Springfield Music, Inc., has announced its acquisition of Fazio’s Music in St. Louis MO. The transaction, which was completed on February 11, marks the second company to be purchased in the past six months. According to Springfield Music Vice President Donovan Bankhead, the decision to add Fazio’s Music to Springfield Music’s family of businesses is part of its strategic plan to “provide a fun, full-service experience for our customers throughout Missouri and the surrounding states.” Fazio’s, founded in 1978, is a retail music store based in St. Louis, with the majority of its merchandise comprising guitars and guitar accessories.
“The huge selection of instruments is something you have to see to believe. Plus, the staff there is literally one of the finest groups of people you’ll find in any music store,” said Bankhead. “They are all extremely knowledgeable, friendly and passionate about what they do.” Under new ownership, the already-broad instrument selection will grow to include school band and orchestra sales and rentals, expanding its current market into the educational and church facilities in the St. Louis area.
“We are excited moving forward, using the existing legacy Mike Fazio created and adding new elements to the picture,” Fazio’s General Manager James Gast said. “Our addition to the Springfield Music family is truly an amazing opportunity, considering the different strengths each of the four stores brings to the table.”
Springfield Music, Inc., currently operates the following Missouri retail music stores: Springfield Music in Springfield; Ernie Williamson Music in Joplin; Funky Munky Music in Shawnee; and now Fazio’s Music in St. Louis.

Multi-platinum recording artist Brian “Head” Welch, formerly of Korn, stopped by the House of Guitars in Rochester NY earlier this year in support of his latest release, Love and Death’s “Between Here and Lost.” His February 27 visit marked his third time stopping by the store to greet fans and sign autographs at a free event. Welch, currently signed to Tooth & Nail Records, has turned his efforts to the Christian metal scene and has been inspiring his fans, both old and new. He released his New York Times bestseller, Save Me From Myself, to critical acclaim and is currently touring with his new band. The House of Guitars wishes its good friends Brian Welch and his band mates good luck on their ventures and the rest of the tour.

After a few weeks of lying low, I received a call from The Chief.
“Hop in your car and drive into the heart of the desert,” he barked. “I need you to find the best high-end guitar in Vegas.”
I scrambled to get my ducks in a row, jumped in my car and drove for miles on a sunny day into the desert toward Las Vegas. Reddish orange mountain ranges stretched out in all directions, barricading my car on one or both sides at different junctures. There was still some snow up in the desert mountains on my route in, and miles where the only things to see were cacti and tumbleweeds. “I hope my car doesn’t break down out here in the middle of nowhere,” I thought to myself at times. After a while, though, the desert lulled me into a trance-like state and, before I knew it, the casinos of Vegas stretched out in front of me, all lit up and beckoning visitors into timeless caverns in which gambling and all sorts of lavish fun could be had ’round the clock. But I wasn’t in Vegas to party—at least, not just yet. I was there to visit guitar stores…to search high and low for the best high-end models.
On the way to my first destination, traffic was bearable and navigation was pretty effortless. Everything seemed larger than life: the lanes wide and the casinos leaning in on me, trying to entice me through their doors. I pushed thoughts of high living out of my head, dead set on accomplishing my mission before the sun set over the mountains in the distance.

(continue reading)

• Gander Gains New Responsibilities
• Asterope’s L.A. Artist Event Dazzles
• Shure’s Offering Spring Rebates
• Nambacker B2B Is Launched
• Colby Amps Takes A Bow
• Pioneer Promotes ‘Davey Dave’… and much more!

Vnewsletter Sign-up

• Peavey, DC Comics Team Up
• Dean Markley’s New Website
• Gretsch Company Marks 130 Years
• Music Education Advocates Honored
• “The Good Stuff” Is Coming!… and much more!

Vnewsletter Sign-up

Jaramillo’s insightful comments about the company, its products, its strategic positioning and its future made for a very interesting discussion. Enjoy.

The Music & Sound Retailer: Let’s start with your background. Touch on the highlights of your own story as it pertains to the music products and lighting technology industries. Tell us about the path you’ve traveled, bringing us right up to the present day.

