NOTE: This is our first newsletter and will be more extended and more personal than what will generally come as we learn how to do this.

Visit roxymusic.com for more information about Roxy Music.

4 months! Wow! 

The time has flown by. At the beginning of 2023, owning Roxy Music was not even a thought in our minds. But here we are. We have now owned Roxy Music for four months. And these first four months have been a ride. 

Thank you for being a part of this journey with the Grace Family. And thank you for being a part of the Roxy Music family. I have been a long-time buyer of great instruments and gear from Roxy. Now, I’m proud to be a part of Roxy's long heritage in the La Porte Community.

Ken

THE ROXY MUSIC STAFF

Heidi and I are extremely honored that the existing staff of Roxy Music has stayed on to help us continue the legacy. We have thoroughly enjoyed watching and learning about each of these incredible people's gifts and talents. They are all unique and gifted in their own way and bring so much to the table. It’s still a little like a dream that Heidi and I have been able to become a part of this team.

NEW BRANDS/PRODUCT LINES

Over the past four months, we have added four brands to our lineup of great instruments. We are incredibly proud to carry these brands, and we look forward to adding more in the future. Let us know if there is a line that you’d like to see us carry.

PRS Guitars

I became an accidental PRS guitar player about seven years ago after acquiring my PRS SC245. It’s a long story, so ask me about it sometime. Over the last seven years, I’ve built an incredible bond with that guitar. I’ve loved the quality and the playability. So, we knew that as new owners of Roxy Music, we wanted to carry PRS. It’s a personal passion of mine.

JHS and STRYMON guitar pedals

Anyone who has met me at the shop can attest that I am a pedal guy. The joke is that I’m not really that good of a player, so I cover it up with effects pedals. That’s mostly true. But the truth is that I really love pedals. I love manipulating tone and creating texture in music. I view my pedals as much a part of my sound as my guitars. I have been a long fan of the tone that JHS and STRYMON have brought to my personal pedal boards, so I am very excited to bring these great pedals to the Roxy Family.

If you haven’t seen our pedals and effects, stop in, check them out, and test them. I hope you love them as much as I do.

PORTER DRUM COMPANY

Do you know that we have a local boutique drum company right here in our own community of La Porte? These drums are fantastic. We’ve used their snare drums on recording projects. We’ve used their drums live. These hand-crafted drums are beautiful pieces of art with a sound that matches their beauty; They are truly AWESOME! 

If you don’t know Christian and Luke Porter, they are brothers with a heritage and passion for playing drums. 

We have three drum sets and snare drums, including the prototype snare drum on display at Roxy Music. I hope that you will stop in and check them out.

ROXYMUSIC.COM

We did it. The new roxy music website is fully operational. We are constantly adding products. I’m incredibly proud of our team. We set a goal of launching a new website on November 1st. We took over the old stage at Roxy and built a new photo studio. David Cygan, our online sales engineer and product photographer, got busy photographing every guitar in the store. That is a lot of guitars. My daughter-in-law Hannah worked through the night while the rest of us slept developing the website. We missed the launch by a day or two (who knew that you needed to be able to accept payments on an online store). I am very proud of our team.

ROXY MUSIC REMODELING

My wife and I, primarily my wife and some great friends, have been working very hard at painting and making Roxy Music look and feel better. The staff has a joke that I’ve waged war on several things in the store. It’s true. But we are excited about how Roxy is developing. We’ve heard some great things from our Roxy community.

We aim to build a destination store for musicians to come and be inspired to make great music and inspire others to make great music. Roxy Music has been helping musicians since 1939. We are excited to be a part of that heritage and look forward to carrying on that legacy. Here are a couple of things that we are working towards that will help with this mission.

We are adding comfortable lounging areas in building 2 of Roxy Music, where musicians can gather and play throughout the week. Also, we have students who come daily, providing an excellent place for parents to relax while waiting. 

We are building a live music area in the front window area of building 2. Our goal is to be able to host workshops and small live open mic events weekly. 
We’ve already added benches throughout the store to test our great guitars.

ROXY MUSIC RECITALS

Heidi and I experienced our first Roxy Music Recitals as the owners in November. I can now say honestly how proud I am of our teachers. Watching them interact with their students was an inspiration to me.

We had two days of recitals that were completely full. So, we moved our recitals from the Roxy Music Store to La Porte Assembly of God. We want to say a massive thank to them for their incredible hospitality and for allowing us to use the church.

On Thursday, November 2, 2023, we had 40 students perform in a more traditional recital with students performing on ukulele, Piano, Drums, Guitar, Upright Bass, Vocals, and Violins.

On Saturday, November 4, 2023, we had an additional 15 students perform in a concert setting with a house band. These students performed on Drums, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Piano, and Vocals

The entire experience was terrific, and I want to thank every teacher and student who participated personally.