OH Taxonomy
Billy Cox played bass alongside Jimi Hendrix as a member of Band of Gypsies. Besides his work with Hendrix, Billy recorded alongside the likes of Sam Cooke, Charlie Daniels, Little Richard, and Etta James. Starting out by learning the piano, then playing the violin, trumpet, and finally finding the...
Clinton Muntean went back to school at Full Sail University at the age of 27 in order to get the foundational education to enter the recording engineering field. After graduating, Clinton found work with Soundelux Showorks as an intern and then as an editor. He then transitioned into a position...
Kevin Becka started playing guitar at 11 years old and aspired to become a famous guitar player. Eventually realized he had a passion for engineering while working on construction crews building recording studios throughout the Los Angeles area, later becoming an assistant engineer in one of the...
Rick Santos enjoyed music from a very young age, played guitar, and after college he went into the banking world where a chance encounter with a local music retailer led him to buy a music store in Seekonk, Massachusetts. Eventually, Rick created a concept for a different kind of music store and...
Bobby Bare Sr. began writing songs as a teenager and landed a hit record with the talking blues song "All American Boy" in 1958 when Bobby was just 18 years old. He followed that recording with several other hits including "Detroit City" and "500 Miles Away from Home." During his NAMM interview,...
Laura Whitmore’s passion for music began at a young age, learning to play guitar and writing songs as a teenager. She attended Hofstra University where she earned a B.S. in Music Merchandising and an MBA in Marketing. Laura worked for CBS Records and Korg, where she rose through the ranks of...
Chris Syllaba grew up in Washington D.C. and found music throughout the city during his childhood years. He soon found a position within Jordan Kitt’s Music store in 1984 and rose through the ranks to his current position as the President and CEO. During his Oral History interview at the 2017 NAMM...
Terry Christian is a noted recording engineer whose passion for music began as a drummer. While playing in bands as a tennager, Terry took an interest in the process of how records were made. After attending recording school in San Francisco, he applied for a job at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles. His...
Mike Martin grew up tinkering on his grandmother’s piano before and taking piano lessons throughout his school years. Hearing his first synthesizer helped provide the motivation to work towards buying his first one in the early 1980s which he still has today. Mike got his official start in the...
Buddy Spicher started playing the fiddle for $10 a night at local square dances, but also played some rhythm guitar to accompany his brother at performances. During his NAMM Oral History interview, Buddy tells of how he acquired his first violin, by trading his brother a Coca Cola for his brother’s...