There will also be an indoor/outdoor festival featuring live music, delicious food, prizes and lots of fun for the entire family. This year’s expo is bigger than ever, with two days full of dozens of informative workshops and seminars, scores of manufacturer exhibits, musical performances and special surprises. Sweetwater Founder and President Chuck Surack remarked, “We are proud to offer this event every year. It continues to grow, and there’s literally nothing like it elsewhere in the country. There’s certainly nothing this big, with so many great attractions, that is also free and open to the public. That’s why people come to GearFest from throughout the Midwest, and from around the entire country.

To speed up the registration process at the festival, individuals can pre-register online. Visit www.sweetwater.com/feature/gearfest2013/register.php. For more information, call 800.222.4700.

An event as big as GearFest demands an equally big giveaway of free gear. Sweetwater vendors have provided more than $45,000 in gear that will be awarded to lucky GearFest attendees. Hourly prizes will be given away from more than 30 manufacturers. Individuals must attend GearFest and register in person in order to win.

In addition, Sweetwater will be offering sale pricing on many products. GearFest ’13 will also host a multitude of guests from all areas of the music industry for performances and workshops. The entire GearFest ’13 schedule of events is available online at www.sweetwater.com/feature/gearfest2013/workshops.php.

]]> http://www.msretailer.com/msr/sweetwater-presents-gearfest-13/feed/ 0 http://www.msretailer.com/msr/springfield-music-acquires-fazios-music/ http://www.msretailer.com/msr/springfield-music-acquires-fazios-music/#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 17:05:24 +0000 Fred Gumm http://www.msretailer.com/msr/?p=4015

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.

Chuck Davies, Founder and CEO of the ADJ Group, announced that Toby Velazquez has been named President of ADJ, Elation and Acclaim Lighting. Velazquez, who joined the company shortly after it was started in 1985, has served the ADJ Group in a wide variety of capacities and has made critical contributions to its growth from a small business serving the mobile DJ market to an internationally known name in the lighting industry. “Toby has been a key part of our company from its earliest days,” said Davies. “He’s demonstrated extraordinary talent and leadership qualities in every job he’s done, and his passion for excellence is second to none. Based on his abilities and track record, I’m extremely confident that he’s the right person to lead ADJ, Elation and Acclaim Lighting into the future.”

In recent years, Velazquez has shepherded the development of many of ADJ’s most notable products, including its LED fixtures, LED video panels and the industry’s first moving heads to use Philips’ Platinum MSR lamps. He is looking forward to building on these achievements in the future.

“Our company has been built on innovation,” said Velazquez. “We’ve made it our mission to get to know our customers, understand their needs and create new, affordable, user-friendly products that contribute to their success. This will continue to be our guiding philosophy, and we’ll continue to look for new ways to make us even better at implementing it. I welcome this opportunity, and I’m thankful to be surrounded by such a dedicated group of talented co-workers.”

Based in Los Angeles with European headquarters in Kerkrade, The Netherlands, the ADJ Group sells lighting throughout the world under the ADJ, Elation and Acclaim brands.

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.

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• 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!

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KHS America
Recently, Jupiter and Mapex invited the Nashville Symphony and Nashville Metro Schools to their corporate headquarters for donations of musical instruments. Jupiter Band Instruments teamed up with the Nashville Symphony and the Predators Foundation for its school…

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The Music & Sound Retailer: One narrative that has emerged since the last recession has been that many product groups have refocused on lower and middle-range price points, given that some consumers are spending less readily. To what extent, if any, has this trend manifested in pro audio?
Ray van Straten: I cannot remember a time when we were without competition from low-price players. There is always room at the bottom. The challenge here, of course, is that, although pro audio continues to be a growing market segment, the channel is going to have a difficult time growing revenue with low-priced goods. I just don’t believe there are enough customers to whom the “pie” can be distributed. It’s my assessment that customers are, to a large degree, spending less because the channel is vigorously promoting low-priced goods to grab customers’ attention and make a sale—any sale. Although this might create earlier entry points for new customers, it does little to cultivate a relationship with the aspiring professional users who need performance tools with which they can make a living. It’s really not that different from putting a cheap guitar in the hands of someone who wants to learn how to play. Overcoming the shortcomings of the instrument…

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The main location for All Music Inc. in Plainview NY, on Long Island, is in a precarious position within the area’s retail landscape. Not only are there two Sam Ash stores and two Guitar Center locations within a 15-minute drive, but the store itself is also only noticeable to the most eagle-eyed of customers.
“We’re just a doorway and then it’s a basement store, so it’s a struggle to get people to even know we’re here,” said the store’s Owner, Guy Brogna, who first came on board 12 years ago following a career as a touring bass player for national acts like Ludichrist and Scatterbrain. “Some of our customers have called us the Kings of the Downstairs,” he continued, jokingly. “In fact, our e-mail address is Music Dungeon.”

All Music Inc.
397D S. Oyster Bay Rd.
Plainview, NY 11803
516-433-6969
www.allmusicinc.com
Mon-Fri 10am to 9pm
Sat 10am to 6pm
Sun 11am to 5pm
Guy Brogna, Owner

As a result, he and his partner, store Founder Irwin Natman, have had to work extra hard to get the store’s name out to the community. One of Brogna’s first major tasks when he joined the ranks at All Music Inc. was to do just that by turning the store into a destination for guitar players across the area. “They had approximately 100 guitars on the floor at the time I started, but, as a bass player, I felt I wanted to create more of a presence in the guitar market. So, I brought in brands like Fender and Taylor; now, we have about 600 to 700 guitars,” said Brogna, who boasts that his store is now one of the few Gibson Five-Star Acoustic Dealers in the world.
“I search out items that are rare or limited editions…the stuff you don’t really see around,” Brogna continued, “whereas lots of stores out there will get the same Strat or Les Paul. If you go to five stores and see the same thing over and over again, it’s like, ‘Eh, OK.’ That’s why I look for these special things.”
Its impressive guitar selection, including a special vintage room, is a great attraction at the Plainview store, but All Music Inc. also sells plenty of other items, including band and orchestra instruments, books, effects, amps and keyboards. In addition, All Music Inc. has a second location in Hauppauge, which is an approximately 25-minute drive away. Brogna describes the Hauppauge store as half store and half lessons, with about 200 students on the…

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