M I SPY
ON THE LOOSE IN SYRACUSE As you know, the MI Spy has finally returned to official spy business after being cooped up at home for way too long. Internet sleuthing had its perks, but it wasn’t the best use of my particular set of skills; after all, anyone can stay incognito online. My place is out here in the field, getting a close-up look at music stores around the country. This month’s mission took me to Syracuse, N.Y., to check out the retail scene in New York’s fifth-most-populous city. Syracuse is the home of Syracuse University, an array of nightlife and dining options, a variety of architectural styles and outdoor art, and some really good pizzerias. Obviously, these days aren’t ideal for sightseeing, but all things considered, it was a good time to visit Syracuse. The bone-chilling northeastern windchills were still a few months off, and COVID-19 infection rates were low in this part of New York at the time of my visit. Zipping northward along the highways (including Interstate 81) on my way to the city felt great. Although, I did get pelted by three rainstorms. And my cell phone charger conked out. Also, one of my molar fillings popped right out of my mouth. But I was so glad to be back on the road that these were just minor distractions. I was excited about the city’s nightlife and eateries, but things have changed in light of COVID-19. Syracuse was way too quiet. There weren’t the usual big crowds of people running around. However, the stores and restaurants and other businesses were slowly coming back to life, and I was able to visit some really impressive musical instrument shops. While reflecting on the new normal of music retail, I thought about how many teens have wandered into the typical music store over the years, sitting on stools while cradling electric guitars and playing “Stairway to Heaven” or “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Now the rules are changing, and the music shops don’t want to encourage everyone crowding around the drum sets and the Strats anymore. I guess the times really are a-changing.
Beat Street Music 219 E. Seneca St. Manlius, NY 13104 315.682.3311
I began my search for cool guitar gear and more in the Syracuse suburb of Manlius (which would also make a great name for an 80s hair-metal band). Beat Street Music was
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not hard to find, and I sidled my car into its small parking lot. The store was medium-sized, but packed with a lot of nearly everything. It was wellstocked with electric and acoustic guitars, dobros, basses, ukuleles, drums and smaller percussion instruments, some amplifiers, and plastic toy instruments as well. And, if you are looking for repair pieces for tinkering on your own instruments, there are plenty available. As soon as I appeared at the door, I was asked “Can I help you?” The salesman who greeted me was completing a repair on an electric bass, a Fender Squire, for a teenage boy who looked on eagerly. After wrapping that up, he sold the kid’s friend a drum accessory. When the salesman was finished working with the teenagers, he spoke to me (from a safe social distance behind the counter) about the dobros and gave me an explanation of the different types that he had on display. We also chatted about the Seymour Duncan LAVA Box, a distortion effect. The store had a wellrounded selection of new and used effects. Hanging from a hook was one of the most eye-catching ukuleles I’ve ever seen, painted with the design of the famous Vincent Van Gogh painting “Starry Night.” Regarding the uke, the salesman said, “Looks good, but also does sound good. I definitely get asked about it a lot.” Among the other unusual but quite appealing instruments stocked here was a bowlshaped dulcimer, a Recording King lap steel (which the salesman told me about at length), a small group of banjos and a few vintage electric guitars. There was also a prominent display of Maestro Leader Batons, for when you feel like being the leader of the pack. Because Beat Street Music does not have especially wide aisles, it was for the best that the salesman stayed by his counter. He did ask me more than once if I was interested in trying out a few different models of stringed instruments. Overall, it was a pretty laid-back place, but not slouchy. As a nice touch, there was a box near the counter with a fairly neat stack of free music magazines for customers to thumb through. I also bought five picks for a dollar, and the box of picks held a good variety of designs and gauges from which to select.
Guitar Center 3150 Erie Blvd. E. Syracuse, NY 13214 315.446.5950
You better believe the MI Spy has popped into a sizable number of Guitar Center (GC)
stores over the years. So I can tell when a GC is an inviting place for customers, and when it is less appealing than a teenage boy’s sloppy bedroom. One of the niceties of a good GC location is when workers leave those cherryred guitar picks laying around for budding virtuosos to use. (And they are always stamped with the individual store phone number as well. That’s some quality marketing.) Now that stores are trying to be much more health and safety conscious, those guitar picks are an even better idea, because they function not only as business cards but also as more sanitary props for individual guitar buyers. Keep the pick, kid, and use it on more than one axe! This GC is located in a strip mall with an assortment of businesses, so there is plenty of parking. The first thing I noticed when I approached were the strips of heavy-duty tape on the ground, spaced six feet apart. Apparently, they were social-distance markers for the lines from opening weekend, which was not too long before the day I’d visited. I’m not sure if it was due to pandemic modifications, but I had a bit of confusion trying to find the actual entrance. That was a slight aggravation (and momentarily, I worried that the store was closed), but I entered through a door labeled “Exit,” and once inside the store, one of the first things I noticed was the Welcome Table: a folding table stocked with neat piles of disposable masks, gloves, hand sanitizers, paper towels and a few instructional signs. A wellprotected customer is a returning customer! As with every other GC branch, this one had the prices neatly displayed; each of these was easily read. To the left of the entrance there was an extensive selection of non-musical instrument items such as vinyl records, gifts, T-shirts, calendars, socks and books. Then there were the small niche rooms that featured acoustic guitars, high-priced electric guitars (some priced more than $4,000), basses, and of course the keyboard section, the drums and percussion, and other areas. But now the smaller enclosed rooms had posted restrictions limiting occupancy to only two people (or even one person) at a time. A man working in the keyboards section was the first person to greet me here, asking “How can I help you?” in a cheery manner. He waved his hands genially to accentuate the wide selection. This was particular to the calendar date, shortly after New York State’s reopening plan entered Phase 4, but a few sections of the store had noticeable empty spots; for instance, the electric guitar walls had some NOVEMBER 2020