Whether you're looking for
vintage instruments, music lessons, a guide to Hoboken's music scene, or some
spicy ginger ale, the Guitar Bar is the place for every musician. The Guitar
Bar buys, sells, trades, and repairs used and vintage guitars (electric,
accoustic, and bass), amplifiers, keyboards, and accessories. They also rent
instuments and equipment and will deliver to your recording session in Hoboken
or NYC. Their website, www.guitarbar.com includes an extensive inventory list
with photos, and links to area recording studios. Purchases can also be made
and shipped through their mail order catalog.
Owner Jim Mastro has lived
in Hoboken for 20 years and remembers when all it took to find an apartment was
walking around the neighborhood, and picking from any number of vacant windows.
When LaPaglia, a flower shop in business for 80 years, became vacant, Jim
jumped on the chance to preserve a bit of Hoboken's history, and opened the
Guitar Bar in November of 1996. "If I didn't rent it, it'd be turned into a
pizzeria. I guess you can say we 'deflowered' the place."
Mastro kept the store as it
was, including it's original woodwork and chandeliers, creating the perfect
setting for vintage sales. Jim regularly takes road trips in search of the
weird and eclectic, always adding something new and interesting to the store.
One such trip produced Blenhein, a spicy ginger ale from the South, which he
now sells alongside classic Gibsons and Fenders. The Guitar Bar is very
musician-friendly, everyone on staff is a working musician, providing lessons
on guitar, drums, bass, and piano.
Mastro's band, The Health &
Happiness Show, has a few records out and plays all over the country. His prior
band, The Bongos, was the first ever to play Maxwell's. Mastro is also the
owner of the Pidgeon Club, a recording studio at 358 Newark St, which has put
him further in touch with Hoboken's wide range of musical groups. from country
to hardcore.
The Guitar Bar's clientele
has included Natalie Merchant, Bernie Leadon of the Eagles, Sonic Youth, Patti
Smith, and Yo La Tengo.
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