With local institution Weathers Music Corporation closing in June after more than 50 years serving Salem, the Cherry City music community is taking a hit. However, there are still several options around town for a musician in search of anything from piano sheet music to an electronic drum kit, a ukulele or a Marshall stack.
Weathers owner Keith Weathers announced that the Willamette Valley Music Company (484 State St. SE, 503-385-8790) will handle repairs for the Weathers rental agreements, but Randy Kem and Mike Delamare?s new shop will offer a lot more.
?We offer individual and group lessons on most musical instruments, and have group classes and clinics on a regular basis,? said Eli Kem, adding that the business? inventory is ?mainly band and orchestra (instruments), with a few guitars, mandolins, and percussion (instruments).?
Though Willamette Valley Music Company is new to Salem, the proprietors are not.
?For 27 years my family repaired band and percussion instruments under the name Kemtone Repair Company,? said Eli Kem. ?We repaired instruments for customers and school districts in the surrounding area.?
?In addition to repairing musical instruments (Randy Kem) has played professionally and taught music in the Salem area since 1974,? added Eli Kem. ?Randy was an artist and clinician for both the Yamaha and Jupiter companies, performed as a solo artist across the United States and Canada, and taught saxophone and jazz at Willamette University for eight years.?
Though Salem?s music community is losing a bit of its history with the closure of Weathers, there are three other music stores in the area that have each been around for decades.
David Chassman of ABC Music (263 Chemeketa St. NE, 503-363-1641) said that his store was opened by Martin and Goldie Chassman in the early 1960?s and has expanded from a focus on school band instruments and a few string instruments to ?electric guitars and bass guitars, acoustic and acoustic-electric, steel-string and nylon-string guitars, drums & percussion accessories, music books, ukuleles and a whole myriad of musical accessories.?
Jim Nardi?s Uptown Music (3827 River Rd. N, Keizer) opened in 1991 after the closure of Music West and specializes in ?a full array of acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, drums, brass and reed instruments, drums, instrument accessories, sheet music, lessons and instrument repairs,? said Nardi.
?We also provide rental instruments for school band and orchestra programs and host a variety of live music, clinics and other events,? added Nardi.
For those musicians that are focused solely on piano, Music Music (2790 Market St. NE, (503) 371-9800) may have what you?re looking for. The local shop has been open for more than 30 years and offers a wide selection of pianos, keyboards and sheet music.
Salem also has its very own custom guitar shop. Jim Normandy of Normandy Guitars (217 State St. SE, 503-689-1998) makes hand-made aluminum-body electric guitars that are praised by big-time magazines and collectors and played by big-time performers. The shop sells Normandy guitars as well as other makes, and also offers guitar lessons.
In addition to all of the locally-owned stores, national corporation Guitar Center opened a Keizer Station location earlier this Spring.
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