L/R - James Wilke, Robbie Deschamps, Mark Dojczman
Music is a force that can literally define communities and is often said to have healing powers beyond anything the medical establishment can provide. The local music store is often a place of refuge. One can plug in their dream guitar and lose themselves for a time or bang away on a set of drums and imagine themselves on stage in front of thousands. Bob’s Music Plus in Pembroke provides that refuge.
Robbie Deschamps is the Owner/Operator of Bob’s Music Plus in downtown Pembroke and for 27 years now Robbie has been the “Bob” in Bob’s Music Plus. Robbie tells us that Bob’s Music had a very different start than many realize:
Pop and chips quickly gave way to guitars, amps and drum kits and she and her staff have never looked back since. Robbie got her start in the music store business building and restoring electrical cables and fixing amplifiers.
The convenience store that originally opened on Boundary road had a couple of new addresses in downtown Pembroke before opening its doors as a music store at its current location at 105 Pembroke Street West. For Mark Dojczman who is in charge of guitar and violin repair for the past 15 years, there aren’t too many stringed instruments that he hasn’t had a chance to get his hands on over the years:
Dojczman is a self professed acoustic aficionado preferring the instruments for the electric variety saying that there is a certain unspoken mystique to the unplugged instrument:
Mark’s philosophy of learning to play is relatively simple – play until it hurts then play some more. James Wilke who has been in a sales capacity at Bob’s Music Plus for over 20 years agrees with the learning approach espoused by Mark and he says that even though he’s been there as long as he has, it always seems like just yesterday:
Having been in the business as long as he has, I asked James what he felt was one of the biggest innovations in the electric guitar world over the past few years:
I asked Robbie how her relationship with the community started and how it’s grown over the years and she said that she prefers to play a quiet role and let her people on the floor work their magic for the customers:
Robbie says she is making a concerted effort to do away with the shyness and engage with her customers more and its been a really interesting journey:
A heartfelt thanks to Robbie, Mark and James for sharing their stories with us as we continue to celebrate Small Business Week.
For more information on Bob’s Music Plus head to their website at the link below.
(Written By: Richard Evans)