DAYTONA BEACH – Bill Birthrong used to play saxophone in school bands when he was young, but admits “I never got it right”.

“My interest was more on how things work, take things apart and put things back together,” said Birthrong, 61, who has harnessed these skills during a lifetime of repairing musical instruments at Brass & Reed Music. Center, a Daytona Beach fixture for nearly 50 years.

Leaning over a workbench, accompanied only by the silent hum of an electric ventilator, Birthrong performs daily surgeries at the same store his father, Bill Birthrong Sr., opened in 1972 on Mason Avenue. Mall.

Read about another longtime business:MADE JUST RIGHT: At Frappes Italian Grille in Ormond, family and good food mean everything

“I think I was in sixth grade,” Birthrong said of his early days in the repair shop. “I’ve always yearned for my father’s affection, so if I had the opportunity to hang out with him at work, I would.”

This family period quickly turned into an informal apprenticeship in the art of soldering brass or replacing stamps on woods, he said.

“My dad wasn’t the type to let you sit down,” Birthrong said. “If you were here, he would put you to work. So I started working in the store from an early age.

By the time he was a teenager at Mainland High School, Birthrong was accomplished enough that he was called upon to perform an unassisted emergency repair for a professional trumpeter who had come to the store one afternoon when his father was away.

“I was home after school and my mom called me to ask if I could do it,” said Birthrong, who can’t remember the specific repair issue after so many years.

“I remember saying, ‘Yeah, I saw daddy do that.’ So she asked the customer to come pick me up from our house and I walked in and did the repair. I think I was about 14 or 15 years old.

At one point along the way, the father gave the operation to his son, although Birthrong is also unclear as to when it happened. Despite this, Bill Sr. continued to be present in the store until his death in 2010 at the age of 82. Birthrong’s mother, Florence, had died a year earlier in 2009, aged 74.

Did their son ever want to do something else for a living? Birthrong rubs his wispy gray beard and takes a long moment to think about the answer.

“As children we all have ideas about what we want to do when we grow up,” he said. “I don’t know when I decided to do this. I know I wanted to be close to my parents. I wanted to hang out here.

“This guy is a master”

There might be gaps in Birthrong’s memories of the store’s history, but her knowledge of her craft is unmatched, according to longtime customers.

“I’ve been going to Bill, Brass & Reed since I was in high school,” said Antonios Molfetas, professional trumpeter and jazz, brass quintet and jazz combo orchestra director at Daytona State College.

Learn more about DSC music programs:Songwriter and Music Producer Mike Curb Donates $ 750,000 to Daytona State College

“I went to New Smyrna Beach High School and started bringing my instruments to Bill when I was about 15 or 16,” said Molfetas, 37. “I don’t trust anyone else to do my job.”

In addition to his role at Daytona State, Molfetas is busy with a range of concerts that include performances at the Daytona Playhouse, the Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center in Sanford, and monthly reservations at the Ocean Deck Restaurant & Beach Club.

Molfetas also gives private lessons and presents clinics in high schools in the region. Keeping his instruments in top condition is essential, he said.

“To have someone doing the job themselves like that is invaluable,” he said. “I always get my instruments back in better working order than when I gave them to him. I’m going to take them there for a cleanup and he fixes something I don’t even know is wrong.

On a recent afternoon, more and more customers lined up at the counter, carrying suitcases with diseased instruments for the diagnosis of Birthrong. Describing the store as crowded would be a diplomatic appreciation.

Brass of every imaginable vintage takes up every inch of shelf space. Others hang from ropes, clothesline style hanging near the ceiling. A double bass greets visitors inside the gate, while disconnected tuba bells stand guard nearby. A dismantled bicycle is in another corner.

Frank Ferrante, 80, opens a case containing a soprano saxophone. Birthrong runs her long, slender fingers from the bell to the mouthpiece.

“Your D # is closed,” he said. “These closed tampons accumulate moisture which dries up and becomes sticky.”

Ferrante, who performed in the Marine Corps band in the 1960s in Parris Island, SC, is an active musician who performs at the Hub On Canal in New Smyrna Beach. He’s a long-time Brass & Reed customer.

“This guy is a master,” Ferrante said. “He’s a magician; fabulous. Nobody is doing what they are doing in this area.

Next, Karena Holman is a band mom, holding her daughter’s flute case. The family bought the second-hand instrument to start a college band and found it needed repairs.

“My father, who is a guitarist, sent me here,” said Holman, 38, or Ormond Beach. “He (Birthrong) is very well known in the city to be very honest. I appreciate this because it’s intimidating not knowing something about an instrument and asking for help.

Birthrong adds both instruments to its long list of repair tickets. With nearly 50 instruments awaiting repair, the estimated wait for non-emergencies is around a month and a half, he said.

“It’s my busy time of year, with school groups starting over,” he said. “Students usually do other things in the summer, so when school starts they have to fix the instruments. “

Word of mouth success

Unlike many other companies, the coronavirus pandemic has not hurt Brass & Reed’s business, Birthrong said. On the contrary, it resulted in more reparations, he said.

