Untitled - Club Bass

ANDPHOTOS
STORY
KATIE
VANSLACK
boutiquestore,CIubBasshas reached
As Canada'sonly bass-specific
a market that was in need of some TLCand emphasis.Owner Dave
Freeman carries bassguitars, amp heads,cabinets,combos,pedals,
relating to everyrthingbass.But thesearen't your
and accessories
ordinary products - Dave seeksout products that excel in their
categoriesand put a spin on that bass thang. "The goal was to do
somethingspecialwith bass,and to find playerswhofelt the same.
And sureenough,theywereout there."
Heused
He
t0 meet
many
suppliers
attrade
shows
suchasNAMM.
LaunchineThe Business
West comments
thattheshow
haschanged
a bitofa circus.
in February
1994in Bloor
a lot:"lt'sbecome
wasopened
ThefirstClubBa#storefronl
location
on There
aremore
endusers
withvisitorbadges
walking
around
andgetting
direct
moved
thestoret0 itscurrent
Around
1998Dave
Village,
Toronto.
onthings.
Theorganizers
thatit needs
to
tothehighway. deals
arelooking
atit andsaying
it'smoreofan"artsy"
area
andiscloser
Ave.,
where
Ossinglon
"lt is
"Toronto
was.I wouldagree
bechanged
around
andbrought
backto whatit originally
todosomething
likethis,"saysDave.
istherightcityinCanada
withthat."
hubofCanada."
stilltheentertainment
goto NAMM
thatmany
small
companies
hedeals
withdon't
environment Hesays
intoClub
Bass
onewillseethatit isa quiet
When
walking
"0neisbecause
giving
rightnowanyway.
the anymore.
they're
forbusiness
reminiscent
ofanartgallery,
atcapacity
laidout,almost
thatisprofessionally
have
ofacircus,
there
isn'tany
stopped
because
theyfeelit'stoomuch
vibe.Although
thestore
usedto offerrecording Others
environment
store
a studio
goodbusiness
getting
done
there."
continues
todohishomework
SoDave
that
thisservice
maybecoming
back.
Dave
hints
services,
in
directly
hesawaneed
musician
for30years,
AsDave
hasbeen
aprofessional
"ltkindofhappened
When
numbers
choosing
hedoesn't
lookforthehardcore
of
ltstarted
as
suppliers
byaccident.
forbass
equipment.
theindustry
margin
would
be.He
howmany
hecansellandwhat
theprofit
out
AndI began
selling
afewproducts
back
inthe'80s.
anidea
meets
withthemanu{acturers
them
andunderstand
t0gett0know
notknowing
thatitwould
back
then,
ofmytinylittleapartment
ClubBass
what
itisthey're
Healso
stays
with
trying
todointhemarketplace.
ofa bass
shop."
bethebeginning
_
:""".
^ ^"'u," Ave.
pickupthephone
andtalktoone
companies
lhathdcanactually
tothefact 45Ossington
tav6saysihat
heattribuies
allofhissuccess
where
nowhehasrelationships
withhissuppliers
wanted
this."l remember
telling
afew Toronto,
community
thatthebass
0NM6J2Yg onone.Right
"Hey,l've
got
pick
phone
he
a
situation
here.
can
up
the
and
say,
I went
tosign
thelease
atmyfirst
when
friends
inthebeginning
//1A\6?e_1
'lfyouguysdon'tshophere
yougotone?"
I need
this,have
he'llneed
it FedEx'ed
Helaughs. \-: :: ,"":
^ec
Sometimes
I'mdead!"'
storefront,
"We're
"'l'lldowhat
packing
itupright
now."
overnight
andthey'll
say,
toyouguys,
but [email protected],
I cantogettherightproducts
"l have
withallof mysuppliers
you've
gott0support
to have
a goodrapport
enough,
theydid.I haven't www.clubbass.ca
it.'And,
sure
going
because,
that's
onthat
itand
attheendoltheday,it'smyname
l'mstillverypassionate
about
thatfromdayone.
forgotten
- that's
I created
myreputation.
I don't
mean
thatanogantly.
grateful.
forevery
sale
myclients
sale.
Every
salecounls,
andI thank
it thatway.I treatpeople
thewayI wantto betreated."
Heisveryconscious
forit today."
fromClubBassisresponsible
Every
clientthathaseverbought
"That
selectmanufaclurers
thatwillbackhimuo."lf a cliento{mineisstandfeelwelcome,
comfort- about
wastheaim,tomake
everyone
Headds,
I soldthemdoesn't
work
lfyoulovebass, ingonstage
ata large
concert,
andtheproduct
regardless
ofhis/her
ability.
iswelcome,
andeveryone
able,
knowthat."Thisis
thenit'sa reallybadsituation.
