The Gift

This Christmas I was very fortunate to be given a copy of "This Is Your Brain On Music" by my wife Beth. That is to say, the gift is from my wife. The book is by a musician/producer turned neuroscience Pd.D Daniel J. Levitin. It's a great read, and I recommend it for anybody with the ability to hear.

The book is about what music is, and what is known about what happens in our brain when we listen to and make music. It takes what could be mundane scientific minutia, or elitist academic terminology about music theory, and avoids both of those pitfalls. Did you know that some of the oldest found human artifacts are musical instruments? Flutes and drums are particularly common relics.

A few of the points Dr. Levitin stresses are very much in step with assumptions I've had about music. Talent for example. I personally think talent is completely overrated. All aspects of making music can be learned and practiced. Some people will pick parts of it up faster than others, and not everybody will show the same balance of strengths if exposed to the same influences. However, there is a path to follow for anybody who desires to make music. Talent is sometimes called a "gift." Discipline and persistence are not gifts; they are not shortcuts. They are sure bets, though. Talent or no talent - if you put the time in, you will improve. If you follow the right steps, you can play music.

Another topic the book spends time on is the gap between musicians and listeners. Many cultures throughout history experienced music as a communal practice. It wasn't left up to an elite few. I see people who want to try playing an instrument but are afraid they'll be no good at it. What's to fear? Of course you'll be no good at it. Not at first! The sooner you get cracking, the sooner you'll connect the dots and start making things happen on the instrument of your choice. The idea that one either "makes it" or is a failure seems unique to music. People don't go asking their favorite schoolteachers how come they never made it big. It's a curious anomaly, resulting from the recording industry's marketing might, which is a pretty recent thing in the big picture. Once I dreamed about being able to hold a guitar and make sense of it. Now I can play with some proficiency. I guess I've made it!

Quite candidly, if I have a gift, it's that I was signed up for lessons at an age when I didn't have much of an ego to bruise. Being a beginner drum student at ten years of age was not a humiliating experience, because I was a beginner at much of life. And since I didn't have a zillion other things going on, I had plenty of time to practice away. By the time I was in high school, it was a matter of pride to continue developing my craft.

I'm always pleased to see parents starting their kids on music. Over the last weeks we got to see many such instances, and I hope for each one of them it leads to a lifetime of making music their own. It's really not hard to do! As long as you practice...

www.laboratorymusic.com

The Towel Snaps Incident

Amidst the bustle of holiday traffic and related inventory and sales activity, it is important not to lose track of the basics.

Like towels, for example. I assume some of you are Douglas Adams fans, and thus aware of the importance of towel proximity. Well, it so happens that we managed to let this key element of our supply manifest slip through the cracks, and found ourselves running dangerously low on c fold paper towels. I know! Unthinkable, as it seems, this dilemma befell us quite unexpectedly.

Immediately, I set into motion the means by which we would promptly rectify this catastrophe.

No sooner had I selected a vendor and from that vendor an economic solution, than my colleague Aaron asserted that the previous vendor we had used might be cheaper. And so they were. So I went back to the drawing board and composed an order from Aaron's preferred towel acquisition vector. Or so I thought...

It turns out I clicked on the wrong item, and ordered the fancy towels for twice the price. Something I heard about too many chefs and a broth has been nagging at my memory ever since. So our towel order cost us twice as many snaps as projected.

So today, with just a few of the previous stock between The Laboratory and an unthinkable towel-lessness, the fancy towels arrived. With the glee of a ten year old on Christmas morning I tore the box open, barely able to contain my inquisitiveness at why these towels were twice the cost.

I was underwhelmed.

Granted they are nicer, softer, patterned, and packed more delicately. But for half the money, I was plenty happy with the previous batch. Going from no towels to towels is a quantum leap. Going from OK towels to deluxe towels is not the kind of thing that would move one to song.

The previous towel stock

Enjoying the superior comfort and quality

So, now that I can say without hyperbole that these towels represent the most significant improvement ever visited upon this humble commercial space, I'll urge all of my patient readers to come in to The Laboratory. Not just for the tremendous savings on excellent music gear and accessories, but also to wash your hands in our state of the art washroom, and to marvel at the delights that a truly superior towel can inspire. It will make me feel much better about goofing the order and costing the company additional expense.

www.laboratorymusic.com

Korg Clinic

Come to The Laboratory and ogle in amazement as the wizards from Korg descend upon us this Tuesday. They will be demonstrating, showcasing, and generally kicking out the jams with the new Korg M3 workstation. This new workstation is a powerful sequencer/sampler/composer, loaded down with a dizzying array of great new sounds. The clinic will be an interactive showcase and learning event.

One lucky attendee with leave with a free Korg mini-KP Kaoss Pad in their hot little hands.

One night only- factory authorized specials on Korg keyboards. If you were thinking of upgrading your keyboard, this is your moment!


Tuesday October 23rd
7pm - 9pmat The Laboratory
1450 Clements Bridge Road (Pathmark Shopping Ctr)
Deptford, NJ 08906
(856) 384 - 2725

Grand Opening Email

Thanks to all who stopped by at our grand opening last weekend. We had fun, met many new area musicians, and put instruments into the happy hands of both vets and new players. That is truly the best part of doing what we do.

