House of Musical Traditions

NAMM 2010 Recap

2010-01-19T23:21:00.001-05:00

Oh my. Has it really been 6 months since our last blog entry? Well, this will make up for it. We have recently returned from the 2010 NAMM show in Anaheim CA, and wanted to share our experience. This is usually an annual trip for 2 or 3 of us HMT-ers, though we declined to go last year (partially because of the economy, partially because of the Inauguration which happened right around the same time).

NAMM used to stand for the National Association of Music Merchandisers. While that organization doesn't officially exist anymore, the acronym remains as a moniker for this semi-annual trade-only convention (there is a summer NAMM show that happens in the midwest, but by all accounts the winter show in Anaheim is the bigger and better one). It's a time for manufacturers and distributers of music products to showcase their wares, introduce new products, and meet face-to-face with their buyers (i.e. retail music stores, educational institutions, etc). While technically closed to the public, a significant number of "regular folks" do make it in under the auspices of other businesses. Which is important--we want the public to check out these products and create a buzz about what they like. There is also a bit of celebrity factor involved. Artists who endorse certain products make appearances at booths and do performances around the area in the evenings.

According to reports, around 88,000 people registered for the show, and there were 1,373 exhibitors--with a record 250 new exhibitors (showing a comforting surge in market enthusiasm).

Just a bit of background for you. For us, it's a time to meet face to face with suppliers, check out in person some of the products they try to sell us sight unseen (not always an easy task), look at what's new on the market, and generally get excited about being in the music retail biz! Oh, and spending 4 days in southern California in the middle of January ain't bad either.

So let's get down to it! HMT's contingent to the show was owner David Eisner, general manager Kristen Jones, and fretted instrument salesperson rob hinkal.

Here's the entrance to the Anaheim Convention Center, in all its sunny glory.

On Thursday, we started things off at the Breedlove booth. They are one of our main guitar and mandolin suppliers, and we had the opportunity to purchase several unique custom shop instruments. Many of these will head back to our store as "vendor demos" we will be able to offer at special prices. Pictured is the gorgeous koa back of a Revival OM with a slotted headstock. You can see our awesome sales rep Colin to the right.

We also ran into our good friend Marcy Marxer, who was there at the show as a demo artist for Gold Tone and Martin. Breedlove has started to delve into the ukulele market, and Marcy tried out one of their prototype models.

We also decided to pick up a gorgeous koa-topped Revival from Breedlove. We're often wary of koa guitars (they sometimes look better than they sound), but this one wowed us in both aspects..

Speaking of koa, just across the aisle was Goodall Guitars. They have completed the move of their shop from Hawaii to Fort Bragg, CA. James and Luke Goodall have started production again in the new facility. At the show we were able to pick up two "Aloha" models, the last made in the Hawaii shop. Of course, the new-shop guitars won't be any less stellar, but as production is still getting up to speed, these are the last Goodalls we'll be able to have before the summer, most likely. Here's Dave and rob with Jean Goodall, who runs the business side of things.

And catty-corner from Goodall, there's our friends Dusty Strings from Seattle, WA. Ray and Sue were there with a stellar assortment of their harps and hammered dulcimers.

We encountered a new company called Two Old Hippies, which distributes Bedell Guitars and the slightly lower-priced Great Divide line. We were very impressed by their products, displays and marketing. And we're a sucker for the story of owner Tom Bedell, who sold his fishing tackle business and invested in his dream of creating an acoustic guitar company. It didn't hurt that they were giving away this customized VW bus at the show (sadly, we did not win). We are keeping these guitars in mind for the future...you may see them in our store!

Our friends Mid-East Manufacturing (where we get most of our Indian instruments, dumbek drums, and our lower-priced bodhrans from) usually have a presence at NAMM. This year, their booth was almost exclusively devoted to a new line of ukulele-hybrid instruments. Yep, the uke craze has hit everyone! Up on this wall were lute-ukes, balalaika ukes, and...

...rob is trying to wrap his head around the concept of the sitar-lele. Wow. Just...wow.

Kristen, who had ulterior motives for going to the show (to search out electric cello options), was pleased to discover this one by NS Design. We currently have one of their basses on consignment and are very impressed with it. We checked out some of their electric violins, and may in fact become a dealer for these as well.

Probably the most impressive new product we found was at the LR Baggs booth. They were debuting their new "Anthem" guitar micing system, which somehow manages to create zero feedback. rob held this guitar right up to the wedge with the mic active, and...no feedback!! This may very well revolutionize the acoustic guitar amplification world. Watch out for the Anthem in our store!

We do enjoy checking out Things That Look Cool. The Gliga Violins booth did not need "Booth Babes"--they're right on the instruments!

We closed out Thursday by visiting the Saga booth (best known to us for their Trinity College bouzouki line). In the past we have carried their gypsy jazz Gitane guitars, and we were fortunate that this killer gypsy jazz player (name escapes me!) stopped by to demo some of the instruments for us. These may just pop up at HMT again also...

