Owensboro Music Center Turns 40

"How’s it goin’, friend?” Hank Starks chimes to a trio of folks entering his music store. Soon more arrive, trigging more salutations. 

But it’s 5:50 p.m. on a Monday. 

Ten minutes later there are some 30 people there for the “Monday Night Live” concert Owensboro Music Center holds weekly. “We moved closing time from 6:00 to 7:00. Then we wanted to give more people a reason to come by,” explains co-owner Gordy Wilcher. 

It worked. Local rising talent Andy Brasher was there, playing original tunes to a receptive crowd. Before he took the stage, Wilcher made some announcements including asking for good thoughts and prayers to go to another local musician who is battling cancer. After the mini-concert he was back again, and he called out to me to hop on the stage and draw names out of a hat. I pulled four lucky names and he gave away four $10 gift cards.

It would be 30 minutes after closing time before he and co-owner Hank Starks turned the lights out and locked the doors. 
Owensboro, population 58,000, has a rock combo shop that has made it to the 40 year mark. The duo know as well as anyone that there is no coasting in this business, and the challenges of a smaller market store seem more intense than others. 

But every day they work to become part of the fabric of their neighbors’ lives. “I’ve learned that we need to be involved with our community,” Wilcher states simply. He is in the chamber of commerce and Stark is involved with the local music festival. They promote their store through themselves, and end up being judges at the local talent show and cook offs. “You have to be out there and generous with your time.”

Owensboro Gets a Combo Shop
As Wilcher tells it, he was a kid playing bass who had the crazy idea to tell a music store owner in Evanston (Ind.) named Dallas Hughes that Owensboro needed a rock combo shop. A satellite operation was set up and about 18 months later Hughes figured out that Wilcher should own it. “But funny story,” Wilcher says shaking his head in a manner that let’s one know it’s not that funny. “He took the inventory because… well, it was his. So on my first day I had, like, three guitars and two amps to sell. I hadn’t thought about that part.”

He would figure that part out.

In the early years he moved from small shop to small shop – at one point he ended up in a tiny building behind the popular Old Hickory BBQ shack. That had its perks. (“I became friends with the cooks and got some free meals!” he reports.)

Of course Wilcher continued holding down the bass clef for bands. Starks was one of Wilcher’s early band mates. Starks is a singer and percussionist and the two did some touring in the day before Starks ended up working for music stores in Davenport, Iowa. There he would learn a lot about pro audio, and use that knowledge around music stores. “I cut my teeth on JBL speakers,” he says. He ended up as a sales rep for Bose before returning to Owensboro where he became partners with Wilcher in 1980.

They grew, got tired of dealing with landlords, and in 1996 built their current store, which includes teaching studios. They have 135 students taught by eight teachers, some of whom have been with them for 30 years. In addition to Wilcher and Starks, they have two full time employees, Lewis Smith and Ryan Clark.

Today Owensboro Music Center is more than just a critical part of their community – their sphere of influence includes the entire MI industry. Wilcher is a founderand current president of the Independent Music Store Owners (iMSO) group, which in seven years has grown from five members to nearly 500. He just finished a stint on the NAMM board where his voice for the independent was heard loud and clear.

Both still have a passion for music and a work ethic that can shame those of us who are younger. Their leading by example and being exemplars in the business has not gone unnoticed.

On a beautiful spring day after a drive through the farm fields of Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky, Stark and Wilcher sat down to talk about their journey.

 

What’s Selling, What’s Not

MMR: Let’s talk what you’re carrying and why. Let’s start with electrics…

Gordy Wilcher: We’ve been a Fender dealer for a long time…

Hank Starks: On and off… [wink/nudge]

GW: [laughs] Yes but mostly on from the 1970s.We’ve been a big Peavey dealer since the 1970s. We were big on Jackson in the early 1980s, back when sometimes we’d sell out before we got them in. But not so much any more… some Epiphone, but primarily Fender.

We’ve been Ibanez dealers for as long as I can remember, and there have been times when those were hot. But you know the problem – there are no guitar heroes today. When kids come in, I ask who they admire. And they just say the same old guys!