Andmyvendors
thatyou'venever properly,
fun,explore,
andplaysomebasses
thenyou'rehere.Have
products
thereason
whyheis sometimes
forupcoming
played
leeryaboutcarrying
before."
builders.
Headvises
thattheymustbeinbusiness
foratleastfiveyears
before
"Because
you've
he'lldobusiness
with
them,
sothat
heknows
they're
serious.
gott0 prove
andwhenyouget
to methatthisisn'tsomething
that'sa hobby
Selecting.TheRight Inventory
of it you'regoingbacktoyourdayjob.lf I takeyourstuffonandsellit,
togetthededi- bored
companies
andproducts
Dave
spent
a lot-oltimeresearching
is ontheline.lf yougooutofbusiness
andthere's
a problem
that myreputation
thathedidn'twanttocanyproducts
Herealized
roster
hehastoday.
cated
- thiswouldjustendupina price withtheproduct,
I'monthehook
forit."
represented
byotherretailers
werealready
Asmore
ofClubBass'
aremanufacturing
off-shore,
theprodsuppliers
bring
anything
special
tothemarket.
andwouldn't
competition
CANADIAN MUSICTRADE . 27
ctuBa*s
uctsremain
highquality,
while
bringing
theprice damage
where
theoulside
boxlooks
fine.lt'svery
"Twelve
years
down.
agoI never
wouldhave
thought rare
thatthathappens
... Inmostcases
theclients
l'd have
something
under
tosellthatwould appreciate
$2,500
thatI dothatandthaltheirpurchase
is
meetthecriteria
fortheshop,nowwedo."Headds going
getit."Dave
tobechecked
before
they
adds,
thattheyshipin products
directfromanyoff-shore "Myphilosophy
playitasit is,I'mnot
is:'ifI won't
manufacturers
tokeeo
thecosts
down.
shipping
it."'
BassConsulting
Other Services
Asmany
manufacturers
products
offervanettes
0l c0lour
and Besrdes
selling
andcareful
bass
consulthardware
choices,
some
of thecustom
boutiqueing,ClubBass
alsooffers
usedproducts,
andrepair
suppliers
thathedeals
withwilloffera choice service.
Rentals
andlessons
aren't
options.
in woodselection.
ln thiscase,
Dave
products
haswood
Theonlyused
thatareatClubBass
samples
and.jpegs
of woodal thewarehouse,
areproducts
thatwereoriginally
soldhere."l defluncut
andnumbered.
nitelytakebacksomething
that'ssoldherebecause
Withthese
choices
infront
ol theenduser, ourclients
take
care
ofeverything,"
advises
Dave.
it'sanopportunity
forDave
tohone
hiscraft:
bass "lt'spretty
hard
to determine
where
lheusability
"l have30 years
playing
consulting.
bassand wasonthem.Asfarastakinqanything
in ofl the
I knowwhatweneed,
I knowwhatworks,
what street
that's
used,
nowedon'tdothat,
that's
not
doesn't
work,
andI'veexperienced
trialanderror ourmarket."
policyis more
Hesaysthatthereturn
"Alotofourclients
andtook
notes
asI went
a long."
ofaservice
forhisclients.
have
Hesays
he'lltalktofellow
bassists
forabout
anhourabout
whattypeofmusic
theyplay,ifthey're
ifthey're
aslapplayer,
apickplayer
orfingerplayer,
etc."Allofthatis imp0rtant
fordetermining
what
bassis therightoneforthatplayer.
Andnotwo
players
have
thesame
needs.
That's
whyl'mmore
ofa bass
consultant."
Sowhen
itcomes
tochoosingthewoodfora bass,Daveknows
thatthetone
ofeach
woodhasitsowncharacteristics.
Bytalkingtothecustomer
hecanguidethemtochoosing
thewoods,
strings,
hardware,
etc.,
thalwillgive
the
desired
sonic
results.
Appointments
^.+t
illub
Bassis openfromTuesday
to Friday,
12p.m.,keeping
6 p.m.,andSaturday
12-5:30
the
hours
short
andfocused.
Butthere
isstilla lotthat
goes
onoutside
ofthose
hours.
Clients
who
arelooking
forsomething
specif
ic,
finalizing
a deal
ona bass
orbass
rig,orwhoneed
todiscuss
changes
intheir
situation,
willtypicallybeen
onboard
since
dayone,
actually.
They're
the
"lt'snottoooftenthatI'vegot onesthatbuiltthisstore.
bookanappointment.
I wouldn't
beherewithout
t0setupanapp0intment
thatlateintheevening,"them.l'mattentive
totheirneeds,
theytellmewhat
"l don'tminddoingit forclients
saysDave.
thatare they
need."
