After playing on the stage for more than 30 years, guitarists Mike Fouty and Matt Swintek decided to help others get on the stage by opening a new music shop called The Tone Zone Music and Sound at 1002 E. State St.
“It’s a dream for the both of us, and we were looking for something that we would like to do together,” said Swintek, co-owner of The Tone Zone. “We both wanted to open our own business, and we couldn’t think of a better thing to do than open a music store.”
The duo purchased the lot, which formerly housed another music store, Studio E, in October 2010 and officially opened Tone Zone on Sept. 15 last year, transforming what they describe as a once-dinky space into a large musical wonderland.
“When the old store closed, it just seemed like so many people were at a loss,” Swintek said. “We thought to ourselves, “Let’s fill that void and make a place where people can take lessons and get any type of help they need.'”
But running the store has required Fouty and Swintek to balance the business with their own local music careers. Fouty has played guitar for Dalton Creek for seven years while Swintek has been playing lead guitar with Holy Spicoli since 2008.
“We do have to close a bit early sometimes for shows, but we got to keep going,” Swintek said. “When you get to your mid-40s and you start re-thinking things about your life, it was one of the reasons why we did this. What a better way to spend your day than in a music store when you’re a musician?”
Fouty said he enjoys working at the store because of his passion for music and instruments as well as his desire to help others recognize their own love for music.
“I just like to be customer-friendly and helpful,” Fouty said. “I enjoy music and I enjoy talking about it. To teach and to learn music has been my life forever, and now I have the chance to talk it and live it more than ever.”
“Matt and Mike have been right there when I’ve needed drum heads, drumsticks and other items, and with being a full-time drummer, that means a lot to me,” said Ed Scott, drummer for Doubleshot and a regular Tone Zone customer. “I found they were faster than any online company out there and their prices are matched or cheaper.”
Within the past five months the store has experienced an unexpected boom in success. Swintek said he attributes the store’s popularity to students and word of mouth.
“We were scared as heck. We didn’t know what to expect,” Swintek said. “Each month has grown bigger and better. Sales have been good. I do know that, in the old store, you hardly ever saw a college student, and here we have so many students. There’s a lot of good word of mouth going on in the college community.”
One of the store’s local competitors, Frank McDermott, the owner of Blue Eagle, a music store that has also been doing well in the Athens area, said he appreciates the newly opened shop because of its wide variety of supplies and friendly demeanor.
“I always try and work with people and the guys at Tone Zone have been great,” McDermott said. “Though we might be different types of stores supplying different instruments, we’re both trying to provide a musical outlet, and it’s nice knowing that they might have something I don’t have and can give them a call.”
The owners said they strive to serve their customers with a wide range of products from more than 40 banjos to guitars and drums for any level of experience providing repair and lessons. They also pride themselves on the ideal, “If we don’t have it, we will get it in 24 hours or less.”
“Right now we expand our product base constantly, solely driven by the customers,” Swintek said. “We pay attention to what we sell, and we would really like to point out that we try to cater to all types of music and we are not a ‘rock shop.’ It’s an entirely different store than Athens has ever seen.”
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