On Friday, Kristen woke up with an unfortunate stomach bug and decided to take it easy at the hotel while Dave & rob carried on at the show. They finally got to meet our favorite uke suppliers, Kala, in person. There's Dave holding their new "pocket uke" (so tiny!!), and Kala rep Leanne.

There's a Kala artist demo-ing the new U-bass, which we'll be getting in as soon as it's available. Wow--the polyurethane strings are like nothing you've ever played before. Once you plug this baby in, it's a fantastic sounding acoustic bass in a tiny package.

Dave and rob also checked out Luna Guitars, and were impressed enough to pick up a dealership. They have some high-quality but low-cost instruments with some very unique designs.

Friday night, Kristen managed to make it out for some of the top-notch entertainment--John Jorgensen and his band were in town, and Kristen's wise enough not to miss them for the world. First, there was an opening performance of a bluegrass group featuring Rick Shubb (of Shubb capos) on banjo, and some folks representing the Saga company. Good stuff!

Then the main event--John Jorgenson's gypsy jazz quintet. Nothing less than exquisite. They will be making their annual appearance at the IMT series on March 22--don't miss it!

On Saturday, a huge marching band greeted show attendees outside.

Here's Jason Gano, our sales rep for Hanser Music (which represents Michael Kelly instruments) and a great bassist himself, demoing a Warwick acoustic bass. We were disappointed to find out that Michael Kelly mandolins are still going through a factory transition and won't be widely available again until May...but we were pleased to learn that through Hanser we have the opportunity to order Warwick basses.

NAMM certainly does attract its share of characters. Here's Dave buddying up with a Bono impersonator we passed. Definitely DID turn our heads for a sec...

We're just not even sure what this one's about. But it had to be captured on film, don't you agree?

One of the great new products we picked up are Couch guitar straps. They're handmade in southern California out of recycled automotive vinyl. Totally vegan and sweatshop-free...perfect for Takoma Park! Look out for these soon in our store.

There's Marcy Marxer again, this time jamming on a cello banjo at the Gold Tone booth.

We also discovered the fairly new "Hapi Drums" by the Rhythm Earth company. Based on the concept of the elusive Hang drum (which in itself is a mutation of the steel drum), these metal drums are very cool-sounding and should be making an appearance at our store in the not too distant future.

Finally, tired and weary, we made our last stop on Saturday the Music Link booth...distributor of instrument brands such as Recording King, Savannah and Johnson. Great acoustic instruments at great prices. Here's Dave and our sales rep Misha checking out a Recording King banjo.

Meanwhile, rob tries out a limited-edition, very ornate parlor guitar...with Brazilian Rosewood back & sides!

Well. We came, we saw, we bought stuff, we gawked, we walked...A LOT. It's good to be home again, but it was great to visit with thousands of others in "the biz" and see what's new and exciting in the music world.

We survived the Ukelocalypse!

2009-07-26T14:58:00.003-04:00

Well. Last week was quite amazing. It was the ukulele invasion, ukelocalypse...whatever you want to call it, ukes were all over the place.

On Wednesday July 22, Dave took our mobile booth to the first ever (and hopefully annual) Ukulele Festival at the Strathmore performing arts center in North Bethesda, MD. The attendance was estimated at 1,500-2,000 for this outdoor festival. There were performances by Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, James Hill, Victoria Vox and Bruce Hutton...plus some other special appearances by uke groups that Cathy & Marcy have been helping. While I wasn't personally there, the pictures kind of say it all. Happiness and uke coolness abounded:

The crowd enjoys a lovely evening. Maybe we could call it a uke-in?

Marcy Marxer leads a performance of a local Brownie troup she's been working with.

The Riders--a group of 30 seniors from the Riderwood retirement community in Silver Spring ukes it up!

Dave Eisner takes a moment out from uke-selling to pose. Most of the inventory we sent over to the booth sold...Dave said people were still shopping at the booth after darkness fell and they had to pack up by headlights!

(the above photos are all courtesy Paul Sharratt. You can see his full Flickr set here.)

The following day, we hosted uke virtuoso James Hill for a workshop and concert. We had so many people signed up for the workshop (22...might be a record!) that we had to move it to a larger space up on Carroll Ave. Below is James and participants doin' their thing. There were varying levels of uke skill in attendance, but James really had something for everyone, and all the participants seemed to enjoy themselves.

Afterwards, James raced over to Seeker's Church for a "Next To the House" concert. While we don't have any pictures/video from that event, I thought I'd post one of his most popular YouTube videos here. Most people's response to James is "I had no idea the ukulele could be played like that!" He definitely blows peoples minds with his virtuosity, and is really showing that the uke is not just a novelty.

Judging from our ukulele sales in recent years, we've guessed that there is a uke revival in this area...but it was really cool to see it in full force. All the uke players had a great time meeting new friends, hanging out and talking shop. It really is an instrument for everyone, from kids to seniors.

Hopefully we'll do it again next year!

A day in the life...

