mmr january 2013

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J a n u a r y 2 0 1 3w w w . m m r m a g a z i n e . c o m

Show Report: PASIC 2012

Drum Exchange 20th Anniversary

Larrys Music Center:

NowEmbracing

the

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2 MMR JANUARY 2013

MMR Musical Merchandise Review (ISSN 0027-4615) founded in 1879, is published monthly by Symphony Publishing, LLC, 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1, Needham, MA 02494 (781)453-9310, publisher of School Band and Orchestra, Choral Director, Music Parents America and JazzEd. All titles are federally registered trademarks and/or trademarks of Symphony Publishing, LLC. Subscription Rates: U.S.A., US possessions, one year $32; two years $40. Canada one year $80; all other countries one year $159. Single issues $5 each. May Supplier Directory $35. Periodical-Rate Postage Paid at Boston, MA and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER/SUBSCRIBERS: Send address change to Musi-cal Merchandise Review, P.O. Box 8548, Lowell, MA 01853. Periodicals circulation is directed to music dealers and retailers, wholesalers and distributors, importers and exporters and manufacturers of all types of musical instruments and their accessories, related electronic sound equipment, general musical accessories, musical publications and teaching aides. The publishers of this magazine do not accept responsibility for statements made by their advertisers in business competion. No portion of this issue may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. Copyright 2013 by Symphony Publishing, LLC, all rights reserved. Printed in USA.

www.mmrmagazine.com

In every issue:

4 Editorial8 Upfront20 People54 Buyers Guide84 Supplier Scene89 Classifieds96 Advertisers Index

26 Show Report: PASIC 2012The annual Percussive Arts Society International Convention returned to Austin, Texas this year for another exhilarating convergence of drum manufacturers, dealers, and enthusiasts of all kinds.

44 Music Education: School of RockThe rocknroll education institution prepares to turn up the volume with major expansion plans and a call for brick and mortar collaborations across the country.

50 Anniversary: The Drum ExchangeEd Hartmans much-loved Seattle percussion headquarters turns 20 years old.

ContentsJANUARY 2013 VOL.172 NO. 1

Cover photo: Tania Schade, Schade Photography, Dublin,

34 Spotlight: Larrys Music Center

This small town shop has mixed an all-in approach to social media

with old fashioned customer service to create a one-of-a-kind

relationship with its customers.

44

TOC January.indd 2 12/18/12 11:28 AM

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MMR_3 3 12/18/12 11:18:33 AM

EditorialSidney Davis

sdavis@ symphonypublishing.com

PUBLISHER Sidney L. [email protected]

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Rick [email protected]

EDITOR Christian [email protected]

ASSOCIATE EDITORS Eliahu [email protected]

Matt [email protected]

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSChaim Burstein, Dennis Carver, Kevin Mitchell, Dick Weissman

ADVERTISING MANAGER Iris [email protected]

ADVERTISING & MARKETING EXECUTIVE Matthew King [email protected]

CLASSIFIED & DISPLAY AD SALES Steven [email protected]

PRODUCTION MANAGER Laurie [email protected]

GRAPHIC DESIGNERSLaurie [email protected]

Andrew P. [email protected]

CIRCULATION MANAGERMelanie A. [email protected]

SYMPHONY PUBLISHING, LLCChairman Xen Zapis

President Lee Zapis [email protected]

Chief Financial Officer Rich [email protected]

Corporate Headquarters26202 Detroit Road, Suite 300, Westlake, Ohio 44145440-871-1300www.symphonypublishing.com

PUBLISHING, SALES & EDITORIAL OFFICE: 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1, Needham, MA 02494 (781) 453-9310 Fax: (781) 453-9389www.mmrmagazine.com

Volume 172 Number 1 January 2013

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If the truth be known, I hold no ill will towards the five young guys from across the pond, widely heralded as the new British invasion they are just trying to make a buck (more specifically, $100 million by years end, according to their management). Liam, Harry, Zahn, Niall and Louis a.k.a. One Direction require no further introduction, especially to the pre-teen set. The boy band from the UK are a patchwork of losing talent show performers cobbled together into a mer-chandising phenomenon with a website offering 16 different posters, 21 t-shirts and an assortment of hoodies, towels, blankets, bracelets, and dolls!

In the interest of full disclosure, I do take some offense as the grandfather of a ten year-old who has coerced this senior citizen into purchasing a variety of 1D (as the group is affectionately known by its fans) items including, but not limited to CDs, videos, shirts, books, dolls, and puzzles. The good news is I am drawing a line in the sand: Victoria and I share a common birthday month and, as per past custom, she makes the choice of a visual on our collective birthday cake. Via this arrangement, I have helped eat a chocolate Winnie the Pooh, red velvet Barbie, and a cheesecake Justin Bieber. When it comes to One Direction, though, I am heading in a different direction: Give me a carrot cake frosted with John, Paul, George and Ringo the lads from Liverpool. The two groups have only a mother-land in common. The current bands musical prowess is restricted to Harrys guitar playing and we are told that two other members of the groups favorite instru-ments are the triangle and the kazoo(!) I doubt these musical items are matching the sales of IDs towels and blankets on the Web.

In contrast, the Beatles aside from their legendary ability as tunesmiths and players made a generation conscious of their instruments: George Harrisons Rickenbacker; Ringos Premier and Ludwig kits; Lennons Epiphone, and McCart-neys Hofner and Martin to name just a few. Add Gretsch, Gibson, Fender, and Vox to the mix and you had a cornucopia of product silently, but effectively en-dorsed by the skills of their masters. Perhaps the greatest contrast, present-day, between the two groups can be illustrated by the approach of television media. Following the cookie-cutter mentality that if one is good, several are even better, the airwaves are filled with American Idol, The Voice, Glee, Dancing With The Stars, and their many imitators.

Looking back, there are those among us (this observer included) who remem-ber the days of Arthur Godfreys Talent Scouts. While the show turned down an appearance by Elvis, it introduced a slew of performers, including a guitar and banjo playing Roy Clark, pianist Jos Meles, and violinist Florian Zabach (his re-cording of The Hot Canary sold a million records). Godfrey himself contributed to the music dealer coffers with his ever-present ukulele. Further back (not sure if anyone recalls this other than yours truly and Pete LaPlaca) there was the Horace Heidts Youth Opportunity Program, hosted by the popular bandleader in the 40s. Among the performers whose careers were jumpstarted by their appearances on the show were trumpeter Al Hirt, pianist Frankie Carle, accordionist Dick Contino, Alvino Rey, the father of the steel pedal guitar, and polka king Frankie Yankovic.

Surely there must be an opening among the countless number of infomer-cials hawking stain removers, or sandwiched between the tribulations of owning a pawnshop and Americas Funniest Home Videos for programming featuring talent other than song and dance. One can only conclude that Newt Minow, the former FCC chairman, was on point in his 1961 assessment when he labeled television as a vast wasteland. As for the present I will resign myself to watching re-runs of Lawrence Welk (Myron Floren played a mean accordion) and the more recent HBO jazz-oriented series, Treme.

Wrong Direction

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Upfront

Buffet Group Acquires B&S GmbHBuffet Group has completed the acquisi-tion of B&S GmbH, a German family-controlled company which is the leading German brass musical instrument man-ufacturer. The enterprise value of B&S GmbH equals to 10 million ($12.96 million), which repre-sents 6.8 times 2012 estimated EBITDA.

Founded 250 years ago, B&S GmbH is one of the only two musical instrument manufacturers worldwide producing the whole range of brass instruments. It has four old, established brands com-manding very high recognition amongst

musicians: B&S, Melton Meinl Weston, Hans Hoyer, and Scherzer. B&S GmbH is the number one manufacturer in the world of high-end background brass in-struments, i.e. tubas and euphoniums,

and also one of the largest producers of French horns. B&S GmbH production fa-cility is located in the same place as Buffet Groups Ger-man operations in Markneu-kirchen, Saxony. 2012 esti-

mated revenues amount to 15 million ($19.44 million). B&S products are now sold through Buffet Groups own interna-tional distribution network.

