New England’s Music Community Mourns the Demise of Daddy’s Junky Music; But is the Iconic Music Store Chain Gone for Good?

Posted by erik devaney

Courtesy of abc6.com

For many New England musicians, Daddy’s Junky Music was more than just a music store: it was an experience.

As a teenager, I would stroll into my nearby Daddy’s and casually strum dozens upon dozens of electric and acoustic guitars; the vast majority of which I could never hope to afford.

But that was the appeal of Daddy’s Junky Music. Even when it obvious that I would only be walking out of the store with a pack of strings, a few guitar picks or – as was often the case – nothing at all, the employees would still treat me like a serious, professional, wealthy musician who at any point could pick up a $5,000 Gibson Les Paul and say, “I’ll take this one.”

Sadly, such Daddy’s experiences may forever be relegated to the past. As New England Post recently reported, the 39-year-old music store chain has closed all 12 of its stores, which were located in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont.

Fred Bramante

“I’m broken-hearted, Daddy’s was my baby,” said the company’s founder, Fred Bramante, in an interview with New Hampshire Public Radio.

Bramante founded Daddy’s in New Hampshire in 1972 with $600 – his life savings – as a way to supplement his teacher’s income.

According to Bramante, he started the company on the New Hampshire advantage: the lack of sales tax in the state. This advantage prompted musicians in Massachusetts to cross state lines in order to find better deals on instruments and equipment.

Despite its nearly 40 years of success, Daddy’s Junky Music would ultimately succumb to a more modern advantage: the Internet.

The Internet presents a “really unfair competition to brick-and-mortar retailers and I think that it’s having a devastating effect on retail construction… it is having a devastating effect on local retailers,” Bramante told NHPR.

Bramante continued, “…when local retailers are making money, they are supporting local charities, they’re supporting, you know, local schools, they’re supporting local events, and [now] they’re having this huge sum of money that is being sucked out of virtually every state in the country… something needs to happen fast because it’s not just us that’s it happening to, it’s happening to a lot of people.”

When asked what Bramante told his employees after the store’s closure, the Daddy’s founder broke down and — between sobs – commented that it was a privilege to work with them, that they were incredible and that he was sorry.

The shutting down of such a longstanding New England institution has caused an outpouring of support and sympathy on the Daddy’s Junky Music Facebook page. Customers, business owners and former employees from across the region have been posting comments.

For those New Englanders who cannot come to terms with Daddy’s Junky Music disappearing, there is still a small flicker of hope: at least one person, a businessman from Massachusetts, is interested in saving the well-known brand.

Bramante will soon be sitting down to talk with the Bay Stater, but admits that he is unsure of what will ultimately come of the conversation.

For now, all we Daddy’s Junky Music fans can do is reminisce about our experiences, offer our condolences and — above all else — keep on rockin’.

Short URL: http://www.newenglandpost.com/?p=6771

Posted by erik devaney on Oct 28 2011. Filed under Featured - For home page featured article, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry