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!

Our 30 Anniversary Fender Bash... a night with a difference!

Having just eclipsed the 30 years in business milestone, we thought we might celebrate by having a VIP Fender night featuring the amazing talents of Melbourne guitarist James Ryan.  A number of Concept Music "multi Fender" owners were there to watch, listen & enjoy some nice wines & finger foods.  Something guests were not expecting though was another "feature act" we had arranged.... an exclusively designed body painting I commissioned a friend of mine, Suzanne Mykolajenko of "Whereforart" Body Painting, to do for us.  Starting with the blank canvas, of a naked model, Suzanne spent nearly 3 hours to finish & result, as you see, was quite spectacular & it was actually remarkably hard to tell those jeans & top were not real... even standing next to her!  It was very enjoyable night & there was certainly plenty for everyone to talk about for some time to come!

"Clarisax Feast" organised by the Clarinet & Saxophone Association of WA

Recently the Clarinet & Saxophone Society of WA (CASSWA) ran their 2nd Annual "ClariSax Feast" at UWA & once again it was an incredibly popular day with registrations numbering over 100 & well up on last year inaugral event.  Concept Music was at the "Feast" with a vast array of instruments & accessories for delegates to try & and also joined forces with Rovner to donate a brand new Rovner Platinum Series ligature valued at $159 as a prize.  The winning ticket was drawn last Friday at Concept Music in Wembley by Allan Meyer who is the Principal Clarinetist with WASO (West Australian Symphony Orchestra).  Allan also took the opportunity to test some of the new Yamaha wooden clarinets for us... & he was especially impressed with the CX & 650 Series of instruments commenting particularly on their fine keywork.  The lucky & very deserving winner of the Rovner ligature was Adrian Galante who is a very fine young player from Sorrento. Congratulations Adrian!  If you are a clarinet or sax player why not sign up & join CASSWA today?!