Gerhard Meinl, the main sharehold-er and former CEO of B&S GmbH, has joined the supervisory board of Buffet Group to which he will act as a non-executive senior advisor. Gerhard Meinl has reinvested his proceeds from the sale into Buffet Group newly issued shares.

Scan the code below to view a video detailing specifics of the acquisition:

New GC Opens at Former Daddys Location in BostonOn December 1, Guitar Center celebrated the Grand Opening of its newest location, at 165 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston.

Situated at the former longtime ad-dress of one of Daddys Junky Musics busiest retail outlets, the new store is in close proximity to Berklee College of Mu-sic, as well as both the New England and Boston Conservatories. The closing of the entire Daddys chain last year, as well as the departure of other longstanding MI storefronts in the area in previous years (EU Wurlitzer, Cambridge Music Center, Jacks Drum Shop, LaSalle Music) had left the neighborhood home to thousands of music students, performers, and educators which had once been teeming with mu-sic shops, relatively barren.

The day prior to the big opening, MMR visited the almost-ready store to speak with the staff and get a preview of what this new location will be all about.

This store is very specifically, uniquely tailored to the musicians in this area, notes Hirsh Gardner, for-mer manager of Daddys at 165 Mass. Ave. and current general manager of the new GC (and a Berklee alum, him-self ). Youll find things here that you wont find at a typical Guitar Center, because we need to serve the folks at Berklee and the Conservatory not to mention the performers at the Boston

Symphony Orchestra and the Pops just down the street.

A gleaming display case full of a wide range of mouthpieces, the numerous mid- to high-end archtop guitars on the wall, and the exhaustive array of micro-phones (including some very specialized and expensive models) back up Gard-ners assertion.

You wouldnt find a lot of these microphones in most stores, says director of Store Openings for Guitar Center Michael Carrillo. Of course, most MI operations arent directly across the street from Berklees acclaimed Music Production & Engi-neering Department.

But the differenc-es that set apart this new Guitar Cen-ter dont stop and start with inventory, alone. This is one of only two Guitar Centers in the country that houses a full line rental department, Carrillo contin-ues. Rentals will cater to the needs of the areas students, of course, but also local musicians, hotels, venues, and Bostons

vibrant Theatre District. GC Garage an expansive on-site repair facility is yet another offering that makes the new location distinct.

Were aiming to provide the most com-plete customer service to musicians in this area, Garnder says. Back in the 70s and 80s, thats how all the great music stores in this neighborhood operated and were hop-

ing to continue that tradition.Were here to help people

make music in any way we can, Carrillo adds. Its really as sim-ple as that.

The new location is now the second Boston store for GC, with the other (larger) outlet in the nearby Fenway neighborhood of the city.

General manager Hirsch Gardner.

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Upfront

Steinway Responds to Antitrust Investigation in Switzerland

Dean Markley Names McCallian CEO

In late November, Steinway & Sons, a subsidiary of Steinway Musical Instru-ments, Inc. (NYSE: LVB), announced that it has been informed by the Anti-trust Commission of the Swiss Confed-eration (WEKO) that WEKO has initi-ated an investigation into Swiss dealers of Steinway & Sons and into Steinway

& Sons Hamburg due to alleged viola-tions of unfair competitive behavior in

the distribution of grand and upright pianos.

Steinway & Sons stated that the com-pany currently has no concrete infor-mation which competitive behavior is the subject of the investigation and is not aware of having violated Swiss Antitrust Law. Steinway & Sons will cooperate with the Swiss authorities to help clarify the facts as soon as possible.

Dean Markley USA has ap-pointed Lori McCallian as chief executive officer of both Dean Markley USA and Ultra-sound Amplifiers.

McCallian will be actively involved in the various strate-gic, financial, and operational components of the company. Initially, she will spend additional time

on branding projects, evaluating operational efficiencies, building the Dean Markley team, and get-ting to know the customers, art-ists, dealers, and distributors.

Prior to joining Dean Mark-ley USA, McCallians career was spent in the insurance and finan-cial services industries. She has

spent the last few years as a consultant

helping companies that needed a turn around strategy and execution plan for the future.

Hohner Announces Continued GrowthThe 99th Shareholder Meeting of Matth. Hohner AG took place on November 27 in the Dr. Ernst Hohner Concert Hall in Trossingen, Germany.

It was reported that, during the fiscal year ending March 31, while the global economy and music industry grew by ap-proximately 3%, sales growth of the Hohner Groups internation-al brands posted a 5% increase versus prior year results. This sales increase was driven by growth in North America (+9.7%), Asia (+21.9%), and South and Central America (+34.4%) partially offset by a 4.5% decline

in sales to Europe, the companys larg-est market. As a result of the positive sales improvement as well as effective cost man-agement, the Hohner Group improved its net income performance by 83.2% to 2.7 million Euro (roughly $3.5 million) in the

fiscal year ending March 31, 2012 compared to 1.5 million Euro (roughly

$1.94 million) in the prior fiscal year.As a result of the overall improved

profitability of the company, the Supervi-sory Board and the Management Board are proposing a dividend payment for the fiscal year 2011/2012 of 11 cents per share.

Music & Arts Names Zapf PresidentMusic & Arts has hired Stephen Zapf as president. A seasoned pro-fessional in the musical instrument and education industry, Zapf will report to Kenny OBrien, CEO.

In addition to Zapfs appoint-ment, The Woodwind & Brass-wind, (WWBW.com) will join Music & Arts as a new business. In his role as president, Zapf will con-tinue to manage Wood-wind & Brasswind, in addition to all retail, di-rect sales, marketing and merchandising functions of Music & Arts.

Stephen most re-cently served as executive vice president of multi-channel opera-tions for Guitar Center. Prior to this role, he was EVP of sales and marketing at Musicians Friend and Guitar Center where he was responsible for generating more than $500 million in direct sales.

Zapf holds a B.A. from Yale University and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Proel Names Musiquip as USA DistributorMusiquip, Inc. has been appointed the new exclusive U.S. distributor for Proel S.p.A. and their line of professional au-dio, sound reinforcement, lighting and accessory products.

Proel offers a full line of loudspeakers, mixers, power amplifiers, stage solutions, LED lighting, and accessories with broad market appeal.

Having the opportunity to work with Musiquip is exciting and will allow us to bring a host of new products to the cur-rent dealer base that has supported Proel for many years. Musiquip offers a level of expertise and experience that should take Proel to the next level in the U.S. market, remarks Simon Sinclair, busi-ness development director for Proel.


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Upfront

133rd AES ConventionThe 133rd AES Convention at the Moscone Center in San Francisco was distinguished by a diverse program. De-spite an epic storm (Sandy) that disrupted countless travel plans, thousands of con-ventioneers experienced an exhibition hall filled with new products and, a four-day program of scientific presentations and training events.

In the months leading up to the show we had strong pre-registration numbers and were on target for at least 14,000 people, reports AES executive

director Bob Moses. The Exhibition Hall was packed on Saturday, but Hur-ricane Sandy took a lot of wind out of our sails. People fled for the airport on Sunday and Monday as flights were can-celed around the country. In the end, some 11,000 attendees turned out, re-flecting strong pre-registration, but dis-appointing onsite sales. On the bright side, we were very happy with atten-dance in the inaugural Project Studio Expo: 1,680 people, nearly double what we anticipated.

133rd AES Convention opening day crowds fill the Exhibition Hall.

Faust Harrison Opens Retail, Music Education and Performance Center in LIMore than 150 guests recently joined Faust Harrison Pianos in celebrating the grand opening of the companys newest piano retail, music education and per-formance center in New Yorks Long Island.

Established in 1983 by Sara Faust (and joined by Michael Harrison in 1996), Faust Harrison Pianos is New Yorks largest piano retailer, with stores in Manhattan, White Plains and Long Island. The company is also Americas largest piano restoration company.

The new Faust Harrison Piano Cen-ter in Huntington Station, New York oc-

cupies a freshly renovated 10,000 square foot facility managed by music industry veteran Sam Varon.

The new two-level facility features a performance stage in the larger lower level of the building, and will offer high-quality concerts, student recitals and master classes by a wide variety of musi-cians. In addition, the store has sound-proof studios for private piano lessons and for the Yamaha Music School, which provides music instruction to children and adults of all ages, pre-school and up.

