OH Taxonomy
Cecil Ramirez started in the music industry in retail, at the Music Box in Lodi, California. He created a keyboard studio feel within the store in1983, which was an exciting time of technological advances in electronic instrumentation. Cecil remembered the early days of MIDI and the synthesizer...
This video is of our annual NAMM Tribute, created in honor of our members and music industry friends who passed away in 2013 and early 2014. This Tribute was shown for the first time at the NAMM Show in Anaheim, California in January 2014. All moving images within this video indicate those who...
Bill Hughes is a hero among musical gearheads for his innovative amplifier designs throughout his career. He was hired into the industry by Jess Oliver (interview class of 2005) at the Ampeg Company. A year after joining the company in 1964, Bill worked on the SB12 bass amp, which led to a series...
Ray Williams grew up in the Caribbean. His father, a police officer, played music during his time off of work. Ray’s brother played guitar, Ray picked up the bass, and he was always encouraged by his father to make music. At an early age, Ray focused his music making around the computer, which...
Phil Jones grew up in the UK in the 1960s and, like many of his schoolmates, he wanted to be a Beatle! He played guitar and his first guitar was one he made, and later a bass. He created his own sound reinforcement company to assist local bands and soon discovered he loved PAs and building...
Lew DiTommaso was a key member in Daddy’s Junky Music for many years and built a reputation on honest and passion driven hard work. That passion for Lew started when he first heard the Beatles, several months before their famous American debut on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. After playing in...
George Azuma remembered growing up in Tokyo and having many opportunities to play rock and roll along with his brother and several childhood friends. After high school, George attended college in the United States where he continued to play music. He returned to Japan where he continued to play...
Alfredo Campanelli is a strong supporter of the Internet, and has used it as a tool to connect and expand his customer base. Beginning as a retailer, Alfredo expanded to wholesaling and exporting musical products. In recent years, he has developed musical schools to not only grow the industry but...
Bill Reim is the Founder of Reim, Graham & Associates. He was also the CEO of Hoshino USA, based in Pennsylvania. He can remember watching the Beatles on TV when he was in the second grade and later formed a rock band with some of his classmates while in high school. After studying graphic...
John O’Reilly is the composer and editor whose musical career spanned educational and textbook materials to movie scores and classical works. He was published by Shawnee Press and G. Schirmer before working with Alfred Publishing full time. He became Editor-in-Chief and had a hand in many of the...