This Old Guitar
On Saturday, February 22, I went to the Dixie Music Center to witness the final closing of that business. The assets were to be auctioned off, and by 10 a.m., the place was packed, no doubt with people seeking that unbelievable bargain they hoped would be had at this auction. I suppose I could include myself as part of that group, but I also had other reasons for being there.
This story isn't so much about the event as it is about a particular encounter I had with someone there, someone who, upon asking me a question, raised the level of this event to a much greater significance than just a place to bargain-hunt. Even though the person was clueless as to the ramifications of that simple question, I, on the other hand, could have been knocked over with the proverbial feather.
First, however, a brief history of the Dixie Music Center, as best as I can relate the info: Mr. Roman Emberger started the business as the Music Center downtown on 5th Street back in the 1950's, I believe. He had several satellite stores: one in New Albany called the New Albany Music Center, the Preston Music Center on Preston Highway and the Dixie Music Center on Dixie Highway. During the `50s and particularly the `60s, the guitar business boomed. Downtown was where it was at: The Music Center, Baldwin's, Durlauf's, Shackleton's and Tiller's reigned supreme. The outlying stores provided quality goods and services to their local communities, too.
The Music Center stores were connected primarily through the renting of band instruments for the kids in the public school system. In 1974, not too far removed from high school myself, I began working at The Music Shop, which was essentially the same business located in the same building as the Dixie Music Center. It had begun to distance itself from the Music Center chain and had changed its name. After a year-and-a-half or so, I left, and soon after that, the store reverted back to the Dixie Music Center, with a new owner. Mr. Emberger eventually passed on, and the downtown store was closed. The satellite stores remained open, albeit independent of each other and are still open to this day, in one fashion or another. That is, until February 22, when the hammer literally fell on the Dixie store.
So, there I was on that Saturday morning. I, like everyone else, signed up to bid on the stuff. For me, it was also an opportunity to go down memory lane, seeing as how I worked in that shop nearly thirty years ago. I felt I also had an obligation to be there; an offer of respect to a business that had who knows how much impact on the path my life eventually took. That morning, before the crowd showed up, someone (let's say it was a woman for purposes of this article) came up to me and asked me the question. I do not know who she was, but I suppose she knew me. She wanted my opinion on what kind of strings she should use on her acoustic bass guitar, which she had just ordered online from a mail order company.
Now this is a fairly common question. Since bass strings are considerably more expensive than guitar strings, a player can't afford to experiment every week until she finds the best strings to use. You could end up spending more for strings then you do for the bass! So it makes sense to me to field such a question. I offered up what I thought, given my limited experience playing acoustic basses. I hoped that I was helpful, yet I was completely floored by this exchange.
Think about it. Here we were, in a local music store, one that had been in continuous business for well over thirty years, about to witness its quick and harsh demise. This was a store that had offered countless services to its community for literally decades. And here we were. The person I spoke with was pretty innocent. She truly didn't get it. She told me what a great deal she got buying this bass by mail order off the web.
I thought to myself, you know, ma'am, you probably could have got that same deal locally, just for the asking. And then, maybe just then, we wouldn't be standing here this Saturday morning waiting for the gone-out-of-business auction for this store. The irony was almost too much to take.
Continue to shop mail order through the web, and some day there may not be any local stores to shop at. No local people to offer knowledgeable help and suggestions. No place to let you try something out, trade something in, and on and on.
When our mindset becomes ruled by price and only price, the quality of the goods and services will diminish. It's a fact. There is an old saying: you get what you pay for. I understand that buying locally isn't always an option. Sometimes what you want is not available locally. Or there is a so much better deal to be had somewhere else, one that cannot be gotten here. In these particularly tough economic times, being a smart shopper is even more critical, but don't sell your local businesses short. Give them a chance to meet that web price. You might be surprised.
I noticed in the paper where local chefs Kathy Cary and Jim Gerhardt were being recognized nationally for their use of locally grown foods. Sure, you are probably going to pay a little more for this, but doesn't it feel good to be a contributor to your community? It is that kind of attitude that can make a difference. If I had my way, the Dixie Music Center would still be in business. There would have been no auction. This woman would have bought her bass there, and the salespeople would have helped her figure out what strings to use. But I can't always have my way, now can I? So, not wanting to stand on my soap box too long, I will stop now.
Until next time,
Keep Rockin'
I talked with our Louisville Music News chief editor, Paul Moffett, sometime after this auction and discussed what had taken place. I suggested someone other than me should write about it, since I am directly involved in the local music scene as a business owner. I was concerned that it might be seen as just taking care of my own self-interest by doing this article, but the editor insisted that I should be the one to tell the story. So I did. Complain to him.