MMR: How about acoustics? 

GW: Acoustic guitars are hot. It’s the roots, country, alt country [craze]… here in town we have the International Bluegrass Hall of Fame Museum. We have the big River of Music festival.

Otherwise we do well with Alvarez, and sell a lot of Fender acoustics. We’re excited about the [St. Louis Music] Sigma exclusive is doing well. That’s special because only iMSO [members] have access to it. So when someone comes in with their smart phone and tries to scan it, and it doesn’t exist anywhere else, that’s an advantage.

HS: LAG guitars are doing well for us too.

I see a continued growth in acoustic instruments in general, including from women. Women in general are a growing segment. One of our great teachers, Karen Lynn. teaches violin and banjo, and we have more women wanting to play.

MMR: So Owensboro has embraced the ukulele craze?

GW: When I think about how many ukes we’re selling in Owensboro Kentucky… this past December we sold more ukes than guitars! Kala are doing well and some Lunas… and Austin ukes are doing really well for us.

MMR: You have a nice drum department…

GW: That’s another thing that goes in cycles. 

HS: This year we thought we were doing well with selling kits and then it stopped. 

Our market has always been more entry level. My philosophy with drums is that for the real player, it’s hard to get in his or her head and know what style, color, brand they want so we just focus on the beginner. We did just get some Dixon drums and did well with those on the holiday, but with their more entry-level series – the Riot, the Spark.

MMR: How is audio for you?
HS: We’ve done Harman

for years. We use Soundcraft for our sound company and will special order them. Yamaha audio products are solid as a rock, and then of course there is Peavey. Peavey is still our bread and butter, those box top powered 8- and 9-channel mixers. And this weekend alone we sold three sets of Peavey speakers.

MMR: Talk about your installation work.

HS: We have done 250 churches over the years. No church is too big or too small. I don’t care how small they are they deserve good audio. My number one speaker for churches is Grund Audio speakers, made by a small company in Iowa. They offer amazing clarity for a good price. For churches there are three criteria: price, aesthetics, and quality. Now that should be in the opposite order! But Grund meets all of that. 

I tell churches that if you do it right you don’t have to do it again for a long time. Tomorrow I’m going out to work with a church I did an install 20 years ago. They are ready for an upgrade.

 

Life Line

MMR: Reflect on your 40 years as a successful small market dealer.

GW: I’ve been thinking about that a lot. I think now I get up every single morning and ask myself, “what can I do today to stay relevant? How do we get the message out that the independent music store is still viable?” I think about changing a display, think product mix, buying smarter.

We still have a lot to learn. Like when a kid with a smart phone is in your store clicking a bar code checking on the price elsewhere… there are some in our iMSO group that know how to approach them, tell them that you can match an online price.
I remember the 1970s and 1980s when things were going great and you could predict trends. Now I don’t know what month will be your best month.

MMR: Have you embraced social media?

GW: I get it. It’s our number one marketing tool. You’ve seen our website – but we are not in the position to have a full time webmaster. So I work Facebook a lot. 

MMR: What are you doing to stay on top?

GW: Anything and everything. We try to do these container deals. 

There’s this Chinese cable company called Kirlin that when I first saw them at a NAMM show I kept walking because I couldn’t believe their prices [were so low]. The next year I met with them and we ordered a lot. They are unbelievably reliably, and just incredibly profitable.

MMR: In addition to Monday Night Live, what else are you doing to get attention?

GW: We are going to do our fourth musicians flea market. We let anyone come and set up a booth outside and sell his or her gear. It’s good will. Also people will buy some guitar from somebody and come in and need strings [et cetera]. One year a guy had a lot of gear he sold and came in after and gave me a big hug. 

HS: Turns out he was between jobs, had a medical condition and needed surgery, but had no health insurance. He made enough at our event to get his operation.

GW: It’s those things you do that you don’t have to do that matter. You want people to see we care. 
Other things. Now on Thursday Hank is doing “PA 101”
​– a workshop about audio.

MMR: And you do a ukulele night?

