I was developing Myers Music Center’s website when I realized I needed to tell the story of how and why I decided to start this company.
Jump back in time to 2012, I began a journey of learning to fix instruments. I was mostly interested in violins and banjos at the time. I was learning to play the “fiddle” and I wanted to learn to play banjo. I couldn’t afford a good banjo at the time so I decided to build my first one. I built it in someone else’s shop and completed it to my own amazement. Not long after this, people began to compliment me on the banjo and suggest I build banjos and sell them. I am always up for a good way to make some extra money so I started calling the banjos “Ozark Songbird” banjos.
I put the banjo building on hold when we decided to move to Alaska in 2014, and while I was there, with full intention of building there, I changed the name to avoid interference with other banjo manufacturers. Alaska didn’t work out as I had hoped and we came back to Missouri in 2016, moving to a property my wife Brandy and I still owned before the move. We built a living space in half of an 18’x44′ building and I built a shop in the other half. I founded Snowbird Banjo Company not long after that and incorporated it officially in 2018.
As time went on, I was not only building my banjos but I was also repairing other banjos. This led to repairing other instruments as well. I was often taking on guitar bridge resets for The Acoustic Shoppe in Springfield, MO as well as repairing all types of problems with just about any stringed instruments. This led to a slow down in manufacturing of banjos and a hold up of batches I already had going. This struggle, along with a lack of shop space led me to question if I was doing what I needed to do with my life.
Fast forward a few bad choices, and we enter the recovery period that began with me and my wife attending a “LaunchU” business startup course. I was contemplating several options including starting Snowbird Banjo back up, but the nagging conundrum of “repair interference” was still causing me to worry about my ability to operate Snowbird and repair instruments.
This led me to the idea of Myers Music Center. A completely separate business that has a separate shop and I would be able to foster a connection with community that I feel is missing in Ava. So, January 3rd, 2025, I incorporated Myers Music Center LLC with the hopes of starting it, but having no idea how I would go about it.
We looked at buildings around to try and find the right place to have the music store, but everything was too expensive for what we had available. So, I concocted a plan to buy a piece of property that connected to our current property and build Snowbird Banjo Company and put Myers Music Center in the front to develop the store while income from banjos was being made as well. The idea was to move it into town after I saw it operating itself on its own.
This plan had one fatal flaw, to build Snowbirds’ building, I would have to come up with a tremendous amount of money for construction (because of dirt work). And while I was trying to figure out the next step, I discovered this charming 1910 Victorian style house in Ava right next to the school off of the main street. It was (and is) in bad condition, but it has so much character, I felt like this was the right choice. Within one week, we had the money we needed to get the house and just like that, we shifted our focus.
This new house is currently awaiting rezoning by the City, and we are in the public notification phase. Once this rezoning process has been completed, then I will proceed to gathering the information for a Remodel Permit to be issued and we can begin to transform this building into a special place to connect with people through the universal language of music.
We are hoping that when it is completed, it will have the charm of this AI generated look.
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