Bios of Rauen Guitars' Staff | ||
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Denny was brought up one of ten children in a southern suburb of Chicago. He began playing guitar by spending time after school picking instruments off the rack at Lyon & Healy and Sears & Roebucks. In 1963 at the age of ten he saved twenty five dollars from his paper route and purchased his first guitar. Some of his favorite memories to date include playing on the streets of San Francisco in the early 70's and two album projects with his son Josh. Today his passion for music has led him to the bagpipes where he performs with local pipe bands.From the mid 70's to 1982, Denny was production manager and designer for two Chicago area guitar manufacturers; S.D. Curlee and Dean Guitars. During this time he also founded and operated a repair business called String Repair Works. This repair business, together with the day to day dealings of the factory, provided Denny with a comprehensive blend of knowledge and skills. In 1982 he left the manufacturing business, closed String Repair Works and founded Rauen Guitars. He moved his business six years later to Milwaukee, which was also the year Guitar Player Magazine featured Denny in an article as one of the nation's finest luthiers. In the early years the shop was a place where musicians came to have a "one of a kind" instrument built. One can't speak of the early years without mentioning Denny's role as a single parent of his children Lindsay and Josh. Denny often had his children at the shop and they developed quite a reputation for the pranks they played on clients.
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Over
the past 16 years the business has flourished, and today,
Denny's primary focus is the restoration of vintage instruments.
The ongoing servicing and repair of instruments keeps him
in touch with what's happening in the music scene. Denny's
passion for working with instruments and getting the most
out of them can be seen as well as heard.  
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The son of owner Denny Rauen, Josh is a knowledgeable and dependable member of the staff at Rauen Guitars. He has literally grown up with the shop. Forging his own way as a guitarist, Josh has been a three time scholarship winner at the Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee. At 13, Josh went into Cornerstone Studio with his father Denny and produced his first recorded works. The music was later featured on Laser 103 FM with an interview of the father and son duo with Marilynn Mee. The recording featured original tunes with Josh on vocals and slide guitar. 
By the age of 15 he had completed his second recording project, "Josh Rauen and His Acoustic Troupe". Josh and his music were featured on the Jim Glynn show, WMSE 91.7 FM. He has inherited his father`s love of music as well as an interest in the technical workings of the guitar. Josh's many responsibilites at Rauen Guitars includes his special touch with electronics for acoustic and electric guitar. |