OH Taxonomy
William Groener has had an extensive career in lighting and theater design. He started out as a theater major at UC Santa Barbara and returned to the university as a professor before becoming Product Manager for Strand Lighting in Orange County. William has also been active as an instructor for...
Marinko Tesla expressed a deep sense of pride in the fact that he works alongside his father, Bogdan, who established Tesla Tonewood Serbia in 1991. The father-son team work long and hard to produce the highest level of quality as well as strong customer support to the luthiers and instrument...
Yeegn Lougn Hoe, known as YL, grew up in a music filled home. His grandfather, Hoe Toh Hui, was born in China and moved to Malaysia in the 1940s and setup a piano store in a small mining town known as Ipoh. His son, Willy Hoe, used to help his father at their family's piano store. As Willy grew up...
Mike Wood has witnessed many developments in professional lighting throughout his career. During his NAMM interview, Mike spoke about his background, as well as a few of those milestone improvements. He also talked about the importance of the first moving light system, which was introduced in the...
Tim Spicer studied special education in college and has applied his passion of helping others and his love of music when he opened a music store in 2012. Spicer's Music focuses on offering its customers with a wide range of quality products as well as carefully constructed lessons that meet the...
Jeremy Payne first played clarinet in the school music program as a kid before switching to trumpet. That experience brought to light a true passion for music, which was further embedded when Jeremy began working at a local music store. Generations Music was a great training ground for Jeremy and...
Diane Sparks and her brother, Donnie, formed a successful singing group in the 1960s. Donnie & Diane performed and recorded a string of hits, most written by Donnie. Diane's husband, Roger Sparks, played lead guitar in the Donnie and Diane band from 1968 to 1974. The Donnie and Diane band was...
Robert Riedel sat down for his NAMM Oral History interview in January 2018 and spoke in depth about the steel guitar. As a steel guitar musician, Robert was influenced by the giants of the instrument including Speedy West, Jody Carver, Alvino Rey, and Buddy Emmons. Throughout his interview, Robert...
Honoring Bernie Capicchiano for his invaluable service in assisting the NAMM Resource Center in obtaining fantastic interview contributions to the NAMM Oral History Program. This video contains some of the highlight interviews that Bernie helped us gather. Thank you Bernie!
Jim Fahey adds a unique twist to many of the tours he provides as a docent for the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music. Growing up in the 1960s, Jim understands the impact music has on social issues. As a result of this, sociology and the impact of music on culture has been a part of his...