D e s e r t E x p o s u r e 
January
2008
In Tune
Music Express owner Dave Murphy celebrates 40 years in the music business. Plus: A rash of closings, PNM's credit crunch, new co-owner for Gila Hike & Bike, mobile massage and more.
In a world where "big box" stores dominate the landscape and consumers look for bargains by shopping online, Music Express has flourished for 14 years in downtown Silver City by providing quality goods and the service and know-how you can get only from a guy who lives and breathes music.
 |
Dave Murphy, owner of Music Express in Silver City, shows off an "axe" at his shop. The shop has more than 100 guitars — new, used and vintage, electric and acoustic — in stock. Murphy also owns Richard's Music Company in Safford, Ariz., the oldest full-line music store in the state. Photo by Donna Clayton Lawder. |
That's Dave Murphy, a man who's played guitar for some 50 years, backing up on stage such country-music greats as George Jones, Patsy Cline and Roy Clark.
"He's a great guy and a good friend to this day," Murphy says of Clark. "I also got to play with a lot of minor stars, good folks from the Grand Ol' Opry. Do you know of Billy Walker? He was a wonderful man," Murphy says with fond remembrance. Walker, nicknamed "The Tall Texan," was a country-music singer and guitarist who died in 2006.
Murphy's passion for and expertise with musical instruments began early in life, leading him down his professional path. "In high school, I worked at a shoe store and I used to hang out at Richard's Music Company in Safford," Murphy recalls. Established in 1941, that business is the oldest full-line music store in Arizona. Murphy bought Richard's Music in 1968 and this year celebrates owning his one-time "hangout" for 40 years. He's also taught music, teaching guitar at Eastern Arizona College in Safford from 1969 to 1999.
Murphy opened Music Express in Silver City in 1994, replacing the town's only retailer of musical instruments and equipment. "A man by the name of Bob Hornbeck ran Smith Music, a downtown business," Murphy explains. "He wanted to sell me his business, but it focused on consumer electronics with a band-instrument component. But I'm just into music."
Instead of buying out Smith's, Murphy came to a gentleman's agreement with Hornbeck, waiting to open his own shop until Hornbeck was ready to shut down, and then buying Smith's musical inventory. Since then, he's split his time between both stores — three days per week at each — with knowledgeable staff alternating with his schedule.
Murphy says that selling quality goods and having problem-solving expertise is why the shop enjoys its loyal customer base and repeat business.
"We serve everybody, from the most discriminating professionals to schoolchildren just beginning to play an instrument," he says with obvious pride.
As if on cue to prove Murphy's point, a local professional musician walks in, asking technical questions about amps. Seems the young man has a big engagement over the weekend.
"It's a big gig, and I want the sound to really fill the place," the young musician says. The two discuss amp power and options. "What if I bridged it?" the musician asks, then goes into describing a potential interplay between "crossovers" and channels.
"Now, you can only bridge it once," Murphy reminds him. Eventually they come up with an input-bridge-channel connection, the musician ticking off on his fingers his various pieces of equipment and how he might network them.
Murphy responds, "Oh, yeah, that'd work beautifully!"
The satisfied young musician leaves and another customer steps up to the counter. His longish hair is gray at the temples, and he's obviously another regular, as he also greets Murphy by name.
He's ordered a part, which Murphy seems delighted to tell him has come in. It's a sale under $10, but Murphy takes the time to chat about the product and a little about life in general. The next customer is a gentleman looking to buy just one guitar string, a replacement for one he recently broke. Murphy takes the time to make sure he knows exactly how to restring it.
No sooner is this customer out the door when a young man comes in.
"Did you come back for that guitar?" Murphy calls out.
"I sure did," the young man replies with a big smile. Murphy outfits him with a cord and shoulder strap for the electric Peavey guitar he's buying.
"I'll see you again soon," Murphy says, to which the young man replies, "You sure will."
All morning it goes on like this, people coming in with, "Hi, how you doing, Dave," and Murphy solving problems big and small, making sales big and small.
Music Express has all the standard items of a serious modern music store — speakers, amps, monitors, mixers, guitar stands and small electronic accessories. Murphy is big on name brands, like Peavey, Jackson, Fender and Marshall.
"These are the ones people have voted for with their dollars," he opines. "They're the best products; they're the ones the professionals play and use."
He has over a hundred guitars in stock at any given time, he says — everything from used Fender electrics to vintage and new acoustic guitars. For the new electric guitar customer, he's got a Peavey all-in-one starter kit with the standard flashy "axe," a digital tuner, gig bag and shoulder strap, electric cable, picks, a "Learn to Play" DVD and a tube amp, Murphy points out — all for under $300. The store is further chock-full with complete drum kits, keyboards and other stringed instruments, including mandolins, a couple of violins, even a ukelele.
He also sells and rents all the usual band brass and reed wind instruments, like trumpets and clarinets. They're not on display now but stored in cases, being kept dust-free in the "off-season." And of course he has racks full of music books and instructional DVDs.
Murphy says that while locals make up the majority of his business — from buying a single guitar string to a high-end guitar — he also has customers who make the drive from Phoenix and Albuquerque to patronize his shop. He once sold a unique jazz guitar to famed "Far Side" cartoonist Gary Larson and shipped it to Larson's home in Seattle.
Another customer, a doctor from Albuquerque, Murphy recalls, came down and checked out his high-end guitar inventory, then went back home to the big city to shop around some more.
"Eventually he came back and bought it from me," Murphy says with a smile.
Though Music Express is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., six days a week, Murphy is quick to point out that those are not just the best hours for him to do his retail business — they are the only hours he can. He's out and about most mornings by 8 a.m., he says, servicing the band instruments of local schools and churches. And after 5 p.m., he's out tuning pianos.
"Oh, it's a full day," he says with a laugh and shake of his head. But what else would one expect of a man who lives and breathes music?
Music Express, 315 S. Hudson (Hwy. 90), Ste. 27 in Hudson Plaza, Silver City. 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Mon.-Sat. 388-9405.