Although Portland has had a music store for six years, some people
including longtime Portland residents are still discovering Steve Austin
Music.
"Almost every day I see people walking to the (El Azteca) restaurant
and they look over and see my store and they seem surprised. They often do
a double take," said Austin.
Austin’s store, formerly located at 117 Main Street, has moved to a new
location next door where the Christ Apostolic Holiness Church met until
early September. Austin sold his old location to El Azteca Mexican
Restaurant which is planning to knock down the wall separating the two
units and expanding next door so that Austin is again next door to his
neighbor.
Austin said the move from an 800 square foot shop to a 1,200 square
foot shop on Sept. 27 has been good for him and will probably be good for
his neighbors also.
"People seem to be impressed. There is room for growth now that we have
a little more elbow room. People who have been coming here have been
encouraged to see the results of their support for the last four to six
years," said Austin.
"It was a step up for me to move over here. It was a step up for Christ
Apostolic Church to move to where they are now, and it will be a vast
improvement for the Mexican restaurant to have more space as they expand
into my old building," said Austin.
Austin is a Wisconsin native who lived in Texas and Arizona touring for
about 20 years as a singer-songwriter. He has had two songs on the
independent country charts. In 1990, his song "Queen of the Radio" based
on a true story about a nighttime disc jockey hit No. 25 in Indie Bullet.
In 1995 he hit No. 1 with "Sundown Highway" on several independent country
charts and received airplay in both small and medium markets.
In 1999, after the birth of his son Matthew, he started looking to
settle down. He was living in Westmoreland at the time
"I became aware that between Bowling Green and Gallatin there was no
music store and I was aware that Portland was a prime possibility," said
Austin.
He said described finding his current location as an "act of God." He
said he had looked for a location on Main Street but had found nothing for
sale. He had looked at other places and found nothing that suited him. One
day as he was heading through town he said he had a "strong impulse" to
turn right down Main Street.
"It was like a voice telling me this. I had checked a week or two
previously and found nothing but I turned and sure enough there was a
for-sale sign at 117 Main Street," said Austin.
He said he financed the shop on a handshake and went into business.
"I started out with six guitars and little knowledge of retailing or
music retailing. I found that there was a lot of knowledge within myself.
When people started asking questions I found that after 20 years of
touring I had accumulated a lot of knowledge," said Austin.
Austin said the first couple of years were very lean.
"The first couple of years were really tough. Nobody knows about it and
although I did a lot of advertising, it was still slow and we didn’t do
much the first couple of years. They kind of wait to see if you starve to
death and then if you survive they will come around," said Austin.
Those six guitars are now 60 guitars. Also, Austin teaches music
lessons including the drums, guitar, the fiddle, banjo, mandolin and
harmonica. His students have picked up from about two to about 50
students.
"I have built a very loyal base of customers. A lot of them will check
with me before they go anywhere else. They trust me and that means a lot
to me," said Austin.
"I’ve spent thousands of dollars on advertising but the best
advertising has been word of mouth."
"I feel like it is going to float."
Austin said one of the most rewarding aspects of his business is the
teaching side of it.
"I love teaching. I think I love it more than I do the retail end of
it. It is challenging. You have to understand the student before you can
teach him or her something."