For more information, visit www.faustharrisonpianos.com.

Sabians New Factory Museum Celebrates 30th AnniversaryAs part of its yearlong 30th Anniver-sary celebration, Sabian has opened a museum at its factory in Meduc-tic, NB, Canada. Designed to house artifacts, awards and memorabilia from the past three decades, the Museum will serve as an introduc-tion to the cymbal-makers history for factory visitors and employees. The museum also features impor-tant photographic records of the fac-torys past. The images in the gallery capture an era that extends back to the 1970s and show the very first ar-tisans at work in the factory, using traditional manufacturing processes still used today.

Its easy for important moments in any companys history to be for-gotten as time passes, so it was im-portant for us to start the process of archiving those moments now, says manager of Canadian sales & artist relations Terry Ryan, who headed up the museum committee. In our case, the history of the factory is very closely tied to the history of the com-munity. We have families who at this point have had three generations working at Sabian.

The Museum will be open year-round during factory hours. For in-formation on a tour of the Sabian Factory and a visit to the Museum, call (506) 272-2019.



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Upfront

S&P Affirms Fender Music B RatingAs Fender announced its intent to refinance its existing term loan in early November, Standard & Poors Ratings Services affirmed its B

corporate credit rating for the MI giant, as well as additional ratings that indicate confidence in Fenders relative stability and debt repay-ment in the coming year.

To read the full report, scan the code below:

In late November, Best Buy reported quarterly earnings that missed even the already lowered expectations for profit, though revenue was somewhat better than estimates. The company said its third-quarter net loss was $13 million, or 4 cents a share, compared with year-earlier net earnings of $173 million, or 47 cents a share.

Excluding restructuring charges, the company earned 3 cents a share and its revenue fell to $10.75 billion during the quarter from $11.145 billion the previous year.

Analysts had expected Best Buy to re-port earnings excluding items of 12 cents a share on $10.73 billion in revenue, ac-cording to Thomson Reuters consensus estimates.

The news came mere days before the unofficial start of the holiday season, and

amid a wide organizational restructur-ing under new CEO Hubert Joly, as well a looming buyout proposal by founder Richard Schulze.

As previously reported in MMR and elsewhere, some speculate that Best Buys retail outlets are hurting because they have become showrooms for shoppers who then make actual purchases on Amazon.com and other on-

line vendors.Back in late August, we noted that

Best Buys 2Q profits had dropped 90 percent.

Best Buy by some standards of mea-surement, the nations second largest MI chain, based on the operations music store within a store model saw shares (BBY) drop eight percent in trading im-mediately following the news

Best Buy Quarterly Earnings NosediveNew Bedell FactoryCustom guitar manufacturer, Be-dell, has moved its factory to Bend, Oregon.

Bedell guitars are manufactured by Two Old Hippies. The new facility and the new facility will produce both the Bedell and Breedlove brands.

Owner Tom Bedell notes, We want to be good community citizens in Bend. We are excited to be building our business in Bend and appreciate all of the support of the local commu-nity and the State of Oregon. This new building will allow us to gain further efficiency in our workshop and better service our worldwide customers. We are amazed with the craftsmanship of the co-hippies in Bend and the excep-tional business environment.

CMI to Distribute LOUD in Australia

Steinway to Sell Landmark Hall

LOUD Technologies Inc. and CMI Mu-sic and Audio have announced a distribu-tion agreement whereby CMI will serve as the exclusive Australian distributor for LOUDs Ampeg and Mackie Brands.

Ampeg and Mackie each have very loyal, established Australian dealer and customer bases, so we spent significant effort to ensure our new partner could provide world-class support as well as had the muscle to continue growing

these legendary brands, explained Alex Nelson, Ampeg and Mackie president. CMIs industry standing and power-house team make them the ideal partner and we look forward to seeing them take support and brand awareness to new lev-els throughout Australia.

CMI will dedicate brand manage-ment teams to each brand to ensure con-tinuity in support, along with distinctive branding, marketing and merchandising.

Its being reported that Waltham, Mass.based Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc. has reached an agreement to sell its building near Manhattans Carnegie Hall at 109 W 57th Street for $195 mil-lion.

Steinway anticipates proceeds of $56.3 million, of which $20 million will be held in escrow until the company va-cates the space it occupies, according to a regulatory filing (LVB) signed by CEO Michael Sweeney. The filing doesnt

specify a buyer or say precisely when or whether Steinway would leave the build-ing.

Steinway Hall has been the flagship store of the companys Steinway & Sons unit, according to its website. The loca-tion is described as a Beaux Arts land-mark, with a 19th-century Viennese crystal chandelier and ceiling decorated with allegorical scenes of lions, elephants, goddesses and nymphs, painted by artist Paul Arndt.


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Trade Regrets:William Stonier grew up in a mu-sical family and he played in school bands, nourishing a burgeoning love of print music.

After opening a music retail store in Vancouver called North-west Music, Stonier discovered it was difficult for a small operation to order direct from many of the large music publishers. As a result, he opened his own distribution compa-ny across the border of the United States and soon began one of the largest suppliers of print music in Canada.

William Stonier passed away on December 4th.

The Music Peo-ple, Inc. (TMP) has announced that dear friend and colleague, Dave Renzoni passed away on the morning of

Wednesday, November 28, with his wife and family by his side.

The TMP family is saddened by the loss of a cherished workfellow, jokester, and generous heart, but we take solace in his eternal peace after a hard-fought battle with can-cer, the company stated in a press release.

Dave Renzoni celebrated his 25th year with TMP just a few months ago. At the formal announcement of Daves passing to TMP em-ployees in Berlin, Conn., VP John Hennessey shared, When I first started at TMP, Dave Renz taught me so much about the business. He encouraged me to learn how to mo-tivate and inspire others as a man-ager. Company founder and presi-dent, Jim Hennessey, added: Dave really enjoyed working here and he always took the time to stop by and say hello or good night.

Dave Renzoni lived in Nau-gatuck, Conn. He is survived by his wife, Valerie Renzoni, and two chil-dren, Brittany and Jarrick.

In lieu of flowers, memorial con-tributions may be made to Cancer Treatment Centers of America at

Eastern Regional Medical Center, 1331 East Wyoming Ave., Philadel-phia, Pa. 19124.

To send an online condolence, visit www.naugatuckvalleymemorial.com.

Frank Luppino Jr., who was the president and founder of Marketing Insights, Inc., a sales organization representing major companies in the entertainment sound and light-ing industries, died peacefully with his family at his side at the age of 90 after a long and courageous bat-tle fighting cancer.

Luppino spent his formative years in Watkins Glen, N.Y. and attended Alfred University before serving in the Naval Air Transport during World War 11. After the War Frank started as a copy boy for Billboard magazine and launched a 20-year career culminating with the position of associate publisher. He then joined Seeburg Corp., at the time one of the worlds largest jukebox manufacturers, in an ex-ecutive capacity. He left the firm to launch his own marketing and sales organization. According to his son, Frank Luppino III, He was known for a love of Dixieland jazz music including the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, railroad memorabilia, PBS TV, swimming, a bright smile, and an amazing approach to life!

Frank is survived by his wife of 49 years, Bjorg, his daughter Eliza-beth Daly, his son Frank Luppino III, and four grandchildren. Contri-butions are welcome to the Loyola Academy Music Department, care of Corey Ames, 1100 North Laramie Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois 60091.

On November 8th, Danny Henkin, former owner of CG Conn and 26 other musical instrument companies over the course of his career, passed away in Elkhart, Ind. at the age of 82.

Henkins career in the industry began in the 1950s when he served as the ad man for LeBlanc. He then worked for CG Conn, which he would purchase years later, along with Armstrong Flutes, King Band Instruments, and Slingerland Drums, among others.

Earlier this year Danny donated his large collection of business papers and photographs to the NAMM Resource Center to com-pliment the series of Oral History interviews conducted with Danny beginning in 2001.

The Frank Luppinos, father and son, during a NAMM Show.