If you attended and submitted for our prize give-away, now is a good moment to summon the sound of a drum roll. Here are the lucky grand prize winners:

Mapex Pro M Snare Drum:
Nate Ware of Woodbury


Applause AE128 Acoustic/Electric Guitar:
Brian Sheldon of Deptford


Yamaha FG700S Acoustic Guitar:
Greg Eller of Gloucester


Audio Technica Studio Microphone Pack:
Angela Ford of Collingswood


Hohner Rockwood Electric Guitar:
Meghan Kelhauer of Westville


Thanks to all who played! And, as your reward for reading this, bring a printout of this email to our store and save $5 on any purchase of $45 or more. Coupons are fun.


ROCK!

The Laboratory
1450 Clements Bridge Rd
(Pathmark Shopping Ctr)
Deptford, NJ 08096
856-384-2725
www.thelaboratory.info
www.myspace.com/laboratorymusicstore

Open and Filling Up

Last Saturday, the 4th, we opened our doors to the public for the first time. Building the Laboratory has been a sometimes difficult and always challenging undertaking, and it was greatly rewarding to finally let customers browse the store.

And that is by no means the end of building. This week, dozens more Schecter guitars arrived, along with a huge selection of fine straps and cases from Levy's.

So, the lights are on, the door is open, and we're happy to say we're in business. But this is only the beginning!

www.laboratorymusic.com

Warped Tour 2007

On Friday, August 3rd (one day prior to our opening date), Laboratory staffer Aaron Barbarics and myself manned a tent provided to us by our trade organization, NAMM. The tent was situated amongst the array of vendors set up at the Philly area stop of the Van's Warped Tour. The purpose of our tent was to provide an area where concert goers could get their hands on some instruments and jam out. Sort of like an all-day open mic for the entire horde of young rockers.

Baking in the hot sun from 8:45 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. is not usually a treat, but the enthusiasm of the folks who stopped by made the time go quickly. We're very much hopeful we can do the same thing again next year. Perhaps next time we can cram a little PA system into that tiny tent, so there can be vocals. At least, I think that's a good idea...

Here are some shots from the tent:

www.laboratorymusic.com

Emmassing the Troops

Now that renovating the sales floor is nearly complete, we are starting to see the further arrival of excitingly heavy boxes full or fun stuff. Korg creatures great and small, Marshall beasts, well groomed Vox statesmen, and more guitars and basses.

Last night was filled with satisfyingly mundane retail tasks, involving laser barcode zappers and wireless laptops, instead of the usual gloved hands and cordless drills. Once this work was completed, I decided that we were remiss in having bass amps and basses in boxes, rather than in our hands. Moments later, a Marshall MB30 and a Traben Neo were plugged in and making some noise.

The Traben Neo is a fine piece of craftsmanship! It has great action, and a very ergonomic body. It hung perfectly from a strap, and it was nicely balanced on my lap. My right hand found its way to a comfortable perch for fingering, and my left hand was able to move up and down the neck with no tension.

The little Marshall bass combo has a modern clean channel, and a "classic" grungy channel with separate gain and master volume. It's got some kick for a practice amp, and really solid tone. Through it, the Neo was able to sound punchy and clear, or growly and warm. The Neo's T3 active preamp offers a very usable tonal range - not that "clicky" high end many active electronics are guilty of, unless you want to crank the highs to dial that in. The over-sized bridge is characteristic of the Traben approach: more hardware on the body sends more mojo through the wood. I guess I could argue that, but I can't argue the nimble feel and great sound of this bass.

This morning I looked over the pricing for that bass, and my appreciation turned to surprise. At $399 street price, this is a far less expensive bass than I had thought.

www.laboratorymusic.com

Harbingers of Hardship

Yesterday saw the two week mark from the day we first got keys to the site where we are building The Laboratory. The two weeks of demolition, painting, discovery, and generally hard work have been a rewarding time of fatigue and transformation. Two days ago we finished one of the biggest steps: pulling up the plywood flooring our predecessors had laid down atop the carpet. This process revealed some termite damage, but we had been told they were long gone.

Yesterday morning it was obvious that they were still with us. I don't know what business termites have with carpeting on top of cement; their food source labyrinth of 2×4s and plywood planks had been discharged from the building at much effort. But there they were again. Little did we realize the evil that they brought with them. Yesterday's efforts were fraught with repetition, each task forcing a reassessment and repeat after some step came unhinged. Toilet tanks were exchanged, then switched back again to work a little worse than they had before. A light switch replacement became a painful lesson in wire gauges and switch manufacturers' differing tastes. A bathroom tissue dispenser replacement evolved into a project of unimaginable difficulty. A quarter round molding piece required four coats of paint to present any semblance of uniformity. It seemed all of our steadfast progress was being paid for in the form of innumerable annoyances which should have been quick fixes.

There was, however, one thing that went supremely well.

UPS showed up with our first shipment of guitars. Glorious Michael Kelly solid body electric guitars, F-Hole hybrids that can wail like an S.G. or whisper like a fine acoustic with a pro piezo, Traben basses with sleek lines and massive, sustain loving bridges. As each box came open there was a chorus of oos and ahs. I would gladly own any one of these pieces. It was maybe the most important job of the day: stocking our store with a host of guitars that we ourselves would take to a gig and thoroughly enjoy playing. This is exactly the kind of thing we want for our customers.

At day's end we secured a cotton curtain to finish the space between our acoustic guitar room and the higher ceiling of the main sales floor. It looked great. After midnight, as Mark was alone in the store, blowing off steam on a Michael Kelly axe, the curtain plummeted to the floor. Today's another day, and that curtain will learn to enjoy clinging to the ceiling this time!

www.laboratorymusic.com