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Thread: Dallas Music Store

  1. #1

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    During the 70s and 80s there was a terrific music store in Dallas (Garland) called The Arnold & Morgan Music Company.
    I remember a huge place with an impressive inventory.
    Many rooms of instruments with certain rooms dedicated to a particular instrument family, i.e., a big room of electronic keyboards, a huge room full of guitars and basses, a drum room and even a small cymbal room...............one of the largest rooms was amplifiers.
    It was a common practice to pick up a guitar and go to the amp room, find a cord, plug it in and start jamming.
    As you can imagine, the noise could get elevated at times.

    One day in February or March of 1977, when I was in music school, I walked in and Charles (the drum expert/salesman) asked me to follow him so he could show me something..........I followed him to a special display where he had just set up two new kits of Gretsch USA Customs.........one in Rosewood Gloss and one in Walnut Gloss.
    Both were new, flawless, and stunning.................when he told me the prices, I immediately knew these were out of my league.
    The guys at school informed me of the quality of the drums and a few weeks later, Charles and I found a way to make a deal.
    I had stuff to trade in and we sat down and figured out what I wanted to order.
    The drums arrived in August and (as most people here already know) I'm still gigging with this set after 41 years.

    This music store was the place to see and be seen in the band circles in Dallas at the time.
    It was also a place touring musicians would visit when in town -- I saw Richie Blackmore in there one Saturday.
    They also have special events on occasion and bring in some good players...............I found the invitation below and it was a reminder................

    srv-invite[1].jpg
    Gretsch USA & Zildjian
    (What Else Would I Ever Need ?)


  2. #2

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    If that place is either inside a mall or close to 1. When I was living there with my GF (1982), I went into a large music store like you described, sat down behind a set of drums and someone who worked there walked past and handed me a pair of sticks and said "try them, see in you like them".

    We lived at 6366 Ridgecrest Rd.
    YOU MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

    YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU DON'T KNOW.

    VAE VICTIS

    ONCE YOU HIT A CERTAIN AGE, YOU BECOME PERMANENTLY UNIMPRESSED BY A LOT OF CRAP.

    I HIT THAT AGE 20 YEARS AGO.

    IF DOGS CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN, I WANT TO GO WHERE THEY GO

    WILL ROGERS

  3. #3

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    That’s awesome. Certainly NOT the kind of experiences you get from the local GC!

    The world has certainly changed...both the products we buy and the sales/service behind them.
    -Brian

    "Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"

    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by rickthedrummer View Post
    If that place is either inside a mall or close to 1. When I was living there with my GF (1982), I went into a large music store like you described, sat down behind a set of drums and someone who worked there walked past and handed me a pair of sticks and said "try them, see in you like them".
    We lived at 6366 Ridgecrest Rd.
    I Googled the address you provided, Rick.
    The music store was North of the LBJ freeway on Garland Road....................not there anymore.
    Your address was South of LBJ and just East of North Central Expressway (U.S. 75 -- a freeway that had the nickname of "the World's longest parking lot).
    Gretsch USA & Zildjian
    (What Else Would I Ever Need ?)


  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by N2Bluz View Post
    That’s awesome. Certainly NOT the kind of experiences you get from the local GC!
    The world has certainly changed...both the products we buy and the sales/service behind them.
    You got that right !
    My local GC is good for guitars and PA gear.............for us drummers it is a stinking joke.............I will no longer go in there.
    Gretsch USA & Zildjian
    (What Else Would I Ever Need ?)


  6. #6

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    Ricky, have you ever taken a walk around Dealey Plaza.

    I strolled around from the depository up to the "grassy knoll" and stood where I thought Zapruder stood and shot that film.

    How you hit a moving target with a bolt action rifle while that target is moving away from you does make me wonder.
    YOU MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

    YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU DON'T KNOW.

    VAE VICTIS

    ONCE YOU HIT A CERTAIN AGE, YOU BECOME PERMANENTLY UNIMPRESSED BY A LOT OF CRAP.

    I HIT THAT AGE 20 YEARS AGO.

