User:Julimorganmusic/sandbox

Biography
Randall Smith was born into a musical family in Berkeley, California in 1946. His mother and sister played piano and his Father was first-chair clarinet with the Oakland Symphony Orchestra, played tenor sax, had a radio show, and led a hotel dance band. Randall believes all of his early musical experiences taught him how to hear tone.

As a young boy scout, Randall was interested in earning a merit badge in woodcarving. Stan Stillson, the Boy Scout leader became a mentor. Randall and Stan’s son, Dave, were close in age. They became great friends and built ham radios together. Randall’s father had a good friend, Ernie, who built hi-fi turntables. He gave a couple to Randall to experiment on until he was 11 or 12.

He studied at University Of California At Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, from 1964 to 1968.

Music Experience-Drums, Flute

He opened Prune Music, 1345 Grove St. N., Berkleley, CA., in 1963 with his close friend and band mate Dave Kessner. He and Dave were partners until 1975. Their store never generated a huge profit, but it became best alternative music store in the hippie scene. He did lots of amp repair and modification work for the Grateful Dead, Carlos Santana, Jefferson Airplane, Mobey Grape, Country Joe and the Fish, and Quicksilver.

In 1967, after modifying a Fender Princeton Chorus as a practical joke, Carlos Santana checked it out and made history declaring, “Man, this thing really boogies.” By the end of the day 5 amps were sold and the Mesa Boogie became a reality.

1980 Mesa moved to Petaluma, CA.