Ana Jaramillo: As a child, I was very active in the arts. I played piano for many years and was also very involved in dance as a ballet dancer. When I was younger, I won a ballet competition, and I had planned on going to Julliard. However, being 15 and of Cuban descent, my parents refused to let me go. I continued to dance for a few years, and then eventually just fizzled out of it. But, music, singing and dancing are still things I’m very passionate about.

I started in this industry about 15 or 16 years ago on the sound side, working as a Marketing Assistant for Vestax in Florida. After Vestax decided to move out of Florida, I began working with a DJ store in Ft. Lauderdale developing their distribution sales. They sold sound, lighting and all types of DJ equipment to smaller stores that couldn’t afford to open up direct with manufacturers. I did that for about two years, and then went on to work for Chauvet. I’ve been here for about 12 years.

At Chauvet, I started as a Sales Assistant. I was then promoted to Southern Territory Manager; back then, we were small enough that we only needed two Territory Managers. We kept growing and I became the Northeast Territory Manager. I have worked with almost every customer that we have! Last year, when we restructured our sales team, I was promoted to National Sales Manager for CHAUVET DJ. CHAUVET DJ serves the entertainment lighting market for DJs, bands, musicians, stages, event productions and clubs.

The Retailer: What are your key day-to-day responsibilities and duties in your role with Chauvet? What’s your favorite part of your job?

Jaramillo: I oversee the national sales department for CHAUVET DJ. I have four great Territory Managers working with me, handling different territories and managing teams of manufacturers’ representatives. On a day-to-day basis, I interact with existing customers and key account holders. My main focus is to tap into new markets and develop new business and, to me, that’s the most exciting part. I have a few things in the works, but I can’t really talk about them yet. [Laughs.] But, it’s exciting to be able to explore other markets that we haven’t otherwise been able to access up until now. There’s so much business to be had out there.

(continue reading.)

Grandma’s Music & Sound
9310 Coors NW
Albuquerque, NM 87114
(800) 444-5252
www.grandmas.com
Mon-Fri 10am to 6:30pm
Sat 10am to 6pm
Sun 12pm to 5pm
Micky Patten, Owner

Before he knew it, Patten was the sole employee of a 1,500-square-foot store in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. Even though Patten played bass professionally, Grandma’s Music & Sound was not primarily a guitar shop. “No good guitar lines were available to me at that time because I didn’t have credit,” said Patten, who instead focused on recording equipment, keyboards and MIDI products from brands like Roland, Ensoniq, Sequential Circuits, Emu Systems and TASCAM.

“That was the technology of the ’80s. That’s what was popular back then,” Patten continued, adding that he had a working knowledge of pro audio equipment through some experience in the recording studio and at the studio at his college. “No one in our area was addressing that market adequately.”

Two months after opening his store, Patten was able to get a line of credit for his business and, in 1989, added a guitar and drum department to the store, with Fender as the first major guitar line. The early struggles in getting to that point “taught me an important lesson about how fast you need to sell your merchandise in order to pay the bills,” said Patten. “I learned how to get good product lines and make relationships, not just with manufacturers but also with people like your CPA, your lawyer and your computer guy.”

One relationship in particular that Patten forged that first year in business has helped to carry Grandma’s Music & Sound to the top of the market. “In the first year, I hired Brad Clement, and we ran the store together for four years,” said Patten. “Then, when his brother Ryan moved here from California, we hired him and he was great. He outsold both of us and he grew to have quite a following. He’s still with us 26 years later, and he’s now the Store Manager.”

Today, Ryan Clement runs the store alongside Patten’s wife, Patty, who runs the office and most of the operations; Patten is more of the “visionary,” looking at the bigger picture. It’s a business that has grown exponentially, to say the least, in the
(continue reading)

• In Memoriam: Robert “RZ” Zildjian
• QSC Makes Key Promotions
• KMCMusicorp’s Strategic Investment
• MIM’s New Accessories Exhibit
• NAMM’s Top 100 Dealer Awards
• Gibson Guitar Invests In TEAC… and much more!

Vnewsletter Sign-up