Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Floyd music store up for sale
Owner Scott Perry wants to focus on playing more tour dates and spending time with his family.
JUSTIN COOK The Roanoke Times
Scott Perry (right) gives lessons to Hank Pfister at Floyd's Pickin' Porch, which is up for sale. Perry says, "I've found out giving lessons is at least as rewarding as playing live."
The Pickin’ Porch
- Where: 133 Willis Ave., Floyd
- Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday
- Contact: 745-8863 or thepickinporch.com
Want to go?
- What: Birthday celebration for Floyd fiddle maker Arthur Conner
- When: 1 p.m. Saturday
- Details: Festivities begin at 1 p.m. with an acoustic jam beneath a tent provided by Dulaney’s Greenhouse and will continue throughout the afternoon. At 3 p.m. the Pickin’ Porch will fire up the grill and provide hot dogs with all the fixings, chips and drinks. Guests are invited, but not expected, to bring a covered dish. Cake and ice cream will be served at 5 p.m.
FLOYD -- The Pickin' Porch, a Floyd music store owned by local musician Scott Perry, is for sale.
Perry opened the store four years ago in a converted house that formerly housed his wife Lisa Kae's mortgage business as a way to provide income and take care of the needs of the local acoustic music market, he said.
"I love the store, but it was never anything more than a means to an end -- that I wouldn't have to drive all the way to Roanoke to make a living like a lot of people around here do," Perry said.
Perry said he's selling the store because he wants to focus on adding more dates to his tour schedule and also focus on his family -- his youngest son, Emerson, 13, is starting high school as a home schooled student this year, and his oldest son, Spencer, 18, is attending Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke.
"He has musical instruments and can have items repaired, which is good, because before opening the shop, people wanting anything had to travel outside the county," said Daniel Bower, owner of Finder's Keepers, an antique and clothing store near The Pickin' Porch.
Perry started small, with about one-fourth of the merchandise he carries now, from guitars to music books, and started giving music lessons last year.
He also carries handcrafted, locally made instruments including Arthur Conner Fiddles, Mike Ramsey Banjos and Alfred Cox Guitars.
"I never intended to give lessons," Perry said. "I thought I would sit around all day and play my guitar. ... I started getting questions about lessons, and I've found out giving lessons is at least as rewarding as playing live."
He now teaches about 30 students, including Dillon White, 15, who said he hopes to keep taking lessons and that whoever bought the store will keep it similar to what it is now.
"It's a good place, because they take care of Floyd pretty well," Dillon said. "We don't need an electric [guitar] place."
The store focuses on acoustic guitars because it's the heart of Appalachian music and, in turn, the music in Floyd, Perry said.
"We have a lot of fans of Appalachian culture and music, and I would love to see someone locally buy it, but the reality is that it's for sale and that's not my choice," Perry said.
Even with the slow economy, business has still been steady, which Perry said he thinks means there is a market for what he's selling.
"We are becoming more populated, with more people moving to Floyd and tourists coming here, especially for the music, which in turn gets people interested in playing, so it's good to have a place to purchase musical instruments," Bower said. "It helps that Scott is a musician himself, because he's able to give people pointers as far as the right instrument for them."
