“ A lot of my dad ’ s experience is in [ the old ] building . We ’ re trying to get the spirit of that into the new business . We ’ re trying to keep our heritage , but we ’ re also definitely looking towards the future .” Michael Kirman – President of Steve ’ s Music & son of Founder Steve Kirman offers a number of benefits over Steve ’ s previous location , including higher ceilings , floor-to-ceiling exterior windows , and the aforementioned modern , open concept feel . When you walk in , the two floors are open , so in the entrance area , the ceilings are about 30 ft . high . In the departments , it varies between 9 and 12 ft . high .
By “ open concept ,” however , Kirman and Sazant do not mean a space that ’ s your basic square or rectangular big-box . Instead , they focused on vibe and atmosphere , as well as functionality . “ We were able to make our sightlines and our departments the way we wanted them ,” Kirman says , “ to create flow between certain departments that coexist and make it easier for customers to go between them .”
Additionally , they ’ ve added some features that would have been impossible to incorporate on St-Antoine . Growth , after all , at the old location , involved taking over the building they inhabited by blowing out walls and incorporating the next retail space 15 ft . at a time . In the new store , they ’ ve been able to custom design the environment to provide a new and yet familiar experience for customers .
The staff remains largely the same as well , Sazant says , adding that they are “ part and parcel of the brand and the charm ” of Steve ’ s Music .
The new store also has discrete rooms for a variety of demonstration purposes , including two 60-sq . ft . electric guitar demo rooms , a 200-sq . ft . acoustic guitar demo room , a snare / cymbal test room , and a listening booth for studio monitors . “ That gives us a little more ability to showcase and test
products , so like the old store , there are a lot of nooks and crannies ,” Kirman says .
In addition , in the middle of the main floor , they ’ ve added a roughly 30 x 20-ft . stage / performance area purpose-designed for clinics , educational demonstrations , and , when not in use for performances , to showcase and highlight specific products or promotions . “ That offers so many possibilities ,” Kirman adds , “ and we want to use it as a flagship part of the store .”
The stage will be set up and stocked with a full in-house rig – lights , instruments , PA , and more . The plan is to use it for clinics , demos , and autograph signings , “ But we ’ re also going to use it as a showpiece for new products ,” Sazant says . “ The potential is as open as we want it to be .”
Care was also taken to make the new store similar to St-Antoine in terms of layout , especially when it came to displaying the amount and array of gear you ’ d have seen upon walking through the front door at the old store . “ When you walk in , we have your accessories to the left – strings , cables , capos …” Sazant begins . “ Then , along the front windows , we have all your effects pedals and big showcases filled with guitar effects . Then you walk into the electric guitar room and to the east of that there are two rooms where you can try an electric guitar , an amp , a bass , various pedals , and they ’ re soundproofed so the noise doesn ’ t bleed into the main store . Then you continue into acoustic guitars with our high-end acoustic demo room that sounds and feels like a studio environment .” The aforementioned stage area in the middle of the store can accommodate about 70 or 80 people for its various intended events . “ Then we have another section where we have a whole bunch of ukuleles and brass instruments ,” Sazant continues , “ and then we get into the technology side , where we have PA equipment , mixers , DJ gear , keyboards , and pro audio . As we go along , almost on a daily basis we ’ re tweaking the space to our needs and our customers ’ needs , and that ’ s a process that will last for months in order to get the flow we want . And we ’ re going with both what our clients tell us and what we think will be efficient , so it ’ s a new building and new beginning .”
The second floor and mezzanine houses the drum and percussion area and features the previously mentioned demo room . “ There ’ s roughly 100 snares in that room ready to be tested and compared to others ,” Sazant continues . “ We can also bring a full drum kit into it to do a demo and there ’ s also an electronic drum room similar to that snare room .
“ We wanted the store to be a space where you had to go around a corner or a wall to go to another section ,” he adds . “ It ’ s very easy to put four walls up and put products there , but that wouldn ’ t have the character we wanted , the character that makes people feel they are at Steve ’ s instead of some big box store , and hopefully that will help differentiate us from everybody else out there .”
Beyond the interior appointments , the new store , just east of Montreal ’ s bustling St . Laurent St ., is close to multiple local venues such as Foufounes Electriques , Metropolis , and Club Soda . Beyond the clubs , “ The city closes off the streets for [ the Montreal International
22 • CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE