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Marilyn A photograph of Marilyn Wilson’s acoustic (left) and her son’s Squier bass guitar (right), with a Steve’s Music Store sticker plastered on its body. <\/p>\n\u2018It\u2019s sad\u2019: Residents react to news Steve\u2019s Music Store will be closing its doors after nearly 50 years. <\/p>\n
Steve\u2019s Music Store in Toronto was more than just a place to buy a new guitar or grab a fresh set of picks and strings. <\/p>\n
The Queen Street West shop, which closes its doors today after nearly 49 years in business, was a gathering spot for musicians of all genres, long-time patrons tell CTV News. <\/p>\n
They say that Steve\u2019s encouraged budding musicians to play and was a place where the love of music was exchanged between generations, and a sense of camaraderie was felt between patrons and staff. <\/p>\n
For Marilyn Wilson, Steve\u2019s felt like the first music store where she was actually seen and cared for. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a different experience at Steve\u2019s. When I would go in, they were very friendly and didn\u2019t make any assumptions,\u201d Wilson said in an interview with CTV News Toronto. \u201cIt was just a very different experience and a place that I felt much more comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wilson fell in love with guitar later in life when she bought her son a Fender acoustic as \u201ca lifeline to help him through a really tough time\u201d after his father was diagnosed with cancer. Though right-handed, Wilson\u2019s son asked for a left-handed guitar instead, leaving the acoustic up for the taking and igniting a newfound hobby in her life. <\/p>\n
Marilyn A photograph of Marilyn Wilson’s acoustic (left) and her son’s Squier bass guitar (right), with a Steve’s Music Store sticker plastered on its body. <\/p>\n
On one quiet day at Steve\u2019s, Wilson said she worked up the nerve to sit down and play The Pretender\u2019s \u201cBack on the Chain Gang\u201d on one of the acoustics out on display. <\/p>\n
A young staffer recognized the song, handed Wilson a few guitar picks, and told her to keep going and not give up\u2014a small gesture she says she will never forget. <\/p>\n
Jeff Hodge said he feels transported to 1979 every time he steps foot into Steve\u2019s, taking him back to when he was 11 years old and had saved up his hard-earned cash from birthday gifts and his newspaper route to buy his first \u201cgood\u201d electric guitar.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was totally infatuated with Kiss and Kiss, of course, they used Gibson guitars,\u201d Hodge told CTV News Toronto. \u201cAnything with the word Gibson on it, I was in awe.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Jeff Hodge Jeff Hodge at 10 years old, posing with his first-ever electric guitar. <\/p>\n
Hodge\u2019s eyes went wide when he said he saw a Gibson within his price range, recounting his excitement when he picked it up and played. But, he said, the Steve\u2019s employee who was working at that time softly steered him in another direction. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe basically told us in a very nice way, and it broke my heart. He said, \u2018This Gibson that you like is very cheaply made. Even the wood that it\u2019s made out of, like the body, is pretty much almost particle board,\u2019\u201d Hodge recounted. <\/p>\n
The staffer recommended opting for a Peavey, Hodge said, pointing to its craftsmanship as a key selling point. It\u2019s what Hodge ended up going for\u2014and the temporary disappointment transformed into a lifetime of playing that guitar. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s a workhorse, I always go back to it \u2026 even though she doesn\u2019t look fancy and flashy and all that, I mean, it\u2019s almost like butter when you play it,\u201d Hodge said, adding how he could never (\u201cever, ever\u201d) part ways with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always look back and actually thank that sales rep from Steve\u2019s. He could have sold us that Gibson and, sure enough, maybe a year down the line, I would have lots of problems with it, but he was\u2014he totally went out of his way.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Peavey The Peavey T-60 (left) and Jeff Hodge (right) playing his childhood guitar. \u2018Toronto history disappearing\u2019<\/p>\n
The brick-and-mortar retail space, with its chunky yellow lettering hanging over Queen Street and Spadina Avenue, clears out Sunday, after nearly five decades. <\/p>\n
Its closure marks an end of an era; another legacy vanished from Toronto\u2019s streets. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s tragic to see \u2026 our Toronto history disappearing,\u201d Scott Hughes said, noting how today\u2019s Queen Street doesn\u2019t reflect its \u201cbohemian\u201d roots from decades past. <\/p>\n
Hughes says he bought all of his guitars from Steve\u2019s, including a limited edition EVH Wolfgang Special Striped guitar designed by Eddie Van Halen. What drew him to Steve\u2019s was the community that was felt walking through the doors. <\/p>\n
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EVH Wolfgang Special Striped guitar designed by Eddie Van Halen A photograph of Scott Hughes’s limited edition EVH Wolfgang Special Striped guitar designed by Eddie Van Halen. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou try a guitar amp or something \u2026 there\u2019s a community, a camaraderie of guitar players, and it\u2019s interesting to talk to people who play different types of music,\u201d Hughes said. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople who might be there buying something completely different than you, just a real community down there.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u2018Keep rocking Toronto\u2019<\/p>\n
In a statement to CTV News Toronto, Steve\u2019s Music Store Vice President Michael Kirman thanked everyone who has ever stopped by the Queen Street location.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been part of and witnessed the growth of Toronto. From the early punk scene, the grunge dominance of the 1990s, early 2000s, and the current generation of music,\u201d Kirman said, adding how the store has also been there to witness generations of musicians within families. <\/p>\n
\u201cKeep rocking Toronto, and thank you for close to five decades of memories. You\u2019re Steve\u2019s family. Past and present.\u201d <\/p>\n