‘Not your average music store’

Big-name acts find their way to a Hubbard store for
equipment rentals.

By SEAN BARRON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

HUBBARD — Upon entering Hubbard Music, visitors get the sense that the business thrives largely on selling numerous makes of guitars, drums and amplifiers.

Dig a little deeper, though, and you might learn about another facet of the North Main Street store — its numerous connections with big-name musical acts.

Evidence of the connections lies in the bottom drawer of a filing cabinet in the office of store owner Mark Tirabassi. It reads like a Who’s Who of musicians who have rented instruments and equipment, called backline, over the years.

In a manilla folder are names such as Blue Oyster Cult, Willie Nelson, the Beach Boys and Tony Bennett, as well as the instruments they rented and diagrams of stage setups for their shows.

“They know I’m a musician,” Tirabassi said. “I can talk their language.”

One folder shows a laundry list of items including cables and 15-inch speakers with horns the R&B group Kool & the Gang needed for a local 2004 performance.

Another lists a keyboard, a 1,200-watt power amplifier and a drum kit that the Oak Ridge Boys rented for a 1999 show. The Average White Band recently spent $500 for backline rentals for a recent performance at The Cellar in Struthers.

“It might be easy to sum us up as not your average music store,” Tirabassi said.

Many performers, such as Bennett, travel sporadically, so it’s easier for them to rent equipment instead of storing and transporting what they need, he said.

Other times, performers receive an unexpected performance date and call on Hubbard Music because they need backline equipment on short order.

Still, you don’t have to be a member of the rock group Quiet Riot or another national act to call on the business.

Hubbard Music installs public-address systems for area churches, nightclubs and restaurants. It also sets up lights, checks sound and adds audio for special events.

The store provides about 200 private lessons a week on most instruments. Parents of pupils in band classes can rent to own from Hubbard Music.

When not at the business, Tirabassi might be found performing with his own seven-piece rock/horn band, Sugarfuzz, which captures a sound similar to that of groups such as Chicago and Blood, Sweat and Tears. Also, Tirabassi occasionally is the drummer in the Donnie Iris band.

He started his store at another location 17 years ago but moved to the larger spot after just two years. He said his musical background and experience with nationally known performers gave him the desire to expand.

“I don’t believe in repeating the same retail formula,” Tirabassi said. “To survive, you have to carve a niche and be unique.”