    IF DOGS CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN, I WANT TO GO WHERE THEY GO

    WILL ROGERS

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ricardo View Post
    You got that right !
    My local GC is good for guitars and PA gear.............for us drummers it is a stinking joke.............I will no longer go in there.
    I’ll shop on their website, but I rarely go in their store. The sad part is, our local brick-n-mortar music store is terrible for drums...even worse than the local GC. Last time I was there, they had ONE entry level Pearl kit and a small pegboard full of hardware.
    -Brian

    "Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"

    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  8. #8

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    wow sounds like an amazing place back in the day... sad things like this don't exist anymore

  9. #9

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    i liked the music stores that were around where i grew up. All independents.. 1 of them is still operating today .. drove past it during my visit last week. The closest GC was in San Francisco , Sam Ash was in Reno..
    RDM/Damage Poets
    UFiP TAMAHA Zildjian
    REGAL TiP
    AQUARIAN

  10. #10

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    Back in the '70's,when I was still in Jersey, we had Dorn & Kirshners (where Morello gave lessons), Rondo Music, Muscaras, a bunch of smaller music stores and Sam Ash in Brooklyn, where I bought my Ludwigs in the early '70'

    I love Dallas. I considered moving there when I was house hunting. I also considered Tempe. I have a friend that lives there that I've known for 50 years. A retired drummer that made a lot more $$$$$$$ than I did and has a beautiful home there.
    Last edited by rickthedrummer; 04-05-2019 at 11:25 PM.
    YOU MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

    YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU DON'T KNOW.

    VAE VICTIS

    ONCE YOU HIT A CERTAIN AGE, YOU BECOME PERMANENTLY UNIMPRESSED BY A LOT OF CRAP.

    I HIT THAT AGE 20 YEARS AGO.

    IF DOGS CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN, I WANT TO GO WHERE THEY GO

    WILL ROGERS

  11. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by N2Bluz View Post
    That’s awesome. Certainly NOT the kind of experiences you get from the local GC!

    The world has certainly changed...both the products we buy and the sales/service behind them.
    You can say that again! (No, don't say it again)

  12. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by rickthedrummer View Post
    Ricky, have you ever taken a walk around Dealey Plaza.
    I strolled around from the depository up to the "grassy knoll" and stood where I thought Zapruder stood and shot that film.
    How you hit a moving target with a bolt action rifle while that target is moving away from you does make me wonder.
    I have done that -- it is a creepy feeling.
    There is actually an "X" marked on Elm street where the first bullet struck JFK..........you can stand on that spot and look back at that 6th-floor window.
    Assuming Oswald acted alone, he was one part USMC expert marksman and one part lucky SOB.
    The theater (down in the Oak Cliff neighborhood) where the cops caught up with Oswald still stands............I had a lot of friends that grew up down there.
    Gretsch USA & Zildjian
    (What Else Would I Ever Need ?)


  13. #13

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    As I said before, I love Dallas. My GF and I used to go to White Rock Lake, take some wine and whatever and go just hang out there for a couple of hours. If memory serves, I think they had like a bike lane, a joggers (or skaters) lane, and 1 lane just for taking a walk.

    Also the Flea Market in Grand Prairie was a fun place to go. Get a beer, walk down that row and there would be a Port-O-Potty, turn to the next row, grab another beer, get to the end of that row and there's another Port-O-Potty, turn to the next row and start the process all over again.

    Looked at some houses on Inman Ave (or blvd). Was really pretty back then (1982), I wonder what it looks like now.
    YOU MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

    YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU DON'T KNOW.

    VAE VICTIS

    ONCE YOU HIT A CERTAIN AGE, YOU BECOME PERMANENTLY UNIMPRESSED BY A LOT OF CRAP.

    I HIT THAT AGE 20 YEARS AGO.

    IF DOGS CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN, I WANT TO GO WHERE THEY GO

    WILL ROGERS

  14. #14

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    My GF worked for a construction co. on Empire Blvd. I sometimes would take her to work in my Vette. When I went back to pick her up, 1 of the girls in the office said to my GF, "Pat, California Dreamin' is here to pick you up". That stuck the whole time I was down there.

    The Vette fit the description, I did not.
    YOU MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

    YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU DON'T KNOW.

    VAE VICTIS

    ONCE YOU HIT A CERTAIN AGE, YOU BECOME PERMANENTLY UNIMPRESSED BY A LOT OF CRAP.

    I HIT THAT AGE 20 YEARS AGO.

    IF DOGS CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN, I WANT TO GO WHERE THEY GO

    WILL ROGERS

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