BulI'mnotgetting
serious.
inthehabit
ofbeing
in
Dave
advises
thatClub
Bass
does
fullreoairs
- evenifsomeone
myshopat10p.m.Thereality
is people
worka lot onwhatever
isneeded
didn'tbuy
jobsaredemanding,
"Wedothatallthetime"
ofhours,
andtheydon't
have thebass
there.
go.Dave
enough
timetotalkduring
regular
retail
hours."
Asfaraslessons
simply
refers
the
wanna-be
student
t0 players
thatheknows
who
"Andtheyallknow
teach.
eachothertoo.Soil they
Above & Bevond The
'Youknow
givea lesson
you'dbebetter
anddecide,
person.'
xxpecTeo
withthisother
suited
Andthey'd
bounce
BefoG
selling
orshipping
a product.
Dave
Theyali knoweach
alwaysthemovert0thatotherperson.
makes
sure
thatit isperfect
we're
fortheuser
rightout other,
a community,
andwe're
allfriends.
"l'llplayit,I'llgooverit tip-to{ip
ofthecase.
norivalry.
lt'savery
supportive
t0 There's
network."
make
sure
it'ssetupperfectly,
Bass
l'lltalklotheclient
CIub
doesn't
dorentals
atall.Thereason
"Thereality
who'sbuying
anddetermine
whathisor herplay- forthisisverysimple.
Dave
explains,
is
gota bass
ingstyle
is... make
sure
thatit'sasclose
that's
worth
asI can thatyou've
$4,000-$5,000
gettowhatI thinkthatplayer
wants.
Andsofarmy going
outonrental,
it'snolonger
worih
$4,000- ithastobecome
success
rate
onthatispretty
much
100percent." $5,000
adedicated
rental
oiece.
Forcabinets
andamos
he'lltake
nolenough
them
ofa market
forthal.Clients
outof Andthere's
piece
thebox,
testthem,
andputthem
rather
buythatspecial
back
in.'l notify would
thanjustrent
going
getshis/her
theclient
thatthat's
to happen,
thatonce
unless
they it."Heagrees
a client
hands
probably
insistona factory-sealed
boxButI trytogetthem ononeofthese
basses,
th€ywguld
never
toletmeopenthemupandcheck
it because
togiveit back
anyway.
some- want
times- nota lotofthetime- wecanhavehidden
.l
28. CANADIANMUSICTRADE
InternetStrategies
rs a m0vrng
uaveKn0ws
tnara weDsrre
larget.rl
giveinformation
hasto bemulti-purpose,
about
andhavein-depth
information
to
theproducts,
time."People's
spare
timeis precious,
they
save
getverylittleoJit. TheIntQrnet
allowsanyone
to
research
whatever
it is theywantto,whenever
they
however
want,
theywant."
TheClub
Bass
sitehasbeen
upfor10years,
to geionline.
backwhencodehadt0 bewrltten
Thesiteis nota credil
card-shopping
basket
site,
andDave
saysit willnever
become
that,"because
to make
I wanttotalktothepeople
surethatthey're
getting
therightbass,
amp,
orcabinetorallof
theabove."
Hesays
thatthesiteisreflective
oftheenvi- A variety of wood samplesthat Club Basshas
getin the on hand.
ronment
thatpeople
andtheexperience
"l'vehada lotoffeedback
shop.
fromclientele
and
hasbeen
theyindicate
thatthattarget
achieved."
Dave
thesiteeveryday
withnewprodupdates
"Awebsite
isa livecreature,"CelebritvStatus
uctsandinformation.
"whatever
youdoto thesite,fhewhole Being
hesays,
a boutiqu"e
specialty
bass
store,
ClubBass
Hehas hasnaturally
worldis watching
atanygiven
second."
attracted
somehighprofilecustomproducts
worldwide,
including
Asiaand ers,many
shipped
of whichhave
achieved
international
most
recently,
theNetherlands.
iconstatus.
Despite
theeasilycontained
star
"Thehardthingforthesmall-medium
size power,
Dave
hasdecided
to nolusethisasa
retailers
is totryandeducate
theconsumers
that promo
tool.
"l'mnotoneforname
t0 shopatthespecialty
slores,
theydoneed
and
dropping.
Andlhat's
theydoneed
t0 support
thembecause
they're
the something
myclientsreallylike.Myphilosophy
is
point thatwhen
you're
oneswiththeknowledge
base
thatat some
intheshop,
everyone's
equal,"
"l hesitate
needs
help.
everyone
advises
Dave.
t0 usethestar00wer.
"l have
given
custome[s
comein heresometimes
have
although
some
of myclients
meshit
retailer.
Andmostwould
cursing
thelarger
thinkthat forthatonceina while
andsaythatI should
be
whalyouwant,
foryourcustomers
to leave more
that's
upfront
about
it.
