A music store is more than a simple retail outlet. It’s a nexus for a musical community where teachers, students, artists, and collectors converge and create a cultural hub. Jensen Guitar and Music Company in Santa Maria has been just such a neighborhood shop, but, due to the current economic climate, it must unfortunately close its doors.
The company was founded in 1973 by Chris Jensen, who opened his first store in Santa Barbara. The Santa Maria branch of the stringed instrument and equipment retailer opened in 1999 on West Main Street and moved to its current Oak Knolls location in Orcutt in 2001. Though the Santa Barbara store will remain open, the Santa Maria Valley has been unable to support its local store.
“In the heyday, about 2005 to 2006, people would come in and buy brand new instruments regularly, and there was a high traffic in vintage and collectible instruments,” Jensen said. “But now our customers are going through a lot, and that translates into how much disposable income they have to spend on lessons and musical instruments.”
Jensen Guitar and Music Co. offers a wide range of acoustic and electric guitars from several brands, the premiere of which are guitars by the highly regarded C.F. Martin and Company, which has been manufacturing instruments since 1833. But guitars aren’t where the shop draws the line. Visitors will find banjos, mandolins, and ukuleles, along with drum kits, accessories, and music books. The store also has a history of accepting trade ins or consignments, which has yielded a steady stream of vintage instruments, including famous names like Gibson, Fender, or Gretsch.
“We’ve tightened our belt all around,” Jensen said. “It’s just that the recession caught up with us.”
The store is set to close the first day of March, so everything in the store is priced to go throughout February. Instruments and equipment are marked down considerably, and the furniture, display cases, and fixtures in the store are for sale.
“We are in full-on liquidation mode for the next few weeks,” said store manager Michael Dogherty. “We are trying to get rid of everything we can, whatever cash we can generate to help out the Santa Barbara store.”
The store will also continue to be host to the several music teachers who make use of the location’s teaching studios until the end of the month. Local teachers Manny Mestas and Kyle Batty have taught at the store for years, their students often buying their first instruments from Jensen Guitar.
“I’ve seen guys come in and grow up, go to high school, and go off to college,” Dougherty said. “It’s kind of a trip I’ve been here that long.”
Nathan Towne started frequenting Jensen Guitar and Music Co. when he was 10 years old, riding his skateboard the few blocks from his house to the store to spend hours playing guitar. Towne, now 21, has shown a mastery of the instrument from an early age, and it was only a matter of him reaching legal working age before he was offered a job. He’s taught out of the store over the years, sold guitars, and repaired countless instruments, a skill he learned from his more experienced coworkers.
“I learned from just watching and asking questions,” he explained. “I got more education out of Jensen’s than I ever did out of high school.”
Though he’s going to be out of job, Towne is optimistic about his musical career; he performs solo and with several local groups, but he laments the loss of the store.
“It’s just one more inconvenience for anyone who is playing music around here,” he said. “Believe it or not, we have regulars who come in to have the same thing done every week because they know we do it right.”
Towne puts some of the blame for the closure on the Internet, as well as on large retail outlets selling cheaper instruments.
“What people don’t realize is that for every 10 guitars sold on the Internet, seven will be brought to Jensen’s for repairs, and the other three will get broken,” he said.
“It could be your store next, so support local,” he added.
Anyone who’s been playing music in the Orcutt or Santa Maria area for any length of time will attest to the number of garage bands and professional groups made possible thanks to the goods and services available at Jensen Guitar and Music Co. Whether a brand-new guitar, an overhaul on an old instrument, or just a new set of strings, the store always met needs with a friendly and knowledgeable air.
“We made a lot of great contacts with the music community in Santa Maria and people who grew up with the store and got lessons there,” Jensen said. “We appreciate all our customers up there, and we are sorry we won’t be able to be there for them.”
Brews and tunes
Patrick Montgomery will be singing and playing his guitar at the Santa Maria Brewing Company on Wednesdays and Sundays through February from 4 to 9 p.m. Hear him at 2401 Preisker Lane, No. 3, Santa Maria, for free. More info: 354-0219 or davidsnyder561@comcast.net.
Rockin’ for a cause
A benefit event for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will feature a concert, including performances by The Only Rational Thing, Time for Secrets, Brandon Martinez and Cody Taecker, and Liquid Grasshopper on Feb. 16 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at St. Joseph High School, 4120 S. Bradley Road, Santa Maria. Cost is $4.
Music with twang
Bluegrass West presents “The Very Lonesome Boys Bluegrass Show” featuring live bluegrass music by Peter Feldmann and the Very Lonesome Boys on Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. Come to St. Marks in the Valley, 2901 Nojoqui Ave., Los Olivos. Admission is $12. More info: 688-9894, peter@bluerasswest.com, or bluegrasswest.com.
Bowing on the heart strings
The Santa Maria Philharmonic Orchestra presents “Romance of the Strings” featuring a string ensemble performing the works of several composers on Feb. 18 with a pre-concert lecture by Dr. Marcus Engelmann at 6:50 and the performance at 7:30 p.m. at Grace Baptist Church, 605 E. McCoy, Santa Maria. More info: 925-0412, george@santamariaphilharmonic.org, or
santamariaphilharmonic.org.
Get ready for jazz
The Famous Jazz Artist Series presents the Shoemake/Morgan Jazz Ensemble in concert on Feb. 18 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Terrace Dinner Theatre, Manny’s Restaurant, 1693 Mission Drive, Solvang. Admission is $35. More info: 691-9137or prplus@earthlink.net.
Contact Calendar Editor Joe Payne at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 16-23, 2012.