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ore t s ia ic d s e u m o m ocial n e A R tes s ina m o d
bradb@ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m photos by Eric Marks
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by
Brad Bynum
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HOW bizarre
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BIZARRE GuItAR , a 40-year-old music shop on a stretch of Oddie Boulevard that many residents incorrectly assume is Sparks instead of Reno, presented a clinic in contest-winning in the RN&R’s 2014 Best of Northern Nevada readers’ poll.
It was an impressive showing, with the store racking up wins in a variety of categories, some of which might seem surprising for such a niche business. Bizarre Guitar was voted Best Local Place to Work, Best Place to Buy a Musical Instrument, Best Local Non-Casino Business, Best Place for Music Lessons, Best Business Facebook Page, Most Female Friendly Business, and Best Local Website. It was voted Best Place to Buy a Firearm and second place for Best Place to Shoot Firearms, wins that should more properly be attributed to Bizarre Guns, the store’s conjoined-twin sister business, next door, owned by the same folks and closely intertwined. Bizarre was voted second place for Most Female Friendly Company to Work For (first place—and take from this what you will—was a brothel). Bizarre Guitar owner Greg Golden was voted Best Local Musician. His band, the Greg Golden Band, won Best Local Band. Greg’s wife, Shanda Golden, the “queen bee” of Bizarre Guitar, won Most Innovative Woman. A year earlier, in the 2013 version of the contest, the business won Best Place to Buy a Firearm, and came in second for Best Place to Buy a Musical Instrument. The business appeared nowhere else among the winners and runners up, and neither did the Goldens. Bizarre Guitar’s strong showing in so many categories in this year’s contest seemed surprising to some readers, with at least one reader joking on social media that the paper should change its name to the Sparks News & Review— making that common mistake about the store’s location—or even the Bizarre News & Review. None of this is necessarily to say that those awards were not deserved. Bizarre Guitar is quintessential of a certain kind of wild Nevadan aesthetic—a libertarian place where you can buy your shotgun and your Stratocaster at the same spot, where questions aren’t asked, where bluesy pentatonic guitar riffs still reign supreme. It’s a place that seems unique to Northern Nevada, a guitar shop with rows and rows of instruments and a legendary “vault” in the basement with vintage instruments and
Shanda Golden, the "queen bee" of Bizarre Guitar, was voted Reno's Most Innovative Woman.
“HOW bIZARRE” continued on page 14
OPINION
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NEWS
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GREEN
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FEATURE STORY
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ARTS&CULTURE
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ART OF THE STATE
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FOODFINDS
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FILM
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MUSICBEAT
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NIGHTCLUBS/CASINOS
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THIS WEEK
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MISCELLANY
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SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
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RN&R
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