California
Kayoko Forrest was born in Japan and always felt drawn to music and in particular the piano. After moving with her mother to the United States, Kayoko played in the school music program. Interestingly, Richard Davenport, who would later become a mentor to Kayoko, was her teacher. While earning her...
Dale Dawalt admits he knew little about band instruments being a guitarist when he first joined the team at San Diego County Music Exchange in 1990. He was however, eager to learn and he had a fantastic mentor, Dan Parker. Dan opened the store in 1988 and after selling the store to Dale a few years...
Dustin Barlow is the head instrument repair technician for Bertrand’s Music in San Marcos, California. He joined the store in 2006 and has since become the repair shop manager as well as one of their repairman. His love of musical instrument repair started when he was still in high school when he...
Dennis Hallmeyer has fond memories of his years playing mallet percussion in the school’s marching band, eventually progressing to the xylophone. Beginning in the 7thgrade Dennis took a keen interest in computers and even developed websites for local businesses in his small hometown. After his...
John Bertand was not yet 15 years old when he began working in the music store his parents established in 1983 in San Bernardino, California. He remembers helping move glass display cases before the store was opened and soon realized he really enjoyed being there. He developed friendships with the...
Jeff Bertrand is the president of the music company his parents started back in 1983. His father, John Sr., a former band director wanted to provide much-needed support and supplies to schools in his local area, which was San Bernadino, California. Jeff began working in the store cleaning clarinets...
Ken Donnell is often regarded as the foremost authority on close-mic applications for stringed instruments. While he has an extensive background across the music products industry, first watching his father work in a music store, Ken eventually honed his skills as a luthier, alongside his good...
Ron Whittaker was just eleven years old when his father started a music retail store in Long Beach, California. Whittaker Music opened in 1946, just after World War II and Ron still remembers the struggles his father had in gaining instruments as manufacturers were still short on raw materials that...
Dusty Wheeler served as a medic in the US Air Force during the Vietnam War. After the war he attended college all the while playing guitar and giving lessons. In 1979 he opened Dusty’s Guitars in Leucadia, California with just four instruments on the wall and an amp (with two of the guitars and the...
Art Olson brought his love for playing music together with his experience as an instrument salesman to form his own store, Artistic Pianos. The store opened in 1999 in Encinitas, California and has since moved to San Marcos where Art continues to offer a wide range of piano brands. He attributes ...