OH Taxonomy
Ralph MacDonald grew up in Harlem, where he was exposed to many musical traditions. As a drummer, he focused on his African roots and as a songwriter he relied on his soulful understanding of the blues. Ralph wrote "Where Is the Love", the Grammy winning song made popular by Roberta Flack and Donny...
Yngwie Malmsteen is a ferociously talented guitar player, composer, and producer from Sweden. He first gained notoriety in the mid 1980’s when he exploded onto the music scene blending his mastery of neoclassical guitar technique with the heavy metal music genre. Building upon the fame from the...
Gerry Brown went to school with Stanley Clarke, who always encouraged Gerry to follow his passion for music. Years later the two old friends recorded an album together called School Days! Gerry went on to perform and record with Stevie Wonder for nearly 20 years and other artists such as Chick...
Dafnis Prieto grew up in a musical neighborhood in Cuba where he quickly fell in love with the drums. During his 2008 NAMM Oral History Interview, Dafnis discussed some of his musical influences and what the term “groove” means to him. Facilitating masters classes, clinics, workshops and serving as...
Allan Pearlman grew up in Queens New York and taught at a local high school after college before working in the music industry. In 1975, Sid Hack, hired Allan as a sales rep for Unicord, the same company his father, Ben, worked for 31 years. Allen loved the industry and continued to work for the...
Tabitha Fair grew up singing in her father's church in Oklahoma. She discovered at an early age songwriting and formed Avalon, a highly successful Contemporary Christian group with some of her musical friends. The group toured with several top gospel acts while performing many of Tabitha's songs. ...
Rick Marotta taught himself to play drums at the age of 19. Since then, he has made a name for himself in the music world. Rick has played with artists such as John Lennon, Paul Simon and James Taylor, and has composed music for the popular show Everybody Loves Raymond. In his 2008 interview, Rick...
Michael Bland was playing drums for top acts while still in high school. Just two years out of school, in 1989, Michael began playing for Prince, a gig that lasted seven years. Michael was on drums for such Prince albums as Crystal Ball, Emancipation, and Chaos and Disorder. He also worked with...
Tony Verderosa was inspired by Bill Bruford's use of electronic percussion units to write new music in real-time. After graduating from the Crane School of Music, Tony began working with a number of innovative drum products. He debuted the DTS70 Triggering Module for Yamaha and sought new ways to...
Tommy Aldridge doesn't mind being compared to the wild Muppet named “Animal." As Tommy puts it, both have crazy hair and crazy drum styles! Tommy's playing career has included gigs with Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, and Black Oak Arkansas. Being a fan of jazz, Tommy used Louis Bellson's...