For musicians seeking the best-quality used guitars, basses, amps and effects, Bluesairmen Guitars is a beacon in the otherwise-limited MI market of Garden City MI, some 20 minutes west of Detroit. Original Owner David Goldsworthy opened the shop in May 2005 “to help bring the old-days, hands-on vibe back to a guitar shop after everyone’s favorite big-box store had put most of the mom-and-pop shops out of business,” explained Nick Marocco, who first began working at the store while he was in high school and, at age 20, became its Owner.
The first thing he did was assemble the amazing four-person team that has remained intact to this day. He recruited guitar instructor Gary Modlinski; and, he brought on guitar tech Greg Gdaniec and amp tech Matt Diggs, both of whom have more than 30 years’ experience, to run the service department. “We have people drive from all over to have work done by Greg,” Marocco explained. The last piece of the puzzle was his childhood friend, Joey Gaydos.
“Three years ago, I got a call from Nick and he asked if I’d want to come run the store with him,” recalled Gaydos, who serves as Sales Manager. “At the time, I was playing in some bands and doing some session work. I decided it was time to get a steady gig. It was a case of perfect timing.”
Bluesairmen Guitars
30955 Ford Rd.
Garden City MI 48135
734.525.9101
www.facebook.com
Mon-Tue: 12pm to 7pm
Wed: 12pm to 9pm
Thu-Fri: 12pm to 7pm
Sat: 12pm to 4pm
Nick Marocco, Owner
Joey Gaydos, Sales Manager
With the team assembled, Bluesairmen Guitars was once again poised to become a destination for music fans across the city, the state and even the country. The store offers a top-notch selection, thanks in part to self-professed audiophile Gaydos, who goes to all the local pawn shops and guitar stores twice a month to find new instruments to buy and sell. “If I buy something, that’s a new vehicle for me to sell it because I can tell the customers about my experience with it,” he said, adding that, although the store is happy to order gear from Sweetwater or Allparts Music to suit a customer’s needs, he tries to steer them to the closest thing that’s in stock.
“At a lot of places, you ask for something and they just say, ‘No, we don’t have it,’ and the conversation ends there. This way, the customer doesn’t leave empty-handed and they’ve also learned something new,” Gaydos said. “It’s a service I provide.”
Customer service has been a big hurdle for Bluesairmen’s current management team, because the store had previously had a reputation for a “sort of nose-in-the-air attitude,” said Marocco. “That was one of the main things I wanted to change when I took over, and I do feel that we are a lot more friendly and accessible than we used to be. No one has an ego, and we welcome everybody with open arms.”
The store recently underwent a renovation designed to make it look as friendly as Marocco and Gaydos have made it feel. “Since our showroom isn’t that big, we really made a concerted effort to maximize the use of the space. Instead of lining up the amps in a straight line, we have them turned so that, when you first walk through our front door—which is painted to look like a Marshall stack, I might add—you are immediately hit with a wide variety of equipment,” explained Marocco. “Our higher-end guitars used to be blocked by our large display case that we use for pedals. We have now opened up this area so customers can walk right up to them and get a better look at them…with some assistance, of course.”
He continued, “Our customers love the new layout and how open it is. It no longer feels crammed, and I think that makes people want to stay and hang around longer.”
In the years since Marocco took over the store, Bluesairmen Guitars has branched out into new areas that only add to the community feel. One such example is its used vinyl department, which helped make the store money during that difficult early period.
“Right about the time I took over the shop is when the vinyl boom really started to take off and, the best part was, I was ahead of the curve,” said Marocco, who has been a record collector since age five. The store carries a variety of genres—spanning the 1950s through the 1980s—and it has a turntable for employees to play their favorites, as well as for customers to check out the quality of their purchase.
“For our older customers, it gives them something extra to buy when they stop by just to pick up some strings,” said Marocco, who said the store is beginning to branch out into turntable sales to augment this popular department. “And for the young kid, he is inspired by what he hears and, now, he wants to be Jimmy Page. So, naturally, he comes in and wants to buy a starter guitar.”
That starter guitar, by the way, comes with a free guitar lesson—a move that helps Bluesairmen Guitars to foster musical interest and create customers for life. It also helps that Marocco has brought a drum kit into the store. In part, this is due to the fact that the local drum store has closed down, leading to customer requests for drum gear and accessories. But it also helps to sell the store’s core guitar-oriented gear by creating a real-life band scenario for customers.
“You can see if the amp you want to try can keep up with a drum kit,” Gaydos explained. “It’s good to have at least one drum kit around for that. It increases sales. Plus, I love when people come in the store and start jamming and playing,” he continued. “It’s rewarding to jam with the customers. It’s a pretty cool ride and a cool store, and I’m happy to work here.”
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