Good Neighbor Podcast: Tri-Cities
Bringing together local businesses and neighbor of Tri-Cities. Good Neighbor Podcast hosted by Skip Mauney helps residents discover and connect with your local business owners in and around Tri-Cities, Tennessee.
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Good Neighbor Podcast: Tri-Cities
EP# 38: From Strings to Soul: David Campbell's Journey with Campbell's Music Company
What makes David Campbell with Campbell’s Music Company a good neighbor?
What does it take to keep a family business thriving for nearly four decades? Join us as we sit down with David Campbell of Campbell's Music Company, who opens up about the legacy of his father's musical talents and the resilience required to keep their doors open since 1985. From the soulful sounds of pedal steel and Dobro to the struggles of maintaining a small, local business, David shares an inspiring narrative that both musicians and entrepreneurs will find compelling.
Beyond the music shop, discover David's personal journey, including the challenges he faced after his father's passing and the solace he finds in hiking amidst nature. This heartfelt conversation uncovers the human side of running a business and the passion that fuels Campbell's Music Company. Whether you're a local community supporter or someone curious about the intricacies of a family-owned operation, this episode promises insights and inspiration.
To learn more about Campbell’s Music Company go to:
https://www.campbellsmusic.net/
Campbell’s Music Company
(423) 929-1083
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Skip Monty.
Speaker 2:All right, welcome everybody to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of? Are you a musician, or do you need guitar, drums, strings, anything, repair work? Well, we have somebody that might be able to help you out. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your neighbor, mr David Campbell of Campbell's Music Company. So, david, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3:Thank you.
Speaker 2:Good to see you. Good to see you too. We're awfully glad to have you with us, and I know, being a musician myself, I'm pretty excited and I'm sure our listeners are too to hear all about you and your company. So if you don't mind, just tell us a little bit about your business.
Speaker 3:All right, this is our 39th year in business. My dad started the business back in 1985. So we use the Morrell name because Joe Morrell from Bristol helped dad get the business started and then my dad passed away in 94. So that was. I kind of honored him with the Don Campbell's Morel music, but then in 2000 we changed to Campbell's Music Company. So a little bit about that officially it's Campbell's Music Company, right?
Speaker 2:so I guess you've already answered this question. But I would normally say how did you get into this business? But apparently it was with your dad, correct?
Speaker 3:in 85 already answered this question, but I would normally say how did you get into this business? But apparently it was with your dad, correct? Yeah, in 85, he started it, and then I came to help him in 87. And then we've been going strong ever since Are you a musician yourself Are you a musician yourself. I was in band in high school and played drums a little bit, but I didn't continue on. My dad was the musician. He played pedal steel mainly and then Dobro.
Speaker 2:Oh wow, he could play a little bit on just about all instruments. Wow, so a utility guy. He could do a little bit of everything, right?
Speaker 3:Yeah, but his main thing was Was pedal steel and he played. In the late 40s Okay.
Speaker 2:Do you guys sell pedal steels?
Speaker 3:We don't. We have before, but we don't right now.
Speaker 2:Okay, gotcha, gotcha. Well are David. Are there any In in the music industry, music vendor industry? Are there any myths or misconceptions that people have that you can think of?
Speaker 3:That's a good question. Maybe the biggest thing is about being a small business, because you know a lot of people think that well, you own a business you're probably really wealthy and you know that's not the case. We depend on local people coming in and buying stuff.
Speaker 3:We depend on local people coming in and buying stuff and that's you know what's provided my guys a paycheck for all these years. So you know we're not a corporation that has owners that provide us with a lot of money. We rely on our customers. That's probably one thing that I can think of.
Speaker 2:Okay, well, outside of work, david, what do you like to do for fun, hike?
Speaker 3:mostly, david. What do you like to do for fun? Hike mostly. I love going to the mountains and just hiking wherever. I can get out and enjoy the outdoors and quit thinking about all the stuff that goes on from day to day.
Speaker 2:Well, you live in the right place for it, for sure, definitely. So let's switch gears um. Yes, yes, I love to hike too. Actually, as you can see behind me, that's, that's, that's my neighborhood, actually um so so so let's switch gears. Yeah, I love it. I love it. Um. So can you describe a hard hardship for a life challenge that you overcame and somehow it made you be the person in the end? Anything come to mind?
Speaker 3:um yeah, well, uh, when my dad passed away, that was, uh, that was a big thing with both my parents. My dad passed away, that was a big thing with both my parents. My dad passed away in 94, and that put everything on me, this business. I had to make it happen by myself from then on.
Speaker 3:because he started it, I had to step up. When he got sick in about 92, I had to step in and really start learning how to run the business instead of just being a salesman and going about the everyday activities of cleaning and all that stuff.
Speaker 3:Then my mother passed away in 2021, so that was a long time in between Both of them those things. You know it's hard when you lose your parents and I think that makes you have to really think what life's all about, and you have to, you know, just really put your best foot forward and keep going.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Couldn't agree more, absolutely couldn't couldn't agree more. Um, david, if you could, if you could think of one thing that you would want our listeners to remember about uh campbell's music company, what would that be?
Speaker 3:um, for one thing, we have a great uh service department. Uh, I've got a young man, tyler Petty, who's been with me for about 10 years and he's gone above and beyond learning how to work on musical instruments. He gets a lot of repeat people bringing their stuff to him because he does such a great job. That's probably the main thing, and just keeping you know, letting people know that we depend on local business, on local people coming in, and you know looking at seeing our product playing the instruments and feeling the instruments and finding something they want.
Speaker 2:Very good that's a pastime in itself is going to a music store and sit down and play. So I've done it quite a few times myself. Very good. So how can our listeners learn more about Campbell's?
Speaker 3:music. Well, of course, the social media stuff. Yeah, the social media stuff. Yeah, the social media stuff. You know Facebook and the gosh I can't think of what they are, but we try to keep our name out there in the social media.
Speaker 2:And a website.
Speaker 3:You have a website Our website is just more of an information page. It's not really. We don't sell online, so we don't have. We're not doing the we don't have a big opportunity for people to buy from us online. We're still dependent on people coming into the store and trying instruments out.
Speaker 1:And word of mouth.
Speaker 3:I think that's the biggest thing for us is word of mouth people telling other people that their experience they have here best advertising there is.
Speaker 2:yeah, all right. Well, uh, david, I I know you're you're running a business is tough and uh, especially a small, and your time is precious, so I respect that and don't want to take too much of it. But I do want to thank you very much for being on our show and we wish you and Campbell Music Company all the best moving forward. And I hope we're able to get you back on the show. I really appreciate it. Thanks so much.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnptry-citiescom. That's gnptry-citiescom, or call 423-719-5873. 873.