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“Because people were staying at home, they started taking these old instruments out of the closet, just for something to do when they were stuck at home,” he said. “A lot of these instruments had been in the closet for 20 years, which kept me busy with major work that is almost restorations. “

Often times, such instruments aren’t worth enough to merit major repairs in normal times, but times aren’t typical, Birthrong said. He is therefore working on several of them.

“You can’t put a price on sentimental value,” he said.

In the digital age, Brass & Reed is backed by old-fashioned word of mouth references.

“People tell me they found me on my website, which is funny because I don’t have a website,” Birthrong said.

Online shopping reduced the money the store made selling accessories ranging from wind reeds and valve oil for brass to shirts and lyres for marching bands, he said.

Yet his skills and knowledge in instrument repair keep customers coming back for more.

“If I’m not here fixing horns,” he said, “I’m not making money.

Made Just Right: About this series

The Daytona Beach News-Journal highlights area businesses that have been around long enough to be an important part of our collective history. If you have owned a business that has been in business for at least 25 years, or would like to nominate a business for recognition, please contact reporter Jim Abbott at [email protected] Be sure to include your name, phone number and a little bit about the history of the company.

Brass & Reed opened in 1972. Chronology of world events

When Brass & Reed Music Center opened in 1972, here’s a look at what else was happening around the world:

• Terrorism struck the Olympics in Munich, Germany, where 11 Israeli athletes were murdered by Arab gunmen.

• Five burglars were arrested for breaking into the offices of the Democratic National Committee in Washington, DC, sparking the Watergate scandal.

• Bobby Fischer defeated Boris Spassky to become the world chess champion in Reykjavik, Iceland.

• The last American ground troops withdraw from Vietnam.

• An earthquake in Nicaragua kills between 5,000 and 10,000 people in the capital Managua.

• The Equal Rights Amendment, which provided for legal gender equality, was passed by the US Senate.

• Alabama Governor George Wallace was shot three times and paralyzed in an assassination attempt.

• “The Godfather” was the highest-grossing film of the year, on track to win Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor (Marlon Brando) and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Location and times of the Brass & Reed Music Center

OR: 675 Mason Ave, Daytona Beach

HOURS: 10 am-6pm Tuesday to Friday; 10 am-5pm Saturday; by appointment Sunday and Monday.

CALL: 386-453-1085

Music has been an important part of Mike Conrad’s life for as long as he can remember. An Army veteran, Conrad enjoys singing and playing bass guitar, especially at Reedy Creek Baptist Church in Lexington. But in February 2018, everything changed.

Conrad suffered a stroke during a quadruple bypass surgery and lost movement on the left side of his body, as well as much of his vision. Until recently, he thought this meant the end of his days as a musician.

Brian Mobley of Lexington had different plans.

A veteran colleague and friend of his from Reedy Creek, Mobley has spent the last year designing an adaptive musical instrument that his wheelchair friend can play with just his right hand.

“I had to think of a way to bring him back into the music circle,” Mobley says.

Despite his extensive relationships with veterans through the NCWorks Career Center in Lexington, Mobley said he did not know of any band or person making musical instruments specially designed for veterans with physical disabilities.

Mobley specialized in avionics in the Air Force but has no specific musical training. He says creating the modified “Diddly Bow” involved a lot of trial and error and help, especially from Marathon Jam, an organization that uses music to help injured vets.

In the later stages of her design process, her church friend Gary Miller, a musician, also played a pivotal role. Miller helped come up with the idea of ​​a special “saddle” that Conrad holds in his right hand and slides up and down the neck of the instrument. There is a small piece of metal inside that helps the user maintain the notes.

In mid-September, Conrad and his wife, Sharon, returned to North Carolina from Arlington, Texas (where they recently moved for his care) to see their friends, receive the instrument, and learn how to play it.

It didn’t take long for Conrad to sketch a big smile after playing a few sweet notes.

“It’s kind of like catching your breath when you have no wind,” said Conrad, when asked what it was like to be able to play music again.

The American Red Cross honors Mobley for his work. He is one of the recipients of this year’s “Salute to Heroes” award, an event hosted by the American Red Cross that recognizes outstanding local citizens, including veterans, for their contribution to the community.

Mobley says Conrad and his wife are the real heroes and he’s just happy to be able to help his friend.

“That’s how veterans really are, you know? They don’t leave anyone behind. They help each other,” he said.

Mobley is now working with the VA in Fort Worth, Texas, in hopes of continuing Conrad’s music therapy. One day, he hopes to establish a program there for other physically disabled veterans so that they can get back to music, or perhaps experience it for the first time using these adaptive instruments.

If you would like to contact Brian Mobley to learn more about Adaptive Instruments for Veterans, his email address is [email protected]

Roli, the modular musical instrument business backed by Pharrell Williams and Grimes, has gone under administration in the UK, the company has confirmed. It will now be relaunched as Luminary, with an emphasis on beginner musicians rather than professional musicians, the company said.