Hello Sid,

It is with immeasurable delight that I am responding to your wonderful edi-torial in this months [December, 2012] MMR. I laughed aloud as I read through the string of candidates and presidents who have graced us with their musical talents. As a Texan, however, I cant imagine Rick Perry doing anything that requires rhythmic precision. As he made it clear to all during the debates, he can usually remem-ber the first two beats, but forgets the third. Thank you for brightening my day and making me smile. I appreciate the good work that you and your col-leagues do at MMR in support of our industry and for promoting music mak-ing for everyone.

And thank you for the wonderful article on Penders. It was a generous piece in scope and did a nice job of acknowledging people within the com-pany. It makes us all proud here.

Richard Rejino

Penders Music Co.Dallas, Texas

Letters



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20 MMR JANUARY 2013

People

Young Chang North America has promoted Larry Fresch as the na-tional sales manager of the US acoustic piano market.

Larry rejoined Young Chang in 2010 as the West Coast district sales manager. As a sea-soned veteran in the industry, Fresch has held numerous positions with various companies through the years including national promotions manager of Young Chang from 1986-1992, vice president of Daewoo Corporations piano divi-sion, and as the Western sales manager with Geneva International for 14 years. Larrys responsibilities will be assisting the district managers in sales training on the newly re-designed pianos by Del Fandrich as well, as working with dealers in promoting the sales of Young Chang Products.

As part of its recently an-nounced ex-pansion, Jody-Jazz, Inc. has appointed Co-lin Schofield to the position of VP of sales and market-ing. In this newly created role, Schofield will manage all aspects of the companys sales & marketing activities worldwide.

Schofield has worked extensively in the music products industry includ-ing nearly twenty years with the Avedis Zildjian Company and most recently with the Gretsch Company. At JodyJazz, Schofield will be responsible for brand strategy and for the implementation and execution of annual marketing plans in-cluding social media, print advertising, artist relations and promotions. He will also oversee all dealer and distributor ac-counts worldwide. In addition, Schofield will be working closely with JodyJazz founder and president Jody Espina in the development of the companys long-term strategic plans.

Harman Professional has promoted Scott Robbins to executive vice president of sales. Robbins assumes worldwide responsibility for sales operations including management of Harman Professionals regional sales programs, its target market sales programs and all technical service and support.

Harman Professional has also de-ployed a strengthened Regional Sales

Office (RSO) sales manage-ment infrastructure in the US that emphasizes local engagement, deeper sup-port and advanced train-ing. The new organization is led by Mark Posgay, se-nior director, US sales.

Seven-year Harman veteran, Jim Ure, has been appointed business devel-opment manager, Installed Sound, East-ern Region. Rob Lewis and Tom Der who previously led North America sales for Studer and Soundcraft respec-tively also join the new team. The new RSO organization sees Michael Schoen appointed to serve as senior manager, National Accounts, Anton Pukschan-sky appointed territory sales manager, (Sound Marketing West) and Bill Rai-mondi named senior manager, U.S. Dis-tribution & Strategic Accounts. Leading the new organizations training initiative is Chris Vice, another Harman Profes-sional veteran.

Entertainment Sciences Group has hired Sean Kar-powicz as their new director of marketing. Karpowicz brings a diverse background across pro audio, publish-ing, live sound, and media and will direct marketing and press.

Waves Audio has ap-pointed U.K.-based audio engineer Val Gilbert as live product specialist.

In his new capacity, Gil-bert will communicate with other live sound engineers across the U.K., sharing his knowledge of Waves plug-ins, the Sound-

Fresch Robbins

Karpowicz

Gilbert

Colin Schofield (left) newly appointed vice president of sales & marketing at Jody-Jazz, Inc. with Jody Espina, president (right).

Posgay


People.indd 20 12/18/12 11:32 AM

MMR_21 21 12/18/12 11:20:41 AM

22 MMR JANUARY 2013

Grid system, and typical workflows in the live sound arena. As the industry contin-ues its transition to digital, Val will draw upon his real-world experiences and im-part his expertise on the Waves customer base and live sound community

Fishman recently announced three new hires in the companys ongoing effort

to both expand and further improve its product development and engineering groups.

David Bensheimer, who has worked as a mechanical design engineer in consumer electronics, telecom, aero-space and medical devices, has been ap-pointed as senior mechanical engineer. A graduate of the New Jersey Institute

of Technology with a B.S. and M.S. in mechanical engineering, Bensheimer worked for IBM, Membrex and S&H Precision Manu-facturing as a mechanical engineer manager and se-nior mechanical engineer. Prior to join-ing Fishman, David had his own success-ful engineering consultancy designing products and equipment for customers such as Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of New Hampshire.

Named as senior electrical engineer, Jim Albert worked in the Audio industry as an electrical engineer de-signing musical instrument amplifiers and consumer electronic audio systems. A graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a B.S. in Electrical Engi-neering, Jim spent almost 14 years at Peavey Electronics where he worked on the companys first digital synthesizer and their bass amplifiers. He also worked at Altec Lansing and later joined Hanser Music Groups Kustom Amplification design.

Named to the position of jr. mechanical engineer, Deb Furman is a recent graduate of Northeastern University with a B.S. in mechanical engineering. Prior to her graduation, Furman interned at a small design con-sultancy that led to her current position.

Korg USA has appointed Terry Dockrill as district sales manager for the Ohio Valley area.

In his new position, he will be responsible for im-plementing dealer sales and support programs, as well as developing new dealer relationships and servicing valued dealer partners in his territory. Dockrill comes to Korg USA with 22 years of sales experience, most recently with Peavey Electronics. Prior to that, he held a sales position with St Louis Music, Loud Technologies in the Western Penn., Western N.Y., Ohio, West Virginia, and Eastern Kentucky territories.

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26 MMR JANUARY 2013

Show Report

PASIC 2012: An Emphatic Hit in TexasIn keeping with recent tradition, the 2012 Percussive

Arts Societys International Convention featured an im-

pressive array of clinics, performances, and competitions,

in addition to the often-thunderous exhibit hall. Returning

to Austin, Texas for the first time since 2008, highlights of the show

included a Marching Percussion Festival featuring more than 100 en-

trants, performances by such luminaries as the US Marine Band Per-

cussion Section and the Pedrito Martinez Group (with special guest

Steve Gadd), a packed-house clinic by New Orleans drummer Stanton

Moore, and Scott Johnson of the Blue Devils Drum & Bugle mirroring

warm-up routines with any young convention attendees brave enough

to step up to the challenge.

Vic Firth and Remo Belli share a moment on the PASIC 12 expo floor.

Tony Lapsansky and Heather Cousineau, The Woodwind & Brasswind.

Vater Percussions Ken Fuente, Alan Vater, Chad Cun-ningham, and Chad Brandolini.

Pasic 2012.indd 26 12/18/12 11:35 AM

JANUARY 2013 MMR 27

On the expo floor, there was a pal-pable ambience of camaraderie among exhibiting manufacturers and suppliers. Without question, the best thing about PAS is that its like a family reunion, confirmed mallet maker Mike Balter. You get to renew old friendships, and also establish new friendships. Theres one person I was just speaking with who mentioned that this is the 35th year weve seen each other at these shows.

People Seem to be Really Glad to be Here

Some initial reports from exhibitors were mixed, with fears that Superstorm Sandy which walloped the East Coast several days before PASIC began would prove to be a significant damper on the show. Ultimately, even though the storm did force several late arrivals among ex-hibitors and a handful of cancellations by East Coast-based clinicians, the event still bustled with excitement and enthusiasm for the gamut of percussive arts, from march-ing to world and everything in between.

People seem to be really glad to be here, especially in view of whats happen-ing on the East Coast, said Alfreds Mu-sic Publishings Dave Black. The buzz seems to be really good, and were here in Texas, which is a big music state. Aus-tin is always a welcoming destination for this sort of gathering, given the promi-nence of percussion ensembles in school music programs in the state of Texas, the incredible musical backdrop of Aus-

tin itself, not to mention a respite from the cooling temperatures (and storms!) for those traveling from Northern states. Its always good when [PASIC] comes back to Austin, agreed New York-based Angelo Arimborgo of Latin Percussion. We love this town. Overall, its always a good show in Austin.

Most exhibitors MMR spoke with were pleased with attendance and sales on the show floor, and hgappy to once again partake in this annual get-together for the drumming community. PAS offi-cials reported attendance of over 6,000, representing a significant up-tick from last years official tally of 5,100. It was

Every PASIC is exciting, and this year is no exception. Ray Wint, Universal Distribution.

