We are excited to feature Backbeat Music as our Shop Small dealer of the week!
Check out our interview with store owner, Greg Arnold, and don’t forgot to shop small!
AU: When and how did you get started selling ukuleles?
GA: The year I opened my store 1995, I stocked 2 or 3 buy didn’t sell very many. It just wasn’t a market I was interested in until 5 years ago, the requests really started coming in and I knew I had to act quick.
I also remember seeing on youtube, Jake Shimaburkuro do his version of The Beatles Song. Soon after that I knew it could be big. But, like many trends, it takes about 5 years to reach “Middle America.”
AU: Tell us a fun fact about your business?
GA: For the first 15 years my store was located next door to my wife’s florist business, Posey Peddler. We lived above the flower shop for 9 years before we decided it was time to buy a house.
AU: How do you display your ukuleles?
GA: We display them like guitars. On a metal slatwall style system right next to the my Taylor guitars. The ukuleles are really the first thing you see when you walk in.
AU: Have you noticed any new trends in ukulele customer buying habits lately?
GA: Tenors are getting more popular. I have never sold many or had many requests for sopranos. Concerts are still the best selling size. I joke with customers who ask about Baritone size and say, “yes we have guitars right over here.”
AU: What kind of fun in-store events have you done/planned for ukuleles?
GA: When I was in my teens, my first memory of a ukulele is a standup comedian I saw on tv who did Purple Haze and classic rock songs on a soprano uke through a Marshall amp. So of course when I got in my first Ukulele with a pickup I plugged it into a full size white Marshall Stack and had a lot of fun.
AU: What is your favorite Amahi ukulele?
GA: The classic series rosewood!