Erik Dietz
Erik grew up in Manhattan Beach and spent a lot of his childhood working with his dad, Pat Dietz, in the store. He dabbled with several instruments before falling in love with the classical guitar in middle school. After graduating from Mira Costa in 2001, he started teaching guitar and begrudgingly took up electric guitar so he could rock out with his students. Soon, he loved shredding Hendrix riffs as much as playing Bach etudes. From 2001 to 2011, Erik was focused on teaching and working in the store and was able to study with some great musicians like John Dearman and Scott Tenant as well as local legends like Paul Stevens and Pat Dietz. In 2011, Erik took over managing the day-to-day business so John and Pat could focus on being owners and working their magic.
After 16 great years of teaching 30,000+ lessons, Erik (newly married) left Dietz Bros and moved to Oregon with his wife, Miriam Touchton. In Oregon, Erik worked as a farm hand on organic vegetable farms and sheep and cattle ranches, did early morning dairy shifts and framed houses in the winter. During this time, Erik and Miriam adopted their son, Josiah, who you can now find at the store taking lessons each week. In 2019, Erik started his own farm which he ran successfully until him and his family moved back to Los Angeles in 2023.
Erik grew up in Manhattan Beach and spent a lot of his childhood working with his dad, Pat Dietz, in the store. He dabbled with several instruments before falling in love with the classical guitar in middle school. After graduating from Mira Costa in 2001, he started teaching guitar and begrudgingly took up electric guitar so he could rock out with his students. Soon, he loved shredding Hendrix riffs as much as playing Bach etudes. From 2001 to 2011, Erik was focused on teaching and working in the store and was able to study with some great musicians like John Dearman and Scott Tenant as well as local legends like Paul Stevens and Pat Dietz. In 2011, Erik took over managing the day-to-day business so John and Pat could focus on being owners and working their magic.
After 16 great years of teaching 30,000+ lessons, Erik (newly married) left Dietz Bros and moved to Oregon with his wife, Miriam Touchton. In Oregon, Erik worked as a farm hand on organic vegetable farms and sheep and cattle ranches, did early morning dairy shifts and framed houses in the winter. During this time, Erik and Miriam adopted their son, Josiah, who you can now find at the store taking lessons each week. In 2019, Erik started his own farm which he ran successfully until him and his family moved back to Los Angeles in 2023.