Austrian performing artist Thomas Lang at the 2012 Roland V-Drums U.S. Finals on Wednesday, October 31, 2012, the evening before the official start of PASIC 12.

SKB Cases Justin Toebe and Will Steven. Bruce Schneider and Ken Fuente, Gator Cases.Sabians Robert Mason, Katie Bursey, and Nick Patrella.

Pasic 2012.indd 27 12/18/12 11:36 AM

28 MMR JANUARY 2013

also the most attendees since 2008, the last time PASIC was held in the Lone Star State. There were more than 120 clinics and sessions, with a final count of 113 exhibitors (down a single exhibitor from both 2011 and 2010 totals) on the expo floor. As has been the case over the last few years, there were several notable companies absent from the PASIC ex-hibit hall, and this year there appeared to be slightly more vacant space relative

to recent PAS shows in the Indianapolis Convention Center. Several exhibitors who preferred to remain anonymous ex-pressed frustration with that, but mostly in terms of how companies are missing out by not attending.

Many others, however, were brim-ming with excitement. PASIC 2012 is great, gushed Dynastys Mark Reyn-olds. PAS always does such a great job of putting this show together, and the ex-

hibit hall looks [excellent]. Theyve also done a great job putting together clinics this is probably the best job Ive seen in the past seven years.

As with every convention, some ex-hibitors will grumble about lack of inter-est while others bask in attention. For us, its been a great show, said Sam Bacco of Cooperman Company. People have a lot of interest in our sticks and drums. I have talked to some of my other manufacturing friends and they seem like they arent getting as much interest, but Im not sure if thats just the luck of the draw or what. Were doing really well and were really happy to be here.

Most importantly, there was no short-age of players browsing booth offerings and keeping the noise monitors busy. Every PASIC is exciting, and this year is no exception, said Ray Wint of Univer-sal Distribution. Weve got lots of very enthusiastic drummers here, and were glad to see them!

As far as products go, there were a handful of independent companies look-ing to find a market for innovative versions of accessories like earplugs and drumhead tuners. Most established manufacturers were saving major unveilings for the 2013 NAMM show, but they still took full ad-vantage of PASICs targeted audience to showcase their latest marching, concert, and World percussion products and acces-sories already in the marketplace.

Father-son duo Richie and Roland Gajate Garcia give a clinic on the multi-instrumental percussionist.

Leon Chiappini, Debbie Zildjian, and Paul Francis of Zildjian.

Mike Finklestein, Jonni Murphy, and Dave Black of Alfred Music Publishing.

Tycoon Percus-sions Ivy Yu.

Neil Grover of Grover Pro Percussion.

Ludwigs Bob Henry.

Don Click of Pro-Mark.

Terry Loose of Power Wrist Builders.

Chris Crockarell and Chris Brooks of Row-Loff Productions.

Chris Labriola of Peterson Electro-Musical Products.

Joe Hibbs and Chris Hankes, Mapex.

Pasic 2012.indd 28 12/18/12 11:36 AM

JANUARY 2013 MMR 29

The Ludwig booth prominently dis-played hardware from the companys new Atlas line. Bob Henry, national sales manager, noted, Its being very well received. This is our first year of intro-ducing it. Coming up at NAMM, well be showing some of the next stages of the Atlas hardware, which will include mounting hardware and lots of other stuff. What we have here is kind of a carryover of what we had at last years NAMM.

One of the few companies to debut products that arent yet in the catalog or on store shelves is Zildjian, which uses the high concentration of young percus-sionists to get a feel for new model pro-totypes. PASIC is fantastic this year, said Paul Francis, Zildjian director of Research and Development. Traffic has been very busy, and this is just a fantastic event to share education, product news, and overall drummer love. We are show-ing some great new products. We always bring prototypes [to PASIC] to test the waters. [These prototypes] run the gam-ut from some trashy Ks, some new alloy cymbals that have a lower tin content than the Zildjian alloy, which creates a bright sound, to some great little China cymbals and special effects stuff.

On the World music end of the spec-trum, Remo was showing off its new Versa hand drums, a nesting three-drum set with interchangeable heads that pop

on and off with a quick twist of a key on two lugs, one on each side of the drum. There are medium, high, and low-pitched heads, explained Remos Chalo Eduardo. All three heads fit on any of the three drums, and to switch them, you just pop off the heads and then pop them onto a different drum. This is the result of 55 years of drumhead innovation and drum technology.

Crystal Morris of Gator Cases noted

that it was exciting to have so many dif-ferent types of percussive instruments all gathered in one place. PASIC 2012 has been a great show, she said. Its fabu-lous to see all of the enthusiasm for music, and all of the young players coming here to see whats hot and play different in-struments. There are a lot of great [prod-ucts] here from many manufacturers, but more than anything [attendees are excit-ed about] walking around and getting to

Performing artist Stanton Moore presents a packed-house clinic.

Mike Balter of Mike Balter Mallets.

Mike Berg of Humes & Berg.

Derek Byrne, Marilyn Fleenor, and Brian Swinehart of Hal Leonard.

Joe Vasco and Angelo Arimborgo of Latin Percussion.

Performing artist Johnny Rabb at the Roland booth.

Pearl Corpora-tions Terry West.

Pasic 2012.indd 29 12/18/12 11:36 AM

30 MMR JANUARY 2013

try the different instruments. Gator was introducing a new line of drum cases, the Evolution Series, that stack flat, lock for shipping, and, most importantly, keep drums very safe.

On the publishing front, Alfreds Dave Black, who was honored with the 2012 PAS Presidents Industry Award, was eager to show off Alfreds new in-teractive catalog. This innovative tech-nology blends digital and print media: by scanning a product featured in the print catalog with a smartphone, as one might scan a QR code, an associated video that discussed the item in more detail would be downloaded and begin playing on the phones screen, essentially bringing the print ad to life.

In addition to Black, other honorees at PASIC 12 included John Bergamo, Hal Blaine, David Garibaldi, and Gor-don Stout, who were inducted into the

Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame, which recognizes outstanding accom-plishments and continued work in the percussion world. Kathleen Kastner was given the Outstanding PAS Ser-vice Award, and the Outstanding PAS Supporter Award went to Christopher Smith. The PAS Australia Chapter was recognized with the Outstanding PAS Chapter Award, and the PAS Lifetime Achievement Award in Education was given to Marty Hurly and Alan Shin for their contributions in the field of percus-sion education.

The marching competition featured some outstanding Texas talent, as Texas Christian University took the top spot in the college marching field, Marcus High School edged out Flower Mound High School in the high school marching di-vision, and Cedar Park High

School won top honors in the high school standstill competition.

In 2013, PASIC is slated to return to the Indiana Convention Center in India-napolis, home of the PAS headquarters and Rhythm Discovery Center, from November 13-16.

Musictime Inc.s Michele Parker.

Meredith Music Publications Garwood Whaley.

Yamahas Dave Jewell.

Luis Cardoso of Sabian Ltd.

Performing artist Todd Sucherman.

Scott Johnson of the Blue Devils Drum showing off some rudiments with PASIC attendees at the Roland booth.

Elliott and David Ribner of Overtone Labs.

The Convention Center sound monitors had their work cut out for them.

Scan this image with a smartphone

to view MMR interviews with exhibitors from

the PASIC expo hall.

Pasic 2012.indd 30 12/18/12 11:37 AM

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Spotlight

Embracing Larrys

Music Center:

the NowHow a Small Town Store in Wooster, Ohio Mixes Social Media, Internet, and Old Fashioned Customer Service for Success

Personal and Otherwise

There are only two reasons to work in a musical instru-

ment store, declares Brad Shreve. One is because you cant get

any other job, and two is because you dont want to do anything else!

Wed do this even if didnt get paid, chimes Gabriel OBrien.

Well maybe just not as often, laughs Shreve.

True! OBrien says, laughing, too. But we do feel glad to get to

show up here every day.