2009-07-08T18:15:00.004-04:00

Whew. It's been quite a day. Just...one of those days, lots of stuff going on. Realized I haven't done a blog post in awhile, so I thought I'd give a rundown of the day's happenings. This kind of a taste of the randomness that is a typical day at the ol' HMT:

First, our former assistant manager and House Tech Geek, Rowan Corbett, came in to help with some computer stuff. The computer we have our store play CDs loaded in iTunes on is dying, so we decided to change things around and transfer everything to our front counter computer, where we can play music from the nicer speakers up there. This will also allow us to get rid of the cumbersome desk and clear some space in our bookroom. Even a year after our move, we're still trying to find ways we can use space better. We're still workin' on it!

We also got a surprise visit from another former assistant manager, Aleta Quinn. She's home for the summer but still working feverishly on her PhD papers for her philosophy program. Our webmistress Darcy Nair also happened to walk in with her supercute daughter Elizabeth, so of course I had to capture the moment with some pictures...

Much of the day was spent putting together an enormous order of ukuleles from the Kala company (in tandem with Dave on the phone), in preparation for the Strathmore Uke Festival on July 22nd, which we will have a booth at. 49 ukes, folks. All colors, styles, shapes & prices. Ukes are hot and we're following the trend!

We also had a good bit of chaos when a semi truck pulled up on the street with loads of boxes for us. We almost thought it was a mistake order that was supposed to go to another store, but no, we eventually figured out it was a bunch of Alvarez guitars that Dave ordered on special. And yes, they're a great deal...the $199 Alvarez is back! rob had to deal with a personal/band emergency where the company duplicating ilyAIMY's new CD rejected the master he'd overnighted to them, so he had to go in search of their preferred brand of blank CD, make another copy, and find a UPS store to overnight it. We're all musicians here and understand the importance of these things, so Rowan stayed on to unpack a dozen guitars to cover for rob.

I've also had to tie up some loose ends for the Old Time Banjo Festival this weekend...we have 4 workshops happening on Sunday and I've got to make sure everything is straight for that. Takoma Groove Camp is also starting next week and some last-minute registration issues popped up...but we've got it under control!

Dave's also been on the phone at home much of the day talking to the folks from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival which just ended last weekend. They sold a lot of percussion for us there, and we're arranging for the pickup of what hasn't sold.

In the midst of all that, we found a happy customer for an Eastman archtop guitar that's been hanging around for awhile, and a home for one of Alvarez' new model guitars that just came in. Been emailing with a guy in Florida very interested in one of our Goodalls; hoping that comes through.

We're also in need of a replacement file cabinet...found one on Craigslist and trying to arrange pickup of that.

The percussionist I'm playing with at a gig tonight called up hoping we had a riq. Luckily, yes...he gave us his credit card number and I shall bring it to the gig tonight! Another person called with a case emergency...they must have an SKB dreadnought case and nothing else will do...willing to pay for overnight shipping from the supplier! Make it so!

Inquiries have come in for samba whistles, oud strings, some Indian instrument even the ethnomusicology major hasn't heard of. Some time spent pacifying customers who have been waiting for their accordion reed wax for months (our supplier has run into a supply problem from their Italian source. What are they doing to the bees over there?).

Phew. I think it's time to go. Now off to the wilds of Clarendon, VA to play steel pan and cello with 50 Man Machine for more musical randomness.

The Breedlove Bus

2009-06-04T12:00:00.004-04:00

The last few days have been pretty hectic around the ol’ HMT (nothing terribly exciting, just one of those strings of days of “stupid busy-ness”). But I’ve finally got a few minutes to post about our visit from the Breedlove Bus on Monday.

I’d prepared for the day Sunday night by going out to procure hot dogs, veggie dogs & accoutrements for our BBQ celebrating the bus visit and our one-year anniversary of our move. Then I parked my car in the metered spot outside HMT to save it for the bus, knowing I’d probably get a ticket in the morning, but chalking that up to the cost of business. Our dutiful parking enforcement officers of Takoma Park did not disappoint of course, even though we had put in a call several days before requesting permission to block that space for the day which went unreturned. Well, we’re a bunch of dreamers.

The bus rolled up just after we opened with Colin at the helm on this gorgeous, sunny day. After some careful navigation, he got it parked on Westmoreland outside the store…

...and after some more finagling, was able to position it in order to expand out the sides to make full use of this mobile showroom.

Breedlove has sent two of these buses touring the country visiting their dealers, and Breedlove reps Colin Besancon and Branden Carpenter (pictured below hanging up a guitar) have been handling the eastern portion of the US. You might think that traveling around the country in a deluxe tour bus on company dollars, showing off some of the best handmade guitars in the world might be a dream job, and well...it sort of is. But you better believe these guys are working hard. While they're on the road it's a 24-hour-a-day job (and often it's just one of them on the bus--they happened to have joined up to visit us). The bus and its contents are kind of like an enormous baby that requires constant attention, supervision, feeding, watering, fueling and emptying.

Anyway...after they arrived, with military precision they expanded the bus and got it ready for the public, hanging up all the guitars for display. Our site offered the additional challenge of having to park on a hill, which caused all the guitars to be displayed at a jaunty angle. But they rolled with it. Below, HMT employees and friends rob hinkal, Erik Sharar and Rowan Corbett get a sneak peak while Colin & Branden continue setting up.

