Where did our "little man" come from?!

One of my staff recently asked me "Where did the Concept Music ganster came from?".  He was assuming I think that it was a generic photshop image I'd found in "word" or from an Adobe disk or something.... but the reality is that our little guy has been around since well before personal computers came into being! 

I first saw him in a Japanese Music Trades magazine back in about 1975 (though exactly what he was promoting I'm not sure... the Japanese text next to him wasn't giving much away!). Nevertheless I liked him & tore the page out of the magazine & filed him in my "ideas" folder in my filing cabinet (I still have one of those!) & forgot about him. 

A few years later when I decided to open Concept Musical Instruments I pulled out that file trying to think of ways I could get people to promote my "new" store for me that would be fun.  Out came my little guy... "How could I use him?" It was about the time car stickers were appearing around the city saying "Mafia Staff Car" & so I had the idea of making him into a case sticker & adding the words "Keepa da hands off!" as way people might be able to (politely of course!) say "This is MY instrument... don't touch it!" and hence WANT to put it on their cases & get the Concept Music name out there in a subtle, friendly way.

31 years later, our little ganster is still there & the only change has been the recent addition of a splash of orange on his hat & platform shoes to macth our current logo. The sticker still appears on cases all over the world & he is also on our VW Caddy Van as well our free notepads &... as of last night, on the side wall of Concept Music espousing the message: "Lifes' Better When you Play!" courtesy of Drew from The Graphite Crew.  And yes, we still have the stickers & they are still free any time you want one... just drop in!

Another Awesome night with Tommy Emmanuel

What was billed as a 1 1/2 hour "Ultimate Master Class" turned into a marathon 2 1/2 hour Concert come Lesson as Tommy positively and enthusiastically responsed to repeated & seemingly endless requests to play tune after tune after tune last night!  Each time his performance was prefaced by a short but detailed & honest explanation of the particular piece requested... where he was when he wrote it & and why he played in that particular style. His explanations were full of detail and humour and his generosity and honesty seemed boundless. The 50 attendees who each invested $99 to spend time learning from Tommy Emmanuel were spell bound as he clearly demonstrated just why he has become known as one of the most lauded guitar playes in the world today!

It was a privilge to host this event on behalf of Tommy.

Winner of Fender USA Stratocaster...

Congratulations to Raff McGriff of Kalamunda who won a brand new Fender USA Stratocaster just for signing up for our eNewsletter on our new website!  An understandably excited Raff said “I am humbled, astounded & privileged & can already feel the funk dripping off this baby!!” adding “this will be a welcome addition to my growing collection!”. Tony took a break from his obvious Mo-Vember commitments to present the guitar to Raff in store last Friday.

Our next give-away is one of the incredibly popular Maton Diesel" Mini guitars so don't miss out on you chance to win & sign up today!!

Tommy's Back in Town!

Yes, the master blaster of acoustic guitar is back in Perth with his brother Phil for a 50th Anniversary Tour  at Burswood Theatre on the 20th December!  And this year we are very happy to announce that, despite his incredibly busy schedule (which sees him playing over 300 Concerts per year all around the world!) he arrives into Perth the day before his Concert & he will be giving one only acoustic guitar Ultimate Master Class at Concept Music on the evening of Sunday 19th December! The cost is only $99 for the 1 1/2 hour session with Tommy and numbers are strictly limited to 50 people!  If you are a "finger picker" you wont want to miss this great opportunity!

What a difference a year makes!

It is hard to believe it is almost 12 months since Concept Music opened its "new" expanded store here at 246 Cambridge Street, Wembley.  This time last year we were up to our eyeballs in cabinet makers, builders, painters, plasterers & electricians rushing to get our renovation finished in time for Christmas!  And here we are 12 months later... it certainly has made a huge difference having the extra space & the feed-back from you, our customers, have given us continues to be oustanding. There are so many "favourite" bits in the new store but the Retro entry lounge, Acoustic Room, and "Wall" (of electric guitars) are certainly stand outs! Also Concept was a finalist in the "Best Presented Store" category at the annual AMA (Australian Music Association) Awards Dinner in Melbourne ealier this year so were pretty happy all round!  If you haven't been it yet... drop in soon. We think you'll like it!

Australian Music Association Convention

Every year the Australian Music Associaton (AMA) runs a Trade Convention at which there is always an awards dinner and some fantastic acts.  This year it was in Melbourne at the new Convention Centre and Graham & Tony went to check out all the latest gear & see what bargains were to be had (it's a tough gig but someone has to do it!). 

After some 12 or so years on the Executive Committee of the AMA (the organisers of the Convention), Graham resigned late last year so that he could focus fully on the renovations and expansion of Concept Music. For a start this meant that Graham was able to relinquish his regular role as MC of the Annual Awards Dinner & relax for a change but also it seems that his focus on the renovations paid off... as Concept Music was a finalist in the much coveted "Best Presented Store" category.  While Concept Music didn't take out the ultimate prize of Best Store this year it was gratifying to receive so many nominations. Maybe next year methinks?  

And yes, a good time was definitely had by all!

ABC Inventors Grand Final

Due to his many years experience and standing in the industry, our fearless leader Graham Hoskins is often asked for his comments and opinion on all sorts of matters musical.  In particular this year Graham was asked several times by the ABC to consult as an Industry Expert on several "new" music innovations and inventions for the popular TV show "The New Inventors" (actually, shouldn't all inventions be new?! But I guess that's why they're asking... to make sure they are!). As a result of that, Graham has now been invited to attend the 2010 Grand Final and After Party in Sydney later this month. It will be interesting to see if any of the inventions Graham assessed are in the grand final. "Watch this space" for the result!