Thus is the vibe of Larry Music Center, a full line music instrument retail operation with a kinetic energy that is infectiously fun. The stores website is sophisticated, their social media approach savvy, and their aggressive reach for sales belies their small-town location. Spend a little time with them and its clear that owner Shreve and sales manager/e-commerce director OBrien are dedicated to building an operation that does more than pays their rent they are on a journey to embrace their community and have fun along the way.

Our customers, including band directors and teachers, feel like they are coming to our house when they come to the store, says OBrien. They are here to have fun and hang out. Its not uncommon to find our staff out seeing a local band play. Its not Store greeter, Mia the Siberian Husky.

Larrys Music.indd 34 12/18/12 11:45 AM

JANUARY 2013 MMR 35

You have to constantly

invest inventory,

people, new ideas, new technology

or youre going backwards.

uncommon to see [general manager/repair technician] Scott [Chapman] out hearing a local band in concert, and while hes there hell repair something on site if needed.

We try to create any reason we can to get people in the store and keep them here as long as possible, Shreve says. This includes having donuts and coffee around on a Saturday, a Tom Petty documentary playing on their big screen in the lounge, and drinks and free wifi for those parents waiting for a child to finish his or her guitar lesson.

They have given into one big box corporate aspect: Larrys Music Center has a greeter, a Siberian husky named Mia. Shes probably our top sales person! Shreve jokes.

Not naive, the team at Larrys knows that as an independent they need to be able to provide the personal service often in short supply at national chain stores, yet still meet their price and selection as close as possible. And they take that attitude to their online store, working to bring their expertise and personality to the virtual world. Larrys embraces it all.

Look how big Facebook is, Shreve says. That is a generation of customers who want to connect and feel good about the people they deal with.

HistoryIn 1979, band director Larry Lang changed careers and opened a small B&O repair

shop in Wooster, Ohio. He was a band director who decided that that career wasnt for him, Shreve explains. He had learned enough about fixing instruments to be danger-ous, and so he opened a small shop two miles from our current location. The one-man

Brad Shreve and Gabriel OBrien.


36 MMR JANUARY 2013

operation had Lang up early every morn-ing and driving many miles picking up instruments that needed repair. Larrys Music Center was built on this market, and Shreve says today it still counts as 40 to 45 percent of their total business. We wouldnt see the continued growth [in this area] without our general manager Scott Chapman, who really is a fantastic plan-ner. And we have an Energizer Bunny in [educational sales manager] David Lueschen who works in the store, but also spends a lot of time out visiting schools.

Lang branched out, slowly at first, and hired Shreve in 1983. I was 19 and going to college in Akron, and I never looked back, Shreve says, a multi instrumentalist who plays in several area bands. I loved it right away. I knew this was the career for me. I was enthusiastic about it, and I look for that enthusiasm in all the people we hire.

In 1984 Chapman was hired, and the NAPBIRT [National Association of Professional Band Instrument Repair Technicians]-certified instrument repair technician still maintains that in one day, out the next philosophy that Lang built his reputation on.

As for Shreve, he built up a loyal clien-tele of churches, music ministers, and local musicians over the years, while also care-fully expanding into combo and pro audio.

Lang would hire Lueschen to take over the road as he stepped back to con-centrate on the day-to-day and oversee with Shreve additional expansion and a serious remodel of the store. In 2001, OBrien, another local musician Shreve

mentored, came on board as a sales-person. OBrien quickly took over store graphics and marketing, including super-vising a new website and creating videos for the stores new YouTube channel. In 2005, Larrys Music moved to its current, bigger location that features expanded teaching studios and a lounge.

In 2011, Lang retired and sold the oper-ation to Shreve. In early 2012, Brad opened a satellite operation in the Amish town of Millersburg, 25 miles down the road. Its about a fourth the size of their main Lar-rys Music Center, and is managed by Kyle Beachy. Shreve, who lives out that way, drops by the store nearly everyday. Its Amish country, so people come from all over to visit the town, he says. (The popu-lation of the village is a mere 3,000.) In ad-dition to feeling there was growth potential opening a second operation, Shreve notes that Millersburg made the proposition es-pecially inviting by providing a good deal on a lease of an old, beautiful bank build-ing as part of their efforts to revitalize the downtown area.

Today Larrys employs a total of seven full-time people, two part-time, and around 15 teachers between the two stores. People think that these days there arent any opportunities, but our people are the opportunities, observes Shreve. We put faith in each other, hold each oth-er accountable, and keep a good attitude.

As for the modest town of Wooster (population 26,000), it was famous for being home to Rubbermaid, and was where one Jerome Monroe Smucker first started mak-

You know its a really great gig

when your customers

bring you pie.

David Lueschen, Gabriel OBrien, Brad Shreve,

Larry Long, Scott Chapman.

Kyle Beachy.


MMR_37 37 12/18/12 11:22:23 AM

38 MMR JANUARY 2013

ing his cider. The College of Wooster is an Ivy League [quality] school plucked down in this small town of all places, Shreve says. That and other businesses have made the town a bit recession-proof. Its a wonderful place to have a small business.

OBrien and Shreve share a manage-ment style thats part kid in the candy

store and part raw intuition. The big thing about us is we carry the instru-ments we want to play and host the events we want to go to, OBrien says. We have always felt that if we think its cool, most others will too.

We really want this store to be the kind of place that we want to go to, Shreve adds.

Everything to Everybody

MMR: Youre a complete full line operation. Lets go through and tell people what they will find in your store, starting with guitars.

Gabriel OBrien: Were a big Tay-lor dealer and do a lot of Alvarez as well.

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Lately weve been having fun with Wech-ter guitars too.

Brad Shreve: Theres also Compos-ite Acoustic, now made by Peavey. We also have a decent collection of vintage.

GO: For electrics we have Fender and Gretsch primarily, and some Ibanez and Jackson.

MMR: Percussion?GO: Our strongest line is Yamaha. We

have had a long relationship with them be-cause we carry their Clavinovas, and their drums sets are just amazing for the money.

MMR: Do you do well with Cla-vinovas?

BS: We sell quite a few. We even deal in some pianos, though mostly used. You have to be everything to everybody out here!

MMR: Tell us about B&O.BS: Our repair shop is important, and

we have unparalleled service. Most of our repairs are in and out in a single day.

Primarily we sell and rent Yamaha in-struments, though in the last few years weve done well with Selmer and Jupiter too.

MMR: You have a spot in your store encouraging step up instrument sales. This has been increasingly challenging for some independent retailers over the last few years why are you devoting real estate to it?

BS: Thats a fair question. Usually that kid in the first chair wants to buy a better instrument, but everybody knows its harder for stores like us to compete with all thats available online and at the big boxes. Online retailers are now sending multiple instruments to someones home and making it easy

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for them to send some, or even all, of them back.

We try to offer service and expert help in choosing that step-up instrument. No, we dont get all the sales, but I think that throwing up your hands and not having any inventory [in the step-up market] is doing a disservice to your customers. There are always going to be loyal cus-tomers more comfortable with being in your store to try that next instrument then buying online. Its silly not to have what they need.

Of course another advantage we have is David [Lueschen]. Hes also been a professor in low brass at The College of Wooster since 1986. Its always nice to have an expert like that talking to you.

MMR: Again, for a store in a small town, you have a strong pro audio presence Yamaha, Peavey, Samson, Audio-Technica. Is that a good market for you?

GO: We do a variety of business in that area, mostly with local churches and schools.

I was lucky enough to be trained by Brad [Shreve] when I first started hang-ing around, so now I spent a lot of time with churches and schools troubleshoot-ing their systems, seeing what upgrades are best, teaching them to run sound, that sort of thing.

We dont do full PA installs, though we do set up some with wireless systems.

BS: The new Audio-Technica wire-less system is great. It just came out and we already have orders for it.

MMR: Your selection of print music and the real estate you dedicate to that is impressive.

BS: I have to give all the credit for this one to Larry. He made a large commit-ment early on to have print for all the B&O and piano teachers who come in. Now, while many dealers will talk about how you only get 40 points on it, less when you dis-count to teachers [et cetera] well, com-pared to everything else, print margins are looking pretty good right now! [laughs]

Seeking Professional Help

MMR: Ohio seems very sup-portive of music education is it going well?

BS: I have noticed that school enroll-ment is up recently, and more are joining bands.

