Swissvale Music Store Closing, Planning Move to Irwin

After 34 years of bringing in the top names in music for events, recordings and more, including Michael Jackson’s own band, is closing its doors at the end of February and moving to Irwin.

“We have been talking about it for a long time and should have done it three years ago, but we kept having faith that the economy would turn around," said owner Gary Scott, 61, of Irwin. “We were hoping the retail would pick up and it just didn’t.”

Born and raised in , Scott says the move is bittersweet. He and his business partner, Raymond Falcsik of Braddock Hills, opened the store during the summer of 1978 when they were in their late 20s. When the contracting division of the business began to slow, which was the strongest part of the business all along, they decided to look at their options.

“The economy effects everyone,” Scott said. “Most of our contracting business were churches and schools and they all cut back. The schools have cut way back in the arts.”

Now, they plan to be packed and out of the store by the end of February with a transition in March to empty out the old building and remodel the new one, which is located at 327 Main St. in Irwin. The business will be renamed Main Street Music and Sound.

Their journey in the business began when the two men decided they wanted to get into owning an independent entity. While they had played in a band together at the time, music seemed like the perfect fit.

“There were a lot of things that we felt weren’t being done right in town,” he said. “There wasn’t a lot of service and we wanted to open something that was run by musicians, for musicians. We had been on the other side of the fence for many years so we figured hey, we can do this.”

While the store has operated as a retail space where people can buy instruments and more, it also has created a landmark of musical history with a recording studio where, most recently, The Clarks recorded their current Toyota commercial music. PBS shows also have been recorded there as well.

“For six years, we had a lot of national acts come in through work with a national sound company—The Temptations, The Supremes, Dionne Warwick,” Scott said. “We also used to have a lot of educational clinics and Michael Jackson’s band came in, famous guitar players and others who would do seminars. Those days are kind of gone because companies don’t do that too much anymore.”

For the move, the owners have teamed up with a company that has more than 100 students already studying music. In the new store, there will be seven lesson cubicles for piano, voice, drums, guitar, bass, brass and woodwind instruments.

Losing students at Swissvale Music Store has affected the business greatly. While once they had a total of 120 students, they now have 10 at the current location. Scott said both the economy and changes in the neighborhood have caused that issue to become severe.

“The small independent music stores that are surviving—that’s where they go,” Scott said. “They have great music education programs.”

The retail floor will be smaller at the new store. Guitar service repairs and electronic repairs will continue at the new location as well.

“None of the big box stores do that kind of stuff,” Scott said.

Scott said he wants to help the borough fill the empty space, which is the largest storefront on Noble Street. He recently attended a council meeting to let local leaders know he wasn’t just up and leaving his hometown.

“We hate to see it sit empty and just go to ruins,” Scott said. “We are trying to sell it and would like to find people interested in it.”

Swissvale Music Store currently is holding a major liquidation sale with deals for just about everyone. As he reflects on more than three decades of independent work in his hometown neighborhood, Scott said he has a new perspective on today’s small business owners.

“You have a lot of respect for people who do what we do,” he said. “It’s definitely an uphill battle.”