By now most people who play bluegrass and acoustic music know the story of The Chapmans. Following two and a half decades touring and performing as a family bluegrass band, which saw the release of four successful albums, this quartet of three brothers and their dad moved from Colorado to Springfield, MO, where they opened a full-service music store in 2013.
Calling on their many years of experience around musical instruments, as well as hundreds of hours teaching private lessons, John, Jeremy, and Jason Chapman have built a flourishing business in The Acoustic Shoppe, selling all sorts of stringed instruments and accessories, and supporting new players with a roster of talented instructors. They ship instruments, strings, instructional materials, picks, tuners, capos, and any other item an acoustic musician might require all over the world.
By combining professional expertise with top level customer service, The Acoustic Shoppe has built a business that can help you in person, on the phone, or over the internet as well. From the start, they brought bluegrass artists into the store to perform, and they recorded both live music and interviews, which have been posted online. Their YouTube channel now has dozens of videos with topics of interest to all bluegrass fans, plus product reviews, stories about the history of music in the ozark region, and information of value to people learning to play, or looking into buying their first guitar, mandolin, or banjo.
All of that, of course, with the good humor for which The Chapmans have always been known, and plenty of good-natured sibling rivalry.
Their latest expansion in the communications field is a new podcast, which they call The Acoustic Shop Knows People, which is available in an audio format from Apple Podcasts and other popular aggregators, or on video at YouTube. These will be in an interview setting with one, two, or all three Chapman brothers, talking with their many friends in the music industry, including artists, instrument makers, manufacturers, and other personalities in the world of bluegrass, folk, Americana, and country music.
John Chapman, the eldest brother and guitarist with the band, says that all are invited to listen in.
“We are thrilled to launch The Acoustic Shoppe Knows People, and share our passion for acoustic instruments and the exceptional individuals who manufacture and sell them. We also want to celebrate the remarkable talent within our music industry. We can’t wait to share this new venture with our listeners every Saturday.”
The inaugural episode is up, with Del McCoury Band and Travelin’ McCourys bassist Alan Bartram, and is entitled The Bluegrass Luddite, referencing Alan’s tendency to avoid many of the modern trappings of computer and social media life.
Have a look…
As John said, you can look for a new episode each Saturday on YouTube, Apple Posdacsts, Spotify, Stitcher, or any other platform you use for podcasts. Currently booked to appear soon are Becky Buller, Rhonda Vincent, Kristin Scott Benson, Ron Block, Richard Hoover of Santa Cruz Guitars, and many more.