There's HMT teacher Erik Sharar next to some of the lovely Breedlove custom shop guitars--a sunburst Revival Dreadnought (I think), a custom inlaid "Calendar" model, and a Revival tenor guitar.

Every available space was used to hang instruments. Here a Bossa Nova nylon string and an Atlas "Black Magic" hover over the driver's seat.

And there's Colin! We've been working with Colin for years, first in sales, then he moved into building guitars for awhile, and now he's back in sales and on the road. We've had a blast hanging with him at the NAMM show in Anaheim a couple years ago, and he's done training sessions with our staff. It really helps to have such personal service from a guitar manufacturer. It's obvious that everyone at Breedlove is extremely dedicated to producing and promoting these beautiful instruments, and making it fun to boot. Wish we could get out to visit their shop in Bend, OR.

A few years ago, Breedlove started making electric guitars. Being an acoustic shop, we don't carry them, but Colin & Branden still put some up for display. And guess what was the first thing to sell off the bus? Yep, a very happy woman became the proud new owner of a Breedlove Mark IV electric. Colin did some setup adjustments on this one before turning it over to her. What a great thing to have one of their builders on hand to make that happen! Hey Colin, you wanna stay here with us?

We got several curious passersby peeking in, perhaps not quite sure what they would find, but everyone who stepped on the bus was pretty much wowed. Breedlove is definitely getting their name out, that's for sure.

Eventually, Dave's gas grill made it over and we fired it up for some dogs. We even decided we might leave the grill there for the summer--it's a cool thing. So if you stop by on a nice day this summer, you may very well leave with a snack!

After staying open an extra couple hours from our usual Monday schedule and finally closing up the bus, Dave, Colin, Brendan and I headed over to Roscoe's for dinner so we could show them the transformation of the old space. All in all it was a great day, and we're really appreciative of the Breedlove folks setting this up for us.

The Old HMT Transformed!

2009-05-14T16:58:00.006-04:00

Oh happy day! Roscoe’s Pizza officially opened today in the old HMT location at 7040 Carroll. We moved out June 2, 2008, so it’s been almost a year! Paul the Elder walked in this afternoon with a takeaway pizza, and at almost the same time my friend Adam stopped by the store, so we decided to check out the new place. Here’s a little photo essay of our lunch:

Stream displays the pizza Paul picked up—a “Capricciosa” with tomato, mozzarella, artichokes, mushrooms and Italian ham. Yum! We all tried it and I decided I needed more—therefore the lunch excursion!

The outside of the 7040 location. The offices of the Takoma/Silver Spring Voice newspaper are now upstairs--where we used to have our lessons rooms, bookkeeping office, and where Greg Artzner & Terry Leonino (aka Magpie) used to live.

Here’s the bar near the front entrance. They don’t have their liquor license yet, but we look forward to enjoying fine wines and such there in the not-too-distant future. The bar is approximately where our shipping/mail order department used to be located. Somehow that just seems appropriate (heh heh, just kidding Paul!!)

This wall used to hold our banjo selection!

Here’s the view of the main room. I didn’t really get a picture of the kitchen, which is located where our back office and my old desk used to be.

That back wall used to be the home of our repair closet and the Infamous Wall O’ Squeezeboxes.

Rounding the corner, we get to the bathrooms, which is where our book room used to be. I did not make use of the facilities, but I have no doubt they are far more luxurious than our old ones.

Then to the left is their separate dining room which you will recognize as our old guitar room! Hopefully soon they’ll have enough customers to open this up.

I knew the space was going to blow me away—they put an enormous amount of work into this place (kudos John Mangan & crew!). It was definitely surreal walking around the space that I worked in for 9 years, and which had been there for a total of something like 34 years. Check out our posts from June 2008 to see what the space looked like before we moved out. I'm looking forward to enjoying some great food & drink here for years to come!

Oh yes, and there was food. Adam and I split a mixed salad which had a yummy house dressing and just a bit of fresh parmesan…

…and we ordered the “Cafone” white pizza which was supposed to have smoked mozzarella, Italian sausage and rapini. Due to a delivery mix-up they didn’t have sausage, so we substituted grilled chicken. It was delicious indeed. Great thin crispy crust, fresh ingredients, yum! Their pizzas are priced between $8-$12 and feed 2 moderate appetites. They also have a selection of Mediterranean appetizers, salads, panini sandwiches and desserts. I look forward to trying out the whole menu.

The staff was all incredibly friendly; they seemed very excited about their opening day. We met the owner, Ed Gossman. He said they should have their website up and running soon, and they also have plans to have live music.

Well, congratulations to Roscoes—please come out and patronize this great addition to Old Town Takoma Park!!

A visit from the Skeptical Guitarist himself!

2009-05-06T12:43:00.003-04:00

We were thrilled to have a recent visit from Bruce Emery, author of the very popular guitar instructional books "Guitar From Scratch" and the "Skeptical Guitarist" series. Many of our teachers recommend these books--you can read more about them and purchase them from our website. Here's a pic of our salesman Paul "The Elder" comically trying to show Bruce some concepts out of his own book...