"l'm grateful
them
andcome
toyou.ButI lookatit like,'that's
t0 meetthemandbecome
Headdsthatcompeting
witheachother
pulthatstuffonthe givesthemarket
lwould
notwant
with reallygreat
sad.'
tobethatoutoftouch
friends,
butI never
weakspots,allowing
otherbusi"Alotofit haslo dowith nesses
themarket."
website."
Hecontinues,
t0 fill thegaps.
Hesaysthattheindustry
I'mhonoured
respect
fortheirsituation.
to have needs
t0forlify,andthatheisn'tincompetition
with
people
those
friendships
andhave
those
c0me
t0 any0ne.
meandthinkhighlyenough
Ad Tactics
of whall doto work
hasbecome
andhelpthem
out."
Dave
claims
thattheInternet
theform forthem
forvirtually
everything.
Hesays
0n Saturday
afternoons
ClubBasshosts BassConsultantServices
of communication
"even Dave
saysthatsomelarger
it hascreated
is consumerwhat's
Dave
laughs,
businesses
mayfind
thatoneofthethings
called
Java
Saturdays.
forthatI won't
liketo change
theirmandate
forhow
home
whoshop
online.
buyofftheshelf
coffee,
it hasto thatthey'd
shoppers,
"There
is run.Sometimes
lt'sanopportunity
theywishthey
seems
to benogoodwaytoadver-beboutique
coffee."
forbass theirbusiness
to c0me
0ut,playsome
basses
addcertain
elements
andspecialty
services,
tiselocally
anymore.
Thenetmade
theworld
flat. players
thatthey could
youcouldadvertise may/or
islhattheyjustcan't.
maynoteverbuy,andmeetotherbassists. bulsometimes
thereality
Before
thenetwass0powerful
"They
product
geistomeet
someone
can'thave
a specialty
inevery
inthelocalnewspapers,
trademagazines
orwhat- "Soa hobbyist
l'veknown
in every
storeacross
Canada
work.
l'mnotsureit works for20years
whohappens
tobea successful
or the
everandthatwould
act." department
hence
networking
opportunity
forbassists. US,orboth.Whichissomething
thatI mightmake
lt'sall online,
thesuccess
of It'sa great
anym0re.
myself
available
fora fewoihers
later
thisyearif
banner
advertising."
"There
theywanted,"
hehints.
thatI
ClubBassrunsa banner
adonthelargest
is something
canoffer
others
necesThe A PulseOn TheIndustry
aswell.Being
bigdoesn't
basssitein theworld,www.talkbass.com.
perspective
gives
aninteresting
ontoday'ssarily
youdo."
mean
losrng
focus
onwhat
magazine.Dave
company
alsorunsanadinBassPlayer
"Wearecompetitors
musicindustry.
but
"That's
Hesayshedoesn't
feelasthough
he'sin
100percenttarget
market.
Theadwerunis Canadian
asanindustry
thatour competition
"lf there
withanyother
retailer.
is a
willbe. we'renot.Weneedtorealize
a small
display
ad.lt'snotbigandit never
isnotourselves.
lt'stheInternet,
theflat threat
people
thatI maybeto them,it'sthatI'manexpert
Itssolepurpose
istodrive
toourwebsite.competition
TVs,theiPods,
it'salloftheother
things
that inmyfieldandtheydon'thave
theknowledge
thatI
l'veoptimized
ittomake
surethatit'sthelirstsiteto screen
theirmoney
0notherthanmusic. have.
spend
pulluponevery
Buttheremaybeawayforthemandothers
Andthat consumers
to
search
engine
outthere.
Andthatdidn'texist20years
ago,butit'sherenow achieve
years
thatfrommeif theywantil. Things
thatare
took
todo."
Soweneedt0 reinvent
0ur applicable
inmybusiness
model
would
beappliHisclientele
arevery
supporlive
ofthebusi- andit'snotgoingaway.
industry
and
we
need
to
doit together.
I'dIove
to cable
fortheminvarious
departments." o
ness.Aswordofmouthisthemosteffective
adverofguysfromLong& McQuade,
Steve's
tisingtoolthatcan'tbebought,
ClubBass
shoppersgetabunch
Fret,anda bunchof otherretailers
Music.
Twelfth
"Our
groups. clienarespreading
thewordtoonline
'Lookguys,wearebeingcompetitors,
but
without
tele,I lovethemI wouldn'l
behere
them. andsay,
we're
not.Weneedto worktogether
truly
andfix
getpersonal
Kotie
VanSlock
isAssistant
Edinr
They
about
thisbusiness."
what's
leftoftheindustrv."'
forCanadian
Music
Trade.
CANADIANMUSICTRADE. 29