Tim Arnold ~ Manager
Email ... estacadamusic@gmail.com
Shop ................. 503-630-3435
Fax .................. 503-630-3035
Hours of Operation
Sunday ....................... Closed
Monday ...................... Closed
Tuesday ..... 10:00 AM - 6:30 PM
Wednesday . 10:00 AM - 6:30 PM
Thursday .... 10:00 AM - 6:30 PM
Friday ....... 10:00 AM - 6:30 PM
Saturday .... 11:00 AM - 6:30 PM
In the past..
September 1st, 2011
Get a Taste of the Half Note Cafe Tomorrow, Sept. 2nd, for First Friday!
Hello All:
We will be holding September's First Friday tomorrow at 6pm. An acoustic jam is on the menu, along with food and drinks at the Half Note Cafe. This will be the first time the Cafe has been in operation. The grand opening is tentatively planned for September 16th, but we'll keep you posted.
On September 9th, "Brendan Lord and Tammy" are having a album release at the store. They are a fantastic Christian group who puts on an excellent show. We expect a very large gathering. We hope to see you all tomorrow!
April 4th, 2011
Heartland Band Steels the Show!
Much fun was had last Friday; the night of the Heartland Classic Country Band's amazing performance. Thank you all for attending and packing the house! As Glen James says, "You ain't seen nothin' until you see Elaine Butler play Johnny Be Goode on her fiddle!" Check out the Gallery page for recent photos of their performance. Stay tuned for updates.
March 12th, 2011
Excellent work Hellhounds!
Thank you to all of you who attended First Friday on the 4th of this month. We hope to have them again sometime. The Heartland Classic Country Band Charles Pike and the Hellhounds were absolutely wonderful! We hope to have them again sometime.
Don't miss the Heartland Classic Country Band on April 1st. Heartland played at our First Friday last December, and they out on a great show. They played country and early rock n' roll classics, and a good time was had by all. We actually had one of our largest turn-outs with over 60 guests during the evening.
Snacks and Beverages will be provided on a 'donation basis' by Chef Jill, family and friends. In the interest of our future as a music-cafe, and not that of a bar, alcoholic beverages will be limited to two per guest. We are looking forward to seeing you all at EME again soon.
February 3rd, 2011
Orchestracada at Music Emporium Friday
EME will feature Orchestracada playing love songs and standards, from 6:30 p.m. to around 8 p.m., during this week’s First Friday, Feb. 4, in downtown Estacada. The public is welcome, but space may be limited. For more information, visit the Contact page.
See you there!
January 9th, 2011
Friends launch Estacada Music Emporium
- By Evan Jensen
Tim Arnold and Glen James jam out on acoustic and electric guitars at Estacada Music Emporium, 350 S. Broadway, in downtown Estacada. The two friends recently opened the store selling new and used instruments, music supplies and accessories. Arnold and James hope to see the store become a destination place for local musicians, music teachers and other who want to learn how to play.
When the young Tim Arnold was 11 years old, he met his cousin’s friend Eddie, who carried a switchblade knife, had greased-back hair and played the electric guitar like a 1950s badass. Think Michael J. Fox, aka Marty McFly, in the cult classic “Back to the Future,” when he plays for the Enchantment Under the Sea dance to bring his parents together.
“My cousin’s friend taught me how to play ‘Louie, Louie,’ by Richard Berry, and I was hooked,” Arnold said. “My mom bought me my first guitar when I was 11, and I started taking the bus to downtown Portland to go to the Portland Music Company store.”
Around the same time, young Glen James, who lived a world away in England, was 10 years old. A teenage friend showed him how to play a few chords on a guitar, and he was instantly mesmerized by the sound.
After more than 50 years, the musical talent of James and Arnold meshed when they met in Estacada and discovered their love for music and passion for making a good community great. The two friends recently opened Estacada Music Emporium, at 360 S. Broadway, which sells a selection of new and used guitars and instruments, with plans to turn the fledgling music business into a destination place for lessons, supplies, instruments and hangout for those who love the sound of an acoustic-guitar-strummed country song or heart-pounding riffs on an electric guitar.
“We want this to be the musical center of the whole town,” Arnold said. “We want people to come in here if they need an instrument or new strings or they are looking for a drummer or bass player in their band.”
James has spent much of his career working as a financial advisor for large companies in the Portland area, and currently operates the accounting, bookkeeping and consulting company Greenstead ABC Inc. in Estacada.
Arnold is a seasoned bus driver for the Estacada School District. He knew there was a need for a music store in Estacada when kids would tell him about riding TriMet to Clackamas just to buy new strings for their guitar. And while James had considered the idea for years, a report produced by the Estacada Development Association showed a significant interest from the community for a music store.
Their ideas converged while playing in a golf tournament to raise money for the Estacada Fourth of July celebration. From there, the two put their ideas together and launched the store in one of the anchor spaces of the Mason Building on Broadway and attracted a crowd for first Friday with a performance by the Heartland Country Classic Band.
“Right now our main emphasis is guitars,” James said. “But we clearly have to have a couple of product lines to help us grow the business. We’ve got a number of new guitars for sale, and we’re happy to sell instruments on consignment. We’ve sold six guitars in the last couple of weeks, and even sold out of some of our stocking stuffer items during First Friday.”
The hot selling items, hand-picked by Arnold and James, included a set of colored lasers to wear, attached to each finger, while playing a guitar, that project colored laser beams across the room. And the other item that buyers are hot for at Estacada Music Emporium is a bumper sticker designed by James that reflects his love for music and the community, “Old Hippies Never Die. They Thrive in Estacada.”
“Ever since I learned how to play, I was hooked,” James said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been very good, but I love to play. I’ve probably owned 20 guitars in my lifetime.”
Inside the Emporium, visitors can play a selection of acoustic and electric guitars and chat with Arnold and a host of volunteers who help staff the store Monday through Saturday. Arnold also provides tuning and repair services, which he learned to do after a long hiatus from playing guitars.
“I started getting back into playing the guitar a few years ago,” Arnold said. “I couldn’t afford one of the expensive ones, so I decided to make my own. I’ve built a couple from scratch and rebuilt some older guitars, and I learned everything from books and sites online. I love to play guitars and I know how to fix them.”
James and Arnold are also considering plans to add a café-style setting to the large space formerly occupied by the clothing store, Pasha’s Boutique. And while they don’t have any definite plans ironed out for that yet, they know they want the business to be a musical destination place for the greater Estacada community.
“Since we opened, so many talented musicians in this town have been coming out of the woodwork,” James said. “People my age have stopped in to pick up a guitar and tell me they haven’t played in 30 years. And other people have said they’ve owned a guitar for that long and still don’t know how to play it. And then we’ve got young people coming in here who can just flat-ass play the guitar. … I’ve loved music ever since I could turn on the stereo and I want to share that with people in Estacada.”