GW: We’re having a family Saturday event: “Bring your uke, but if you don’t have one we’ll lend you one!” Now we’re talking about trying a drum circle. Whatever it takes to bring people in the store. 

MMR: How’s it all add up to your bottom line?

GW: Some of it I don’t honestly know.Look, we just want to create a place where people feel they need to come down and hang out just to see what is going on. I think all independents really need to be part of the community. We need to keep the passion up and give people a reason to come through the doors.

MMR: iSMO continues to grow. Now with the exclusive Sigma deal, is it becoming a buyer’s group?

GW: [Sigh]… it is evolving that way, but that was never our intention. It’s about sharing information to help each other. But in addition to St. Louis Music, we also are working with The Music People which we’re excited about.

MMR: Is your phone ringing because of the possibilities, Gordy?

GW: We do hear from people who want to work with us, but we have to be careful. It has to be quality products. A lot of what we’re shown is not up to par.

MMR: So, 40 years in the business – can we assume you two are millionaires?

HS: [Laughs] You don’t get in this business to be millionaires – you get in because you love it.

GW: At an early iSMO meeting, a young guy stood up and asked us what business was like before the Internet. Chris Lovell [of Strings and Things, Memphis] stood up, spread his arms out to the skies, and shouted, “We were going to be rich!” [Laughs] You don’t do this to be rich. But if you can do what you love and making a living, take care of your family, that’s rich.
I still love what I do, and I have more passion and energy for it then I ever have before. 

 

What They Are Saying About Owensboro Music Center

“I believe that their passion for live music is what really drives these guys. They are always making sure live music doesn’t die. No wonder their lesson programs are so strong. 40 years is just the beginning gentlemen, keep up the good work. I only wish Gordy rooted for a better baseball team.” [Note: Baseball reference is to Wilcher’s love of the Cardinals which the writer of this article sees nothing wrong with.]
– Gary Hanser, Hanser Music Group
    
“I first met Hank and Gordy in the mid-’80s as I was an independent sales representative. From the very first time I walked into their store, they made me feel at home, and it was as if I had known them forever. I am happy to call them my friends. Happy 40th Anniversary Owensboro Music Center!”
– Wendel Hartman, United Sales Associates (Independent Rep)

“Gordy and I became NAMM Board members the same year and we instantly became best friends. Gordy has an insight into ‘Main Street Music’ that really showed how much he cares for all of them. He put the iMSO group together so that any size store could join and have a chance to take part in their sharing format. I congratulate him and Hank Stark on the success of their store and making it to 40.”
– Mark Ragin, St. Louis Music 

“Gordy, Hank, and Owensboro Music Center are the essence of what MI retail is all about. They care about their local music community and their knowledge ensures musicians have the best experience doing what they love.”
– Misha Guiffre, The Music Link

“During his term on the NAMM Board, Gordy served on a committee to rewrite our Vision, Mission, and Objectives which helped shape the association’s direction and priorities for years to come. Seeing Gordy work alongside his peers ranging from other retailers to large multinational corporations just reinforced to me the importance of the community music dealer to the long-term success of the industry.

“While some may disagree, I’m more convinced than ever that as long as there are guys like Gordy and Hank running music stores and serving they needs of their local communities, the independent dealer will remain a critical part of creating more music 
makers and growing the market.”
– Joe Lamond, NAMM president

 

THE TAKE AWAY

• Owensboro Music Center Celebrates 40th Anniversary
• Hot: Acoustic guitars: Fender, Alvarez, Sigmas; Ukes: Kala, Luna, and Austin.
• Drums and electric guitars are flat.
• Extras: Have a generous gift/t-shirt area selling mostly Fender branded products. Also sell Toca hand percussion.
• Independent Music Store Owners association nearing 500 members, cautiously  and discriminatingly entering buying deals with select manufacturers and suppliers.
• Get people in the store: Lots of weekly and annual events, from a musician’s flea market to canned food drives to Monday Night Live concerts. 
• Pet peeve: Lack of loyalty among customers.
• Frustration: Plateaued at “130-ish” students. “We can’t get to 200.”
• Fun fact: They are likelyFacebook-ing about this article right now.