Playback - Summer 2008 - (Page 11)

Rocking the Family Business When brothers Peter, Carl and Andrew took over their father’s store, they added a few of their own innovative ideas to the mix. THe HIx FAMILY • HIx BrOTHerS MUSIC AUrOrA, ILL. • BATAVIA, ILL. shut the store down or buy it from him,” says Andrew, 47, “but we just couldn’t let it go.” The result? Hix Brothers Music was born. Peter, Carl and Andrew took over the business, while sister Amy took over the books. The brothers built up the store’s music lesson program and eventually outgrew their space. They moved to a building twice the size, with nine teaching studios and a full-size band room. In 2003, they opened a second location in nearby Batavia. Hix Brothers Music has become known for their fun and innovative approach to music making. They introduced the area’s first marching guitar band, and have hit it big with their Rock University program. At Rock U, participants of all ages and levels of experience learn specific songs during their private lessons, are assigned to a band with people who’ve also learned the same song, begin to play and rehearse together as a group, and then perform for friends and loved ones. “It’s an absolute blast,” says Peter. “And it’s really rewarding to see family members wanting to play in the same band. Dads who’ve decided to become bass players, moms who are singing and playing along with their kids. We just fill in the holes where needed with a teacher or one of us.” In addition to growing the stores’ lesson program and increasing instrument sales, Rock University also has people talking. “It’s a continuous, built-in buzz,” says Andrew. “As soon as we finish one (Rock U), people are asking us when the next one is. It not only translates into sales, but a lot of goodwill.” When you have a family music store that’s been around for many years, chances are, you’ve already carved your niche in the community. And in tough times, that can be crucial to a company’s long-term success. “We hope the economy turns around, but the most positive thing we can do is continue with the classes,” says Peter. “We give lessons to the grandchildren of people who took lessons here 40 years ago. Our customers know that we all play and that they can always come here for lessons and advice. They’re not going to get that from a big box store.” In 1946, John Hix began selling guitars and giving music lessons out of his mother’s Aurora, Ill., home. That same year, he and his wife, Eileen, converted their garage into a makeshift teaching studio. By day, John worked as a tool designer at the local tractor company; at night he taught music to the neighborhood kids. He and Eileen also began having children of their own—10, to be exact. “Then one day dad came home and told mom that he’d quit the business and was going to do the music business full-time,” says son Carl, 55. “With 10 kids at home, how crazy was that?” But the post-war economy began to boom—and so did John’s business. And some of the Hix kids wanted to help out. “I just thought it was cool,” says Peter, 56. “There were guitars all over the walls of our house, and when dad’s business took over a second room, I always thought of it as my own music store.” Unfortunately, the neighbors didn’t like the resulting traffic, and the family had to move the business. John rented a storefront before building one of his own. When the Hix children weren’t helping in the store, they were learning to make some music of their own. John began thinking about retirement in 1996, while three of his sons pondered their own plans for the business. “We could either Feature Story • Page 11

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Playback - Summer 2008

Playback - Spring 2008 Contents From the President NAMM Events Music in the News The Local Community Music Store: A Family Affair Commercial Retail Washington Watch Reps in the Field New Domestic Members International NAMM Foundation Music Notes Resources Viewpoint Playback Supplement : Summer NAMM08 Concerts & Events Artist Appearances What to See NAMM University Sessions

Playback - Summer 2008

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