MMR: You sell online, are ac-tive on Facebook how is that working out?

GO: I have noticed that, for the last couple of years, people really like to stay in touch on Facebook. I think the new generation of buyers wants to know the people they buy from. That works in our favor tremendously.

MMR: Tell us about your web-site.

GO: Its the second incarnation of it. We went to a local web design company to build it, to create the codes, but I work closely with them on everything else. We take a lot of photos.

MMR: Few independent stores see the need to hire help for website design. Seems most either make do with something modest or are lucky enough to have someone on staff who has the ability to create a good site. You have limited resourc-es why spend on a website?

BS: You can take that mentality to the extreme of any aspect of small business. I mean, why invest in inventory either? You see that too often in music stores to-day, too. But you have to constantly in-vest inventory, people, new ideas, new technology or youre going backwards.

We have people come in just to sit and drink coffee and read and not even

buy anything and thats fine

with us.

Chapman and Lueschen.


JANUARY 2013 MMR 41

MMR: Your website slogan is making the website store as personal as a real store. How do you achieve that?

GO: We monitor everything con-stantly. Im on a laptop and iPhone all day long, 24/7, on weekends and holi-days, staying connected to our online customers. Customers are excited by the conversational style in which we interact with them.

BS: Its important to us when a cus-tomer contacts us online, they get the same feeling as if they were in the store visiting us in person.

MMR: Are you using your Inter-net presence to bring people into the store?

GO: We are definitely able to bring people into the store with it. For example, were posting things on Facebook of the you have to check this out nature and people come in.

MMR: How about sales online? BS: Gabriel has done a really great job of finding new products that not everybody has, and thats where the bulk of our success lies. Thats what drives traffic. Well never be Sweetwater, who do a fantastic job, but we do carve out little niches.

You can go online and guess the un-usual items are the ones that sell online and youd be right! [laughs] Give me a left-handed Gretsch thats an unusual color and Ill sell that pretty fast; a white Fender Strat, not so quickly.

MMR: How important is your YouTube channel?

GO: Very. We put up pretty much ev-erything we can, but still not as much as wed like. We have a whole backlog of vintage guitars I need to get up there. But its great. Its a way for us to show off how a guitar sounds, and play it, so the cus-

tomer gets to know the instrument and gets to know us. I have a background in video, so Im able to shoot them quickly and edit them in Final Cut Pro.

MMR: Whats your strategy for how often you post on Facebook?

GO: We post more than average thats for sure! [laughs] We treat it a little zanier than our website. We put photos of the store, new products, and things like that. But Brad has started doing a music history bit, This day in rock, that has a lot of fans, including me. Its cool and people love it.

MMR: What is your teaching situation like?

BS: We have six studios here and four in Millersburg, 300 students coming through every week. Its a thriving part of our business and we owe a lot to our teachers. They are fantastic.

We also built a lounge for the parents. Seeing them sit and wait in the little hall-

Noah Shreve and Mike Dies in the amp room.


42 MMR JANUARY 2013

way always made me think we needed to do something for them. Now we have a caf almost, with free Wi-Fi and a big-screen TV with surround sound. We have people come in just to sit and drink coffee and read and not even buy any-thing and thats fine with us.

MMR: Funny I remember as a kid taking piano lessons and my dad sitting outside in the Oldsmobile during winter for 30 minutes.

BS: Thats the point. Its easy to take parents of students for granted, but they are your most important customers. You want to make sure they and the student are comfortable, and not just for the first lesson, but forever.

GO: If youre the parent of a student taking lessons, and you have a comfort-able place to be during the lesson, a place you dont mind being, not only are you going to feel better about the lessons but youre more likely to linger and not be in a hurry to drag the kid out of the store.

The Literal Pie

MMR: What other types of marketing do you get involved with?

BS: We sponsor local events, band concerts, and even sponsor the stages at two high-end restaurants in town that have live music. We have our banner up and pay bands to play.

GO: We do some things in local pa-pers but in our same upstart fashion. We ran a campaign about how rather than getting up early and fighting crowds on Black Friday for that $50 guitar, you could sleep in on that or any Friday in November and come here at our regular opening time and get 15 percent off any-thing. We even said, and bring us pie.

One did! [laughs] You know its a re-ally great gig when your customers bring you pie.

BS: Actually its not uncommon to get baked goods from our customers.

GO: Im getting fatter, but...

MMR: Thats pretty funny. Any in-store events?

BS: We have the Taylor Roadshows in and those are always great.

GO: Weve been doing a lot of fun things lately. We started a uke club, and Ill be starting a songwriting club soon.

MMR: What does the future hold for Larrys Music Center?

BS: We have seven great full time em-ployees, any of whom, with a little more time and seasoning, could run another store for us. So were always looking for the right opportunity.

MMR: Well it seems like you guys are having a good time as the journey continues

BS: If youre not having fun, youre on the wrong bus.

GO: If youre not having fun, youre doing it wrong!

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MMR_43 43 12/18/12 11:22:37 AM

Music Education

RockSchoolof

The rapidly growing rock ed institution is offering golden opportunities for self-improvement. Its not just for budding rock stars retailers have something to gain, too.

School of Rock.indd 44 12/18/12 11:48 AM

JANUARY 2013 MMR 45

I dont know how many thousands of performances hes done in his life, but he was like a little kid coming off the stage, says Catalano. He absolutely loves it. Soon, the group was discussing the im-portance of music education throughout all school levels. Eddie Vedder, whod joined Springsteen that night along with guitarist Tom Morello, told Catalano that kids need music so theyd have some-thing to put their soul into. Catalano felt vindicated.

A veteran of venture projects for years, Catalano has steered several high-profile brands to success on his own and in his former role with McDonalds Ven-tures. There, Catalano and his business partner, Mats Lederhausen, climbed to prominence making household names out of Chipotle and the on-location DVD rental system Red Box.

Now, he wants to get music retail stores in on the action.

Catalano is now the chairman and CEO of the national music education program School of Rock, a 10-year-old program that was acquired by Chi-cago investment firm Sterling Partners in 2009. The company is a network of

franchised and company-owned perfor-mance-based schools across the coun-try. Their thousands of students go on to perform highly orchestrated concerts in real rock clubs like Webster Hall in New York, Red Rocks in Colorado, and the Echo in L.A. National AllStar bands embark on regional tours and play dates on the Warped Tour. For lots of kids, its a dream come true.

Theyve just opened their 100th loca-tion (a quarter of them company-owned), but Catalanos just getting started. In the companys projected 300-500 locations, hes hoping to include local retail shops as musical hubs. Retailers might initially think of it as a streamlined lesson pro-gram with national support, but Catala-no suggests they consider it a much-need-ed repurposing of what many are finding to be stagnant floor space.

Retail is under attack, he says. The worst place to be is having a brick and mortar business that is selling someone elses products that can also be bought through six different channels.

In my mind, any retailer that is not looking at services in general to validate their existence from a retail perspective,

What ends up happening is that we dont just teach music we teach teamwork and we teach self-confidence.

Chris Catalano

Last fall, financial consultant Chris Catalano found himself in a small

backstage room in Chicagos Wrigley Field, greeting a soaking wet

Bruce Springsteen off the stage where hed just performed a concert

in the pouring rain.


46 MMR JANUARY 2013

I think, is making a mistake. Anybody with any vision realizes that a repurpos-ing of your retail space to services can be really powerful.

Live to Play and Play to LiveThe School of Rock began in Phila-

delphia as the Paul Green School of Rock. A 25-year-old local musician, Green set up the school after hed noticed kids in various music lesson programs of

his were learning faster performing as groups than studying in traditional one-on-one lessons. Green expanded the op-eration to major cities across the country like New York, San Francisco, Austin, and Salt Lake City.

The school had made news from the start, garnering a writeup in Spin that first year and an interest from VH1 the next. As the company expanded, the core curriculum remained the same

teachers with real-world rock experience would advance students skills by having them play together and depend on each other to successfully pull off real-life rock concerts. It was a left turn away from the typical student-teacher situation where progress tends to be measured in scales and theory.

