as a kid before playing bass guitar professionally for several years. Like many touring musicians, Monte worked in a local music store while off the road, which ignited his passion for the music products industry. Beginning in 1996, Monte joined... more
Birth Date: June 8, 1946
Deceased Date: May 23, 2021
James Harman was a Blues harmonica player who shared the staged with some of the biggest names in music history. James was just a young man performing at clubs and bars in the 1960s and 70s when many of the old time Blues musicians were still performing. As a result, he was able to gig with the... more
Cesar Rosas was born in Hermosillo, Mexico, in the state of Sonora, and was greatly influenced by the music he heard as a child growing up. He was exposed to traditional Mexican music and instruments, and continued to play the music of his heritage even after moving to East Los Angeles as a... more
Birth Date: November 21, 1929
Deceased Date: January 10, 2011
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Jac Winroth was born with a handicap that his mother insisted would never limit her son. She often played the piano for young Jac, which served as a great inspiration for... more
Matt Guzzetta loves to design things. He designed a motorcycle that won a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for a coast to coast ride on only one tank of gas. As it turned out, one of his car shops was next door to the American Dream guitar shop where Bob Taylor and Greg Deering (among... more
Mark Guerrero has had a passion for music ever since he was a young boy growing up in East Los Angeles. His father was singer/songwriter Lalo Guerrero, who inspired a generation of Chicano musicians. Growing up, Mark was surrounded by a wide variety of music both in his home and in the community,... more
Charlie Redden played guitar in bands when he was in school and always has had a passion for playing. After working for Amazon in the early days of that company's history, back when they only sold books and CDs, Charlie earned a degree in economics at San Diego State University and soon found an... more
Fred Bernardo was repairing and teaching guitar in his local music store when the idea came to him to open his own shop. In 1972, with one guitar and a set of strings he was given as a promotion, Fred opened for business. The store grew, and within a year, Fred began hiring a staff and sought to... more
Slim Jim Phantom and his two school friends, Brian Setzer and Lee Rocker, formed the iconic band Stray Cats in New York back in 1979. They revived the rockabilly style of the 1950s with a string of sold out concerts and a series of hit recordings in the 1980s such as “Stray Cat Strut,” “Sexy + 17”... more
Tony Louscher saw Jimi Hendrix live at the San Diego Sports Arena in 1970, which became an inspirational event in forming his musical passion. Just a few years later, Tony began working at the American Dream guitar shop where he met Greg Deering, Bob Taylor and his lifelong friend Kurt Listug. He... more
Chris Wellons was playing percussion in grade school, and about the same time, he took an interest in wood working. He was hired as a cabinet builder while still in school and continued in the field until he was made aware of a job at Taylor Guitars in 1992. Chris was the 34th employee and was... more
Johnny “Vatos” Hernandez is the long-time drummer for the rock band Oingo Boingo, playing on all of the band’s big hit songs including “Deadman’s Party” and “Just Another Day.” He played jazz drums for several years before the band was formed. Johnny has been involved with the NAMM community for... more
Craig Doerge played keyboards in the famous group of Los Angeles based studio musicians known as The Section. The Section, which also included Leland Sklar, Russ Kunkel and Danny Kortchmar, recorded a string of hit records with artists such as James Taylor, David Crosby, Jackson Browne and Linda... more
Chuck Davies is the founder of American DJ, which provides a long list of innovative products, many of which Chuck designed and engineered. He opened his own audio store in 1979 selling Hi-Fi equipment, which has since branched out to include six locations in Southern California. By 1982, it was... more
John Avila was greatly influenced by the Ampex recorder his father owned and let John use. He recorded his friends and later his own bands on the two reels he had access to. The experience was the beginning of his fascination with recording, which has been a key component of his career all... more
C.J. Chenier is the son of Clifton Chenier, known as The King of Zydeco. C.J. was always encouraged to play music and fondly remembers his father purchasing a guitar for him at a very young age. While in school, C.J. began playing the saxophone, which is the instrument he played on stage with his... more
Frank Murphy opened Frailers Guitar & Banjo Shop, which is situated in Runcorn, Cheshire on the banks of the River Mersey - just southeast of Liverpool England. The store was established as a retail outlet of quality new and used vintage stringed instruments from Dobros to Martin guitars. Frank... more