Caneridoo!!

2009-04-21T14:05:00.004-04:00

Karl Kalbaugh, our favorite local didgeridoo guy, just sent over these pics of his latest creation: a "Caneridoo" didgeridoo made out of recycled soda cans. This was for an exhibition at The Soundry in Vienna, VA for the Elizabeth Sanford Memorial Art Show (a recycled materials art show).

Karl has been supplying us with his handmade and handpainted didgeridoos (both PVC plastic and wood) for several years. The Caneridoo is not for sale at HMT, but we applaud Karl's vision with combining art, music and environmental conservation!

Cute quota for the day

2009-03-16T12:45:00.003-04:00

Yesterday's Westmoreland Shops open house did bring in a lot of folks to the area who had not been to our new location, so we consider that a success. It did get crazy at times as there were a lot of small children running about, banging on drums, trying out each and every kazoo, and other things that kids do. Some were charming, others...less so.

Sometimes we do get a real charmer though. Our buddy Tim Johnson just came in to pick up his latest acquisition: a left-handed spruce-top Kala tenor ukulele with pickup (yes, he acknowledges he has a problem, but we don't fault him). He brought his son with him, and they came back to serenade me with a duet of "Knockin' On Heaven's Door." Man, it was cute. The little guy even got the "dow-wah" pronunciation. Axl Rose, eat your heart out.

Westmoreland Shops open house this Sunday!

2009-03-10T16:02:00.004-04:00

Please join us this Sunday, March 15 for a special event hosted by the Westmoreland Ave. Shops. Everyone will be offering special discounts & promotions (10% off Celtic instruments, books & recordings at HMT), there will be live music (new acoustic duo Erik Sharar & Melanie Cobb), Reggae Yoga & dance demonstrations, refreshments and more! Click on the flyer below for full information.

HMT at the Wammies!

2009-02-18T11:08:00.003-05:00

House of Musical Traditions was well-represented at the 23rd Annual Washington Area Music Awards ("Wammies"), which were given out February 15. Several of our staff and teachers were winners or nominees:

Christylez Bacon: Winner, Rap/Hip Hop Rapper and Rap/Hip Hop Recording; Nominee, New Artist of the Year and Debut Recording
Ira Gitlin: Winner, Bluegrass Instrumentalist and Country Instrumentalist
Esther Haynes: Winner, Big Band/Swing Vocalist and Jazz Vocalist
Dede Wyland: Winner, Bluegrass Vocalist
Mark Sylvester: Nominee, Folk Contemporary Instrumentalist
Trevor Higgins: Nominee, Live Sound Engineer
Dave Eisner: Nominee, Executive of the Year and Most Supportive of Local Music

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees!

Chris Bacon at the Kennedy Center

2009-01-30T13:58:00.002-05:00

Our own Chris Bacon will be performing at the Kennedy Center Millenium Stage...

Monday, February 9, 2009

6:00PM - FREE ADMISSION - All Ages

Kennedy Center (Millennium Stage)

2700 F St NW, Washington, DC

www.christylez.com

Progressive Hip-Hop Artist and native Washingtonian, Christylez Bacon, will lead a hour-long concert at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage on Monday, February 9, 2009. The concert is commissioned by the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of African American History & Culture and the Kennedy Center. The concert features a 12-piece orchestra including String Quartet, Piano, Upright Bass, Tuba, Didgeridoo, Human-Beatbox, and other diverse instrumentation. On top of that, this concert will be Free Admission for the public!

Barack To the Future!

2009-01-14T14:15:00.005-05:00

So last week, Dave had one of his signature brainstorms, and started plotting. He enlisted the help of rob's graphic design talents...

And now we have our "Barack To the Future" commemorative Inaugural t-shirts! Get yours at HMT for $12 (girly t's $15). Comes in black and stylish black!

We also have these for sale in our eBay store!

Various Pictures

2009-01-14T14:01:00.002-05:00

Just a few fun pictures to share...

Paul the Elder, Amelia and Keith amuse themselves with silly hats.

For our annual HMT holiday party we gathered at Justin Trawick's show as part of IMT's "Next To the House" concerts. Here's Chris, Kristen, Brie, Amelia and Paul the Younger mugging for the camera.

So, if you've been to Old Town Takoma Park in the last few months, you can't help but notice the massive amounts of construction. Sometimes it obstructs our daily lives and we've learned to live with the sounds of bulldozers, jackhammers and other large machines. But sometimes the silhouette of a backhoe against a gorgeous winter sunset is just too cool not to capture.

Holidays at HMT

2008-12-17T11:48:00.003-05:00

We're all prettied up for the holidays...

Come in and enjoy a cup of hot cider while you shop! In addition to some great deals on guitars, banjos, mandolins and hand drums, we've got a buy-one-get-one-free sale on general interest music books which are already priced 50-80% off! Lots of great titles about Clapton, U2, Eva Cassidy, history of the blues, and more!

