Rogue Music Store
M 12pm-6pm; Tu-F 12pm-7pm; Sa 12pm-6pm
In 1983, the world was a very different place. That is obvious, maybe, but for the younger members of the Sideways team this reminder can be an important exercise in perspective. When Rogue Music opened, the Internet was not yet up-and-running and hip-hop had yet to really arrive as a cultural force. Fast-forward to the present and, of course, the Internet is omnipresent, inescapable, and rap is more mainstream than ever. Rogue, throughout it all, has maintained a steady approach. They sell a host of related music items – instruments, soundboards, mixers, speakers, amps – and offer repairs for dysfunctional equipment. The store is a haven for everything musical.
We walked in and were pleasantly surprised by the placid noodlings of a salesman, Clay, playing a guitar melody for all the store to hear. The whole staff are musicians, each with an artistic side to match the professional knowhow. Engineer Brent McGlocklin, for example, played in Bailter Space, and was “huge in New Zealand.” A fun twist: Rogue was instrumental in supplying early hip-hop artists with their gadgets. There is a wall full of mixers, synthesizers and samplers straight out of the golden era of hip-hop.
Rogue has retained its appeal over the years. “People like to come and touch gear instead of buying it off the Internet,” reasoned Clay. The air is thick with the contentment of people being exactly where they want to be. Plus, Clay explained that customers “can save a lot of money buying second-hand, and we offer a free month guarantee. If anything goes wrong, we can fix it.” Elegant and honest, this philosophy is what has kept Rogue relevant.