Luminary will be led by Roli Founder and CEO Roland Lamb. Roli had around 70 employees who will move to Luminary, which will also retain Roli’s intellectual property and assets. However, Roli has raised some $ 76 million from institutional investors, some of whom will lose their money, according to the report.

The company launched the Seaboard Modular Keyboard and Modular Blocks System designed to let you play songs, type beats, and loop while recording music with an iPhone or iPad. He followed with Lumi Keys, a luminous electric piano designed to help novices learn to play.

However, Lamb said the company’s initial focus on professional musicians and DIY enthusiasts limited its potential for growth. “At the end of the day what happened was the pro-focused products that we initially developed, although successful in their market, the market was not large enough given our corporate trajectory. “, did he declare. Business intern. In the 18 months to June 30, 2019, the company lost £ 34.1million ($ 47.1million) on revenue of just £ 11.4million ($ 15.8million) dollars).

As such, Luminary will now focus on learning to read music and piano with the goal of becoming “Piano Platoon”. To that end, it will offer the Lumi Keys keyboard for $ 300 and an annual app subscription of $ 80, as well as a basic free tier. It will also be relaunching the Seaboard, which was recently out of stock. “I’ve learned a lot about how to operate in new ways that are better… so I’m excited about this next step,” Lamb said.

If you’re anything like Rocks Off, you worry about two things: a) That the olive jars are somehow sensitive and are plotting our demise; and b) that when the dead are resurrected and life becomes an uphill struggle between the living and the zombies, there will simply be no time for music.

Thanks to a man, Christopher Michael David Herron, we don’t have to worry about such a thing anymore. Herron was inspired by a competition to produce a musical instrument from garbage or waste – the contest administrator, a morbidly obese man named Albert, could not be reached for comment.

Herron decided he would use what will surely be the most common items after WWII, namely the exhausted shell casings dropped by desperate defenders before hordes of ghouls brought them down. The result is a fully functional pan flute, and Herron was even able to perform Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” using the instrument.

Obviously, we’re dealing with a prophet and a genie, so Rocks Off has emailed Herron Hollow Volcano lair in Colorado asking him more about the music of the future desert.

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Klingenthal (dpa / sn) – Tropical woodless guitars, lead-free trumpets: The Musikwinkel of Vogtland hopes to be able to make instruments without “material problems” in the future. 14 projects are currently dealing with the question of how to make violin making sustainable, explains Erik Lenk of the Klingenthal Violin Institute. Because young skilled workers are lacking in the craft, traditionally used materials and new environmental aspects are of concern.

The “I-Ma-Tech” alliance, active for two years and financed to more than four million euros by federal funds, coordinates the ideas and the projects in progress. “We have brought together important players in Saxon violin making and are currently doing an interim review,” adds Lenk. So far, most of the money has been spent on finding innovative materials.

By participating in the federal program “WIR! – Change through innovation in the region ”, in addition to previous funding, the same amount could be expected from 2022, adds Lenk, employee of the institute which coordinates the various“ I-Ma-Tech ”stages. “We want to further advance the development of this important branch of industry in a rural area. More research is needed.

At TU Dresden – alliance partner of “I-Ma-Tech” – research is currently being carried out on the replacement of endangered tropical woods which are traditionally used for wind instruments. And at TU Freiberg, the search for alternatives for luthiers is underway. Until now, they had to rely on materials such as lead or nickel, which are now the subject of critical scrutiny.

The Institut für Musikinstrumentenbau (IfM) – managed by an association – then performs acoustic measurements of the materials sought. The IfM enjoys the status of affiliated institute of the Technical University of Dresden. The eight employees are legally independent, but work closely with the university in the state capital.

The results of I-Ma-Tech’s research should later benefit the entire industry, says Kerstin Voigt as co-founder and initiator. Because the Corona crisis has exacerbated the shortage of skilled workers among instrument makers in rural areas. “There are even fewer candidates, job interviews and internships are overflowing,” adds Voigt as managing director of Jürgen Voigt – masterclass for brass in Markneukirchen.

This is why the individual projects of “I-Ma-Tech” rely on the latest methods in the field of neural sciences, according to Lenk. At the Zwickau University of Applied Sciences, research is being carried out on marketing videos with findings on the subject of eye tracking in order to attract specialists. It first looks at what advertisers are paying attention to. Virtual student internships are also in preparation. “More and more alliance partners are now supporting us,” adds Lenk. More recently, chambers of trades, tourist associations and other research institutes have been added.

The industry suffers from a persistent shortage of orders, Voigt adds. The concerts were canceled or took place in a lighter form. Few musicians would buy a new, high-quality instrument in such a situation. “As they have played less in recent months, we have fewer repairs.” However, none of Musikwinkel’s 130 or so workshops with around 2,500 employees have had to give up in recent months.