Our holiday hours are:
Dec. 17-20: 11-8
Dec. 21-22: 11-6
Dec. 23: 11-8
Dec. 24: 11-7
Dec. 25: closed
January 1: closed

Sunday Surprise

2008-12-14T16:07:00.003-05:00

We were treated today to an impromptu filming of a music video by Cheick Hamala Diabate, a great Malian musician. Happy to have HMT featured in this and will hopefully post a link to the finished video!

Dear HMT,

2008-11-18T13:23:00.003-05:00

It's been a great nine years, but...

I'm running away to join a Mariachi band.

Love Always,
Juanita

Just another Sunday at HMT...

2008-11-16T15:11:00.001-05:00

Old-Time For Obama!

2008-11-03T13:45:00.003-05:00

In honor of election day tomorrow, enjoy this recently posted video of old-time musicians and volunteers jamming for Obama in Charlottesville, VA. Featuring former HMT employees Joe Fallon (bass) and Lydia Martin (lead banjo)!

FOLK THE VOTE!!

They're on a mission from god...

2008-10-31T14:27:00.004-04:00

In the first of what hopefully will be many entries about what our talented HMT staff does whilst they're not at HMT renting trombones, restringing erhus, shipping out accordion reedwax and otherwise keeping the world safe for folk music...

rob hinkal (current guitar sales guy) and Rowan Corbett (former assistant manager who still fills in occasionally and is also our House tech support geek) are part of the "acoustic grunge" band ilyAIMY, and are currently touring the midwest. They've been to Louisville, Nashville, St. Louis, Kansas City and Columbia MO, where this Halloween morn they graced the stage of "Pepper & Friends" morning TV show.

Due to copyright concerns I don't think I can post the video here, but you can follow this link to the KOMU website...click on "Performances" on the right side, and you'll see the two links for the ilyAIMY performances.

Seemed a perfect opportunity for them to channel another famous musical duo.

Happy Halloween!

Christylez Bacon!

2008-10-12T16:07:00.004-04:00

We welcome to the HMT staff Chris "Christylez" Bacon, multi-instrumentalist and beatboxer extraordinaire! Here's Chris demo-ing a bass recorder...or is it the world's largest pepper mill?

Check out Chris' music at www.christylez.com or www.myspace.com/christylezbacon

HMT Hijinks

2008-09-21T14:21:00.004-04:00

Ahh, it's that time of year again. There's a chill in the air, the crisp and clear notion of fall working its way into our world. The Maryland Renaissance Festival is well underway, which means we're graced with the appearance of the lovely Amelia Adams, our booth manager. But most of all, it's >>insert music of doom<< BAND INSTRUMENT RENTAL SEASON. Now don't get us wrong, we love getting hundreds of area schoolchildren started in their musical career, and it brings in a whole new set of customers to us, which is really nice. However, it just gets well...REALLY busy. And the staff here at HMT has to find ways to decompress and deal with the stress and busy-ness. What I'm tryin' to say is, we get a little goofy sometimes. And here's proof:

Amelia runs with scissors. Don't try this at home, kids.

Amelia & Erik demonstrate the $5 bagpipe.

Kristen captures the rare and elusive pygmy violin. It's sooo cuuuuute!

OK, lemme 'splain. So, we've got Amelia. We've got rob. We've got Paul The Younger. There's a lot of hair going on here, folks. And...we've got a fan. I wanted to get them all in front of the fan in a rock star pose and watch the hair a-flyin'. Well, the fan wasn't quite powerful enough to really capture my vision. But you get the idea. Sometimes folkies have to rock too.

We are on the Youtubes

2008-07-29T16:24:00.003-04:00

Check out our YouTube channel!

Many thanks to Mark Sylvester for tirelessly demo-ing all these instruments. Glenn Tucker did the filming and Trevor Higgins engineered the audio.

Here's a few examples:

Steve Carmody Concert Jumbo

Goodall Concert Jumbo

Weber Gallatin Mandolin

Pictures of the new location--finally!!

2008-07-21T14:18:00.002-04:00

Thanks to our webmistress and photographer Darcy Nair, we now have a virtual tour of the new location on our website. Rather than pasting the pics here, just follow the link to take the tour and see what we look like now!

Yesterday, we had a very successful session with HMT teacher Mark Sylvester. We filmed video segments of Mark playing many of our higher-end guitars. We will be uploading these to Youtube and linking to them on our website so that folks can see and hear what these fine instruments sound like in action if they can't come to the store. Glenn Tucker did the video, with Trevor Higgins assisting in audio so that we could get CD-quality audio on these clips. Stay tuned !

Long lost brothers

2008-06-30T14:38:00.003-04:00

Dave yaks it up with funnyman Lewis Black at his reading at Sixth & I Synagogue

Join the Nose Flute Revolution

2008-06-26T14:18:00.003-04:00

Frequent customer Peter Bankson, who makes an annual order with us for 100 nose flutes, has provided us with a video of what he does with these! Peter is with Faith @ Work and makes annual trips to Guatemala to build elementary schools in a different small village each year. He introduces the joys of nose flute to the locals and they have a great time on their work breaks and after school tootin' away.