Green left the School as Sterling Part-ners transitioned into ownership, and Catalano was careful to usher a more focused approach to the companys ex-pansion. Once a sprawling program that was, in a sense, growing beyond its orga-nizational means, the School of Rock is now run out of Catalanos office in the Burr Ridge suburb of Chicago with a fi-nancial team in Denver, totaling around 14 staffers.

When Sterling Partners bought the company in 2009, Greens motto had been Saving RocknRoll, One Kid at a Time! Catalano had a different goal in mind. Our stated purpose now is to In-spire the World to Rock Onstage and In Life, he says. Every student is cast into a particular themed show. A base ability is required, but a Rock 101 program is in place to get newcomers over that hur-dle and a new Little Wing program is being rolled out for very young students.


JANUARY 2013 MMR 47

Shows could be centered on the music of Led Zeppelin, a genre like yacht rock, or a historical era like Motown. The typi-cal regimen involved a weekly 45-minute private lesson and a weekly, 3-hour band rehearsal. The shows, which happen sev-eral times a year, are designed by each schools music director and will typically involve 20-25 students in all, rotating into the show for different songs. What youd end up seeing, for instance, is 25 kids in various orders executing Pink Floyds The Wall show, says Catalano.

Kids are organized into different skill levels and teamed with a mix of other lev-els to help develop inspiration and lead-ership qualities. A young guitarist just mastering open chords can be assigned to a band with an older, advanced guitar-ist, giving them a chance to perform in a great band early on in their development.

Then there are house bands for each school, which Catalano describes as SWAT teams the best students in the school. A house band might get extra performance opportunities. For instance, in Los Angeles, the School of Rock house band was called upon by ABCs Dancing with the Stars to serve as a backing band for the shows rock music episode.

Beyond that are the AllStar bands, comprising of 125 of the best students in the nation, broken into five groups that tour different regions throughout the country, including festival dates like Lollapalooza, Summerfest, and the Vans Warped Tour. Its funny because fes-tival organizers wont have high expec-tations for these kids. Then they real-ize that these kids are better than a lot of those other bands up there. The next call is something like, Can you do three dates next year?

In the end, though, the key is setting up programs to get kids excited to learn their instruments and to start counting on each other. Its a far-reaching system, but the main ingredient is the simple step of getting kids connected as peers and band mates on songs that challenge ev-eryone in the band.

The real trick is getting the kid fo-cused, quickly as possible, on a song,

says Catalano. They focus on playing the song instead of the theory behind the song. We get them out playing music as quickly as possible. That creates the motivation to practice. They dont want to let their friends down. What ends up happening is that we dont just teach mu-sic we teach teamwork and we teach self-confidence.

Maneuvering into RetailAnother group Catalano would love

to bring confidence to is MI retail indus-try. Stemming from conversations hes had with bigger chains in the past (many of whom have subsequently begun orga-nizing their own education programs), Catalano hopes to get local brick and mortar stores in on the action soon.

Everyones struggling, he says. Customers use shops as a showroom,

then they search online for the best price. Then you have a price war between store owners (who are sitting on leases) and the Internet companies, who have a different price structure. He points to his success with Red Box as evidence of how some companies have shaken up the playing field by getting rid of their own show-room floors while Blockbuster was go-ing bankrupt paying rent on its locations, Red Box was able to charge bargain prices with almost no physical footprint.

School of Rock offers retail shops an opportunity to utilize more floor space for things that cant be found online namely, real-life band rehearsals and education. Services cant just be easily disintermediated through the Internet, he says.

The goal is to utilize independent stores, who are already connected to their own music communities, to cre-ate thriving educational programs con-nected with the School of Rock brand. Were not trying create McDonalds here, says Catalano. We give people a lot of flexibility. Guidelines exist about signage, safety, and customer experience (dont put the drum room near the front door of the shop, for instance), as well as a psychographic data about where best to locate. A prototype build is in place from

Anybody with any vision realizes that a repurposing of your retail space to services can be really powerful.


48 MMR JANUARY 2013

which franchisees can source material as needed, but its not required.

By the same token, schools will ide-ally have flexibility in their program-ming as well. Rehearsals could be more or less hours at a time, or meet at a lower weekly rate. Theyre all details that can be tweaked, though Catalano says they will be keeping on eye on everyone to make sure quality results are being main-tained.

If a program ends up not getting us the same inspirational level, that will come out in the way of revenue over time, he says. I would say the lions share of our schools really stay consistent with what we offer because its a proven model.

As of press time, School of Rock has yet to solidify with any particular stores outside of longstanding location at a sin-gle Sam Ash in Charlotte, N.C., though Catalano is keen to see it happen. The brand already has 150 new school loca-tions spoken for by eager franchisees throughout the country, and he sees a series of partnerships with local stores is ideal for the company thanks to their en-trenchment in every local scene.

In the end, I hope were able to in-spire a good deal of new musicians, which is good for all of us.

We are proud that for the past 10 years Ventura Guitars have only been sold to brick and mortar

independent music stores. NO Internet web sites! NO national music chains! NO big box stores or other retail!

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The Ventura Guitar Line is designed mostly for retail price points of $100-$300. We usually

have most everything in stock, and ship the same or next day. All products have a

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AND NO APPLICATION PROCESS: if I know you are a brick and mortar

independent store, that is all I need! Our only requirement is that you

not sell any of the Ventura product on the internet. Thats allthat

simple!

Tom Oliphant, Owner Ventura GuitarsMany of you may have seen me in your store already. I spend several weeks a year out in the field and from that perspective I understand the independent store opera-tion, your problems, concerns and needs. You have told us what your customer wants and what they are willing to pay and Ventura Guitars are designed with the features and value to meet these requirements and allow you the reasonable profit your store needs to stay in business.

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MMR_49 49 12/18/12 2:29:42 PM

50 MMR JANUARY 2013

Anniversary

Lifelong drum advocate Ed Hartman first moved out to Seattle in

1979. He had finished up his music degree at Indiana University after

leaving his hometown near Chicago and was looking to get a start

on his music career. He served as chapter president of the Percussive

Arts Society and produced different drumming events, most notably

the well-known Days of Percussion festival which eventually evolved

into the World Rhythm Festival at the Seattle Center. He opened a

percussion teaching studio in friend John Avingers music shop, Johns

Music, in the 80s. Johns Music focused mainly on World Percussion,

so Hartman decided to look into rebuilt drumsets, cymbals, and hard-

ware. In 1992, he officially opened his own shop, the Drum Exchange.

In the years since, Hartman has expanded the shop and proudly organized a variety of clinics and events with world renowned percussionists (Carmine Appice, Dave Samu-els, Mark Walker and more have all worked with him). Last year, Avinger retired and closed Johns Music, leaving Hartman and his wife, Candace (who organizes displays, purchasing, and manages the store while Hartman is teaching) to expand into all types of percussion as they head into 20th year in business. MMR spoke with him over the phone about the milestone.

The Drum Exchange Turns 20 Checking in on Ed Hartmans beloved hub of drum gear and percussion instruction in Seattle

Ed Hartman

Drum Exchange.indd 50 12/18/12 11:54 AM

JANUARY 2013 MMR 51

MMR: What really brought you out to Seattle in the first place?

Ed Hartman: I looked on a map and I thought, whats the farthest place I can go from where I am in the United States? [laughs]. That was 79, and I start-ed to teach immediately. I found myself in the center of activities. I started a mu-sic co-op that lasted a year or so, putting on concerts and things. I started a com-posers series and helped premier mu-sic with orchestras. I got to know Alan Hovhannes when he lived out here at the time, and wound up premiering some of his music that had never been performed.

I wound up meeting John Avinger, who started Johns Music, back in the 1980s. He allowed me a full-time space to rent in the back of his. That store eventually moved to where we are now, in Wellingford. I was still just teaching through John, subleasing. Eventually, as he decided he didnt want to deal with the drum set side of things, retail-wise, I started to pick that up.

MMR: What has your involve-ment with the Percussive Arts Society been like?

EH: As far as PAS is concerned, at some point I got to know the chapter presidents and its something that ev-eryone can do for a few years. So I did my time. Thats kind of the other side of this. I started these Days of Percussion events that got pretty big, to where we were having five or six national clinicians coming in and wed be doing them in dif

mmr january 2013

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