Avedis Zildjian Company
Yves Tieche opened a small shop building guitars in 1976, later expanding into a store and becoming a Martin dealer. While attending the 1991 Frankfurt Music Fair, Yves met Armand Zildjian who offered him a job. Yves became the rep for Europe and traveled to both big and small dealers in large...
Kim Pang attended the NAMM Show in 1994 as a guest of the Zildjian company. While he there he accepted a job offer with the famous cymbal makers right on the spot. He was put in charge of expanding the brand in the Asian market and was always happy to be the first Zildjian employee from the region...
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”...
Colin Schofield recalls the day when he was eleven years old and received the Alice Cooper album “School’s Out.” The record changed his life by providing him with a passion for music, especially the drums. While earning his degree at the University of Leicester, Colin picked up a part time job at...
Willie Bam Bam Parker’s mother has said that at birth, her son came out swinging and she knew even then that he was going to be a drummer. At age 3 his love of drums was rewarded his with his first kit, a Smurf drum set. By age ten Willie was playing in a variety of different church groups,...
Neil Larrivee was just four years old when he began playing drums. His father was a manager for rock bands and music was all around Neil as he grew up. He served in the Drum and Bugle Corps when he was 11 and soon embraced orchestral music and the timpani. He landed a job with Vic Firth, just as...
Zach Frederick has been around music his entire life. His brother, Alex, is a professional classical percussionist and Zach was playing his first instrument in the fourth grade. What he discovered while attending college at UCLA is that he has a real interest in business, especially international...
Sarah Hagan wanted to play the drums more than anything when she was young. After asking so many times, her parents finally agreed and got her a snare drum and signed her up for lessons. Sarah loved every minute of playing the drums, and would even skip recess during elementary school to receive...
Frank Capp .always fancied himself a jazz drummer, although he successfully played many styles of music. As a session player in Los Angeles, Frank played on many hit recordings, among them, "The Beat Goes On" and "I Got You Babe" with Sonny and Cher. He led big bands and played in small groups with...
Steve Gadd has a long and strong friendship with the music products industry going back to his first visit to a music store as a kid and his long career as a product endorser and NAMM guest! However, it’s his influence as a drummer and clinician that has placed Steve as an important inspiration to...