For more information check out www.faithatwork.org and www.hmtrad.com/HMT/noseflutes.html

Bueno!

Grand Reopening Celebration July 4

2008-06-25T17:03:00.001-04:00

If you're in town for July 4th, please join us at our new location to celebrate our grand reopening! Festivities will start after the Takoma Park Parade, from about 12-4 pm (for more info on the parade, visit www.takomapark4th.org)

Grammy winners Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer kick things off with a Family Singalong at the Carroll Ave. Gazebo immediately following the parade (approximately 12-12:30 pm).

Back at HMT, Cathy & Marcy will conduct a "Meet the Ukulele Workshop." Bring your uke or try one from the store--see how easy it is to make your own music! 1:30 pm

Other performances at HMT:
Calico Jack (www.janiemeneely.com/cj.html): Maritime Stories & Songs
Kieran & Iseult (www.myspace.com/kieranandiseult): Traditional Irish Duo
Billy Coulter (www.billycoulter.com) and Tommy Derr: Acoustic Roots Rock

Come check out the new digs, try a Goodall, Bourgeois, Carmody or Breedlove Guitar on the "Pickin' Porch," enjoy a cold beverage and listen to some great live music!

If you can't make it on the 4th, stop by when you can. We are carrying new lines of guitars, mandolins and banjos, we're now doing pro audio repair and have a great selection of Audio Technica microphones in stock, among other things. Through July 6th we're offering 10% off any regularly-priced, non-consigned item as part of our grand reopening sale.

Phew!

2008-06-02T22:41:00.004-04:00

Well, it's done...mostly. It took about 10 hours to move merchandise & displays over, and another couple of hours getting the new store to an acceptable level for business tomorrow. Those of you popping in in the next couple of days will likely find a bit of chaos, but we're working on it. After some scheduling snafus with RCN, we have most of our phones & internet working (it wouldn't be a phone company if they didn't make you wait, right?).

It's a bit of a jigsaw puzzle now figuring out where everything's going to go in the store. Everybody's been asking if we're going to have more space. Not exactly...but it's just organized differently. We have several rooms: upstairs there's the guitar & mandolin salon, the harp & dulcimer room, and violins/exotic strings/Indian instruments/used winds & brass. On the main level we have the usual wall o'banjos by the front counter. Customers can walk around and get their strings, picks and other accessories. The book & cd room is off to one side, the accordions have their own room on the other side. A short hallway and then there's the large room, divided into less expensive guitars & amps, drums/percussion and kid's stuff. Finally, all of our storage/overstock/cases/packing & boxes mess will be confined to the basement--hopefully eliminating some of the characteristic clutter in the main merchandise areas.

On the positive side...once everything gets organized, the store is going to look really nice. Everyone who has been in the new building has been impressed with the look. It's going to be a nice vibe keeping with our folky tradition. The "pickin' porch" on the upper level should be finished in the next couple of days. You will be able to relax out there and look out over downtown Takoma Park as you strum on that Goodall guitar! There is definitely a buzz and excitement among the staff. Of course, it may take us a bit longer to find things, as we discover where we have actually put them!!

I had my hands too full today to snap pictures of the moving process, but here's a couple of the now very-empty rooms at the old store. I'm holding off taking pics of the new store until things look a little better.

Signing off, fairly exhausted but really proud of our staff and volunteers for a great job today!

Empty main room

Aftermath of the moving tornado

Goodbye guitar room!

ps...despite the hopes of many, we did not find Jimmy Hoffa. The search continues.

Last Day at 7040

2008-06-01T23:33:00.005-04:00

Well, it was a fairly uneventful last official day of business at 7040 Carroll. Thought I would capture "the calm before the storm." True, many aspects of the store look emptier and messier than usual!

The CD room, sans CDs

The book room, sans books.

The squeezebox department, sans squeeze.

We don't really have a place in the
new store for the corporate ladder.
Sorry, it's a dead end job! (Also, note
the sad solitary fanny pack. Is this
some symbolic statement of where
Dave stands on the corporate ladder?)

Rob H. restrings a guitar

Man use tools!

One of many "what the hell" items
I'm sure we'll find...Rowan discovers
a flute made out of plumbing pipe
behind the guitar room desk. Just 'cuz.

Our last official 7040 customer, Emma. She
bought some guitar strings at 4:59 pm!

Jackie, Kristen and Rob have loads of fun counting
the register!

The Media Room is done!

2008-05-29T21:31:00.002-04:00

Yay progress! One room down, several more to go. Through the combined genius of Rowan and Aleta (Roweta?), we were able to fit both our book department and our CD department into one room instead of our original plan for two separate rooms. Not a lot of space to expand either department, but we'll manage. Below is Dave, Aleta and Paul The Younger in the finished room.

Those of you who are visiting the old store in its last days will find many things gone already. Though Monday is still the big day, we're moving some things over bit by bit. We had a setback today of discovering that we need to completely reinstall a heating/cooling system, but that's on its way too and should be finished in the next couple days. So...we're already exhausted, but still excited.

