Blue Eagle Music on South Court Street may look unassuming from outside, but with its solid oak floors, coal burning stove and high ceilings, the setting is more akin to 1909 than 2009. And for regular customer Tim Peacock, that ambiance is a huge part of what makes the place so special.
I like to think that if it were the old days it would be our little general store
Peacock said of the 130-year-old building. It's our meeting place and the place where we can all come together and share a common interest.
However, for Frank McDermott, who has owned the shop since April of 2006, the shop means much more.
When he moved to Athens in 1996 from West Chester, Pa., McDermott worked at the shop under old manager Ethan Green. However, Green became tired of the day-to-day operations and sold the shop to McDermott. Since that time, a lot has changed at the store.
Over the last three years I've at least tripled the inventory and now people can come in and find something that they want
he said. McDermott has also made it his goal to offer rare and regional instruments at his store that would otherwise be hard to find, such as banjos, fiddles and ukuleles.
I'm making a specific effort to get older vintage instruments because a certain percentage of people around here are interested in that stuff
and I'm interested in that stuff
so I'm spending a lot of my energy to get as diverse an inventory as possible
he said.
McDermott estimates that about 50 percent of his clients are students, many of whom play in local bands and stop in to pick up guitar picks, strings or drum sticks. However McDermott, a self-described early-riser, is sad to say that he doesn't see a lot of these bands in action.
I am concerned about the fact that there are bands that have members who buy equipment here that I've never seen play
mainly because they start at 11 at night
and I have a body clock that won't tolerate that
he said.
Despite his lack of appearance at shows, McDermott has created a store that helps keep the Athens music scene equipped.
I think that the store is so important
both to the music community and the community as a whole
