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Billy Joel’s trumpet player for more than a decade now, he also plays flugelhorn, trombone, and saxophone. Carl has also been a featured soloist with Diana Ross. And, he has been the Music Director for Blood, Sweat, & Tears, recorded with Mariah Carey and for national TV commercials. He also is a band leader of two groups of his own. As he mentions during this interview, he is currently working on material for his next solo project.

Aerosmith’s touring keyboard player, he is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer who does southern soulful rock/country in his original music, including an album released last year. He has also toured and recorded with such notable artists as The Doobie Brothers, Tal Bachman, John Waite, and Shawn Mullins, among others. As a songwriter he co-wrote the international hit single for Carlos Santana “Just Feel Better” and has had numerous songs in TV shows and in major film releases.

A country duo that splits their time between Missouri and Nashville, their first single went to the Top 40 on the Music Row charts and they’re now writing and recording toward a new project. They were Top 12 Finalists on The X-Factor in the first season of that show. They have been featured in national publications ranging from Rolling Stone to People Magazine, and the Washington Post, among others. They have also been featured on CBS.com, CNN.com, and MTV.com. They have opened for the likes of Sheryl Crow, Uncle Kracker, and Cowboy Troy, among others.

Best known as having been “Annie” in the 1982 motion picture of the same name, Aileen Quinn – along with her band, the Leapin’ Lizards – performed and then sat down for this interview during the Winter 2017 NAMM show in California. While she does talk about having played the little orphan on the big screen when she was nine years old, Quinn talks about rockabilly music and how her band formed, and they contribute to the interview as well. She also talks about where her career took her after “Annie” but before this band and compares theater life to being in a band.

Karen Waldrup and then folk/Americana duo Whitherward each performed and then sat down for these interviews during the Winter 2017 NAMM show in California. Country singer/songwriter Waldrup was making her third appearance on NHTE and talked about having added saxophone to her music, plus a full-length album she successfully crowdfunded, targeted for a summer 2017 release. Ashley E. Norton and Edward Williams talk about three endorsements that they (Whitherward) got while at the NAMM Show.

Brian Fitzy and then Mark Wood each performed and then sat down for these interviews during the Winter 2017 NAMM show in California. Fitzy is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, producer, and composer who is releasing a new album. He has performed at venues ranging from Madison Square Garden in New York to the Staples Center in Los Angeles, plus, as talked about during this interview, he appeared with the Foo Fighters on the 50th Grammy Awards. He talks about his extensive use of looping technology too.

Natalie Gelman and then Josh Logan each performed and then sat down for these interviews during the Winter 2017 NAMM show in California. Gelman talks about getting started by playing on the street in Times Square and then down in the subway as well as pretending to be 21 to play in the clubs. A singer/songwriter based in California, she also talks about a new music video as well as a European tour she did and an album release she’ll be doing this year. Josh Logan was on “The Voice” in 2013, finishing in the top 12, after having been top 15 on “Rockstar: Supernova” in 2006.

Peter Thom performed and then was immediately interviewed and three members of Death Angel sat down for a Q&A as well during the Winter 2017 NAMM show in California. Peter Thom was promoting and doing a live demo of LoopTunes, which he developed (released last June). Originally from Germany and classically trained on piano, he started making music when he was seven years old and recording when he was 14.

Jordan Rudess performed and then was immediately interviewed and Vinnie & the Hooligans sat down for a Q&A as well during the Winter 2017 NAMM show in California. Rudess has been the keyboard player in platinum-selling Grammy-nominated prog rock band Dream Theater for 19 years now. While he does talk about the band during this interview, he was also promoting and doing a live demo of the GeoShred app from moForte and Wizdom Music. (Rudess founded the latter.) He also talks about his influences.

Brian Scoggin sat down for a Q&A and Keith Charley performed and then was immediately interviewed as well during the Winter 2017 NAMM show in California. Scoggin has been the drummer for Casting Crowns for the last eight years now and talks about how he had gotten that opportunity as well as thoughts from the stage, gear he’s using, and the band’s current tour and newest album. Keith Charley is a California-based jazz guitar player preparing for the release of a ten-song solo CD and then a tour to support it – all while being an audio systems manager at Sony (for the Playstation).