ASHEVILLE - On a breezy, late November morning, the light pitter-patter of a hand drum echoes through the guitars, basses, keyboards and ukuleles of Musician's Workshop, a Merrimon Avenue landmark.
The beat is followed by a characteristic upward twang of an acoustic guitar being tuned in the back of the store, and, then, by a swell of noise from an electric guitar modified by a series of pedals. 'Electioneering' by Radiohead plays through a speaker.
Store owners Frank and Becky Dosier know that this is how musicians find their instruments. After all, they've been doing this for nearly 50 years.
"Musicians don't take in with their eyes. They take in with their fingers and ears," Becky Dosier said. "That's how they discriminate what they want."
While the noise is not necessarily coordinated, one thing is clear: Musician's Workshop is singing its swan song.
After 56 years of the store being open — and 46 years of joint partner ownership — the Dosiers are retiring in December.
When announcing their retirement, Frank and Becky were initially excited by getting to live closer to their two sons and two grandchildren. Yet, another surprise was in store.
"Going into it, the excitement was going to be moving to Raleigh where our boys in their 40s and we have two grandkids. That was the original excitement," Frank said. "The other excitement surprised me — and I'm sure Becky — is the mass response of people."
The Dosiers' decision to retire was announced in mid-November and with near unanimous support from customers — new and old.
"People are coming in — whether they buy anything or not — some people buy from us because they just feel like: 'I want to support the store again one more time!'" Frank said. "And that makes you feel good, but they're coming in just to say 'hi,' and they could be back from the 60s and 70s."
A long history of sound
The store opened in 1967, started by Asheville local John Moritz and run as Moritz Music until Frank and Becky purchased it in 1977 — not long before the couple were married.
Since then, the Dosiers' changed the name, modified the store layout and with exceptional results.
In 1989, the National Association of Music Merchants gave the store the "Best Showroom Design" award primarily for its progressive design, which is not too unlike a small venue with a stage and delicately placed instruments.
Frank said the store hadn't changed its layout since winning that award, and said it was Becky's idea.
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"She insisted when we designed the store that the guitars be down where people could walk to them and touch them," Frank said of the layout of the store.
From a 'tick tock mallet' — a mallet with two wooden balls on a string intended to make a tick-tock noise — to bright pink Squier Fender Stratocaster guitars, the store comes with practically anything a musician could dream of.
In the past 20 years, the store has also been host to a number of "Taylor Road Shows" — a series of educational events hosted by Taylor Guitars. The shows would frequently be packed, Becky said.
"Sometimes we couldn't get everyone in and we'd have to wait," Becky said.
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The store's memory of those who have travelled past its guitars, basses and drum kits is evident.
On one side of the store, a signed poster of session guitarist Andy Timmons — dated 1993 — sits on top of a wall. The other side has a series of "Best of WNC" awards hanging up. Frank doesn't even know how many years they placed first.
Both Frank and Becky said they would miss the relationships — with customers and employees — the most.
"Every person is a new relationship, and Becky is famous for saying 'Relationships matter,'" Frank said. "And that's true."
Encore?
Frank and Becky Dosier own the Musician's Workshop building in North Asheville, meaning they are looking for a new owner.
Hopes are for a new music store — for someone to continue the song, so to speak.
"We'd love for someone to come in and take it over and keep it going," Frank said. "They would probably change things to their desire. I know we would, because the world changes every few years."
"We would love to, if we could get a serious buyer: we would do it," Becky said.
The rest of the inventory is currently on sale, as Musician's Workshop will be open until Dec. 30.
"I've been wanting to do this since my granddaughter was born eight years ago. I couldn't get him to even budge," Becky said.
"It's going to be nice to be part of their lives."
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Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com.
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