WE HAVE A MOVE DATE!

2008-05-27T18:15:00.003-04:00

The time has finally come! Our official move date will be Monday June 2nd. We will be closed for business on that day and will be reopening Tuesday June 3rd at 7010 Westmoreland. It will be chaotic for awhile, but it wouldn't be HMT if it wasn't chaotic, right?

Anyone interested in lending a hand on Monday, give us a buzz.

We've already moved our book department and should be moving the CDs over tomorrow. We've discovered that we can fit both books and CDs in one room which will open up even more space--yay!

Eternal thanks go to Aleta, who has taken a break from her PhD studies to do glorious tasks like clean out the attic, basement and storage shed. She has been taking charge of lots of the initial moving tasks, and together with Rowan they have gotten us off to a great start. Now the real fun begins.

Stay tuned...

We've got slatwall!

2008-05-13T15:56:00.004-04:00

Here are some pics of the progress in the interior of 7010 Westmoreland. Thanks to our jack-of-all-trades Rowan Corbett, we've got beautiful slatwall up all around the store.

The front counter area

Trevor's "shop monkey" quarters

The trad-favorite "T1-11" paneling for the wall 'o banjos

The "lower-priced guitars room"

Room-of-somethings-or-others

Higher-end guitar salon

We're still alive...

2008-05-05T19:10:00.002-04:00

OK, it's been forever since we posted an update. That's because we've been incredibly busy! We are still putting the finishing touches on the new building and will probably start the actual moving process within the next two weeks. It's a little chaotic to say the least, but we're getting there. Slatwall is going up all over the store, we've got our "new" (used) front counters in, the basement is finished, etc. It's starting to look good. Thanks to those of you who have already offered your assistance to help...we will be enlisting your services soon.

Stay tuned!!

More progress

2008-03-20T17:43:00.003-04:00

YAY NEW FLOORS!!!

Up to no good on the pickin' porch...

Things are shaping up! The new "exotic cherry" floor is in on the main level, walls and such are being finished...now we can actually think about furnishing, shelving and such. Ugh, that means we have to start thinking about packing & cleaning in the old place too.

And the walls came a-tumblin' down...

2008-03-06T15:40:00.005-05:00

It ain't pretty, but it's progress!

The future front counter area

Front room and maybe the wall o' banjos?

Maybe the CD room, and the entrance to the second level.

Dunno what'll go here yet...

...or here...

Front page news!

2008-02-27T15:44:00.006-05:00

The HMT move is featured on the front page of today's Silver Spring/Takoma Park Gazette!

Also here are a couple pics of the upper floor rooms which will become our guitar & harp/hammered dulcimer "salons."

Pics of new building, pre-renovation

2008-02-21T19:22:00.007-05:00

Here are some photos of the 7010 Westmoreland Ave. building.

Oh yeah--we will actually have real parking in the back!

Welcome to the HMT Blog!

2008-02-21T16:10:00.008-05:00

Greetings everyone! Our main purpose in starting this blog is to share and document for posterity the process of our impending move. Yes folks, it's true. After 27 continuous years at our 7040 Carroll Ave location (plus 2 years in 1972-74, before our '74-'81 stint in Berkeley Springs WV), we are moving a stone's throw away to 7010 Westmoreland Ave. You can actually see the new building from our current one if you look through the gazebo across the street. Our new home is the gray house-like building (how appropriate!) which formerly housed Purple Mtn Organics and some other offices.

Why the move? Well, it's a bigger space and a nicer & newer space. We will be occupying the whole building: two floors plus a basement. We are expanding some aspects of our store: The second floor of the new building will become a "salon" type atmosphere where you will find beautiful high-end string instruments such as Goodall, Bourgeois and Breedlove guitars, Weber & Breedlove mandolins, and Dusty Strings harps & hammered dulcimers. The downstairs will be our main level with all our other instruments, books and CDs. We are expanding our sound equipment offerings and will have a special room devoted to amps, PA systems, microphones, pickups, and the office of Dave's "Sounds Reasonable" live sound engineering company. The basement will be a large storage area instead of the mini-closets, lofts, nooks and crannies we are currently trying to manage.

Those of you who frequent our current location know that we are crammed floor-to-ceiling with stuff! While that does present a level of "folksy charm" that we've all come to know and love, the new space will allow us to expand, relax, revitalize and reformat. We're looking forward to a new beginning and a bright future for HMT in the new location. We're happy to be remaining in the heart of Old Town Takoma Park--"The Folk Capital of the Nation's Capital!"

When is this all going to happen? Well, we've only just completed our closing on the new building. We have some renovations to undertake, such as removing some walls, installing new flooring, and finishing the basement. We are hoping for this all to be completed sometime this spring. We'll be posting pictures and updates as things progress. Interested in helping us with the move? Give us a buzz!! We'll need all the hands we can when the time comes.

We also hope to use this blog as a more "personal" aspect of our web presence. Look out for thoughts, ramblings and fun stuff from owner David Eisner, manager Kristen Jones, and more!

-Peace, Love and HMT