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ANOTHER Venue Lost!
I'm thinking of changing the name of this page from "News" to "Obituary"
because once again the local music scene gets an enthusiastic kick square in the teeth as yet another establishment goes
under. The Zone in Oxford, AL has closed down leaving The Zone Booking in limbo. They are currently regrouping in Gadsden
and are now looking for a new location to host shows. This is a real shame because the Oxford location was an amazing venue
with a spacious new air-conditioned building with a dance floor, video games, snack bar, a state-of-the-art sound and
lighting system, and even a BAND LOUNGE! So why did it go away? I could rehash my rant about the state of this area's music
scene but I won't. See my blog on the subject at the Metalabama MySpace page (click the link below) if you're so inclined.
And if anyone knows of a building available for use by The Zone Booking, PLEASE contact them via their own MySpace page:
The Zone Booking
Metalabama Official MySpace Page
The Zone Announces July and August Show Schedule
Saturday July 12:
The Zone Venue has released their show schedule for their July and August events so be sure to visit them at http://www.myspace.com/thezonevenue and check it out. This Saturday the 19th 6 local acts have been announced: Eye
of the Beholder Betrayed by Blood History of a City Throne of Blood Warren Commission Untwisted Thorn This
is shaping up to be one kickass show. I've been listening to the tracks of several of these bands and they ROCK (I'm quite
partial to bands with BLOOD in their name). I'll be there taking photos and video
for metalabama. com so come dressed to kill. That goes for you other bands out there. The Zone is shaping up to be THE place
to be for music in Calhoun County. The Zone 1969 Barry Street Oxford, AL 36203, Oxford, 36203 Show
starts at 7:00pm Admission is $6 Check out The Zone's profile for more info. Check back later for an overview of
the bands scheduled to play.
R.I.P. Phil's Fret Shop
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Another Music Store Lost
07-04-08:
Quick, name a good guitar shop in the Anniston area. OK there's... well there's that one place that has a good selection
but has been sued for fraud. Then there's Clevenger's on Wilmer. Not a bad shop- Mr. Clevenger is a heckuva nice guy
but I'd like to see a more diverse inventory. Then uhhhh... The new Target in Oxford has some Lyon and Fender stuff.
Wal Mart has some nice toy guitars by First Act. OK, Anniston's options in guitar shopping is on par with most stuff not related
to NASCAR: DISMAL. Things took a turn for the worse when Phil Green closed his guitar shop in February of '08.
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| The Fret Shop's impressive Wall O' Axes |
It was a sweet setup and I was excited to have such a cool store so close to home. I even devoted
a whole page on this site to promote it and had worked out some great ideas to pitch to him regarding advertisement and
attracting shoppers. Then one day I stopped by to again fawn over the Traben Phoenix and work out a deal to buy it. Phil
was in the parking lot loading furniture and various belongings into a truck. The showroom was bare. I attempted
to talk to him but it was apparent that he wasn't inclined to chat. "So what happened?: I asked. He paused just long
enough to reply with noticible rancor: "The internet!" He then went about loading the truck. Further attempts at conversation
(I still wanted that Phoenix) illicited little more than short, curt responses and so I left with the feeling
that he was blaming ME somehow. I mean, I didn't invent the internet! Al Gore did! Besides, EVERY time I visited I made it
a point to buy SOMETHING if it was nothing more than some guitar picks. As a matter of fact, when he opened his new shop,
I was the FIRST customer to make a purchase.
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| Two guitarist"s dream axes: An Epiphone B.B. King Lucille and a 1957 Reissue V. |
The moral of the story is simply this: Support the local businesses that cater to our music community or we LOSE THEM.
If you own ANY business, just remember you can't just open shop and expect people to start filing in ready to buy. You have
to promote yourself and give it time.
I ended up buying a Traben Array Premium elsewhere and I couldn't be happier. I would have loved to have had that
Phoenix from Phil's, but a player's gotta do what he's gotta do.
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| DENIED! Jake outside a locked Fret Shop. |
Anniston area muscians already know Phil from his Noble Street music store which he closed for a variety of reasons.
But he just couldn't say goodbye to the business. "I wanted a place where guitarists could just hang out," he said
simply. He delivered, too. Unfortunately, business didn't take off fast enough for the place to survive and once again
Phil called it quits. And that's a real shame because Phil is a great musician who knows guitars inside and out and the store
was really shaping up to be that musician's hangout he invisioned. I really enjoyed stopping in and checking out the
new guitars and amps he'd get in. We'd talk about his plans for the store. I would play this SWEET Traben Phoenix bass
he had in the showroom. I made plans to attend the jam sessions he'd have after hours for local musicians.
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| The Fret Shop Lounge. Hang out. Jam. Get lessons. Talk shop. It didn't get any cooler than that. |
So we've lost another great store that could have been a real landmark for our area musicians. And the problem wan't
that the internet exists. It's because Mr. Green wasn't able to wait until word got out enough for business to take off.
More importantly he didn't do the promoting necessary to spread the word and generate the necessary interest. Right
now there are two significant music retailers in Anniston. Both are surviving just fine with the internet. And Phils's Fret
shop was in many ways better than both of them.
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| Phil talks guitars with a customer. |
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| No doubt about it, the Fret Shop had the goods! |
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