Gordon's Music and Sound - Owner Cliff Gordon's Kind, Unselfish Customer Service in Fairfield, CA

[DonRocks]

I recently took a two-week trip to the Solano County area of California, and didn't want to go that long without practicing piano. A friend arranged for me to practice - every day if I wished - in a spare practice room at Gordon's Music and Sound, a humble music store on Texas Street, right in the heart of downtown Fairfield, just under the famous sign in the middle of downtown:

  <--- So as you can see, the sign is your landmark, and there's free street parking.

The first day of my two-week trip, I walked in, piano books in hand, and went up to Cliff Gordon, the owner, and asked him if it was okay if I did this, and how much money he'd like for me to rent the room.

"You can play anytime the room's open," he said, "but keep your money." 

In other words, he was going to help out a fellow musician by letting me come in there for two weeks, and not paying him a cent. Well, it just so happens that I *did* pay him some, because I wasn't going to be a leech - he took it, thankfully, but not very willingly, and he made it very clear that he was not expecting any money at all for this. I then made it clear that this was his livelihood, and I wasn't going to take such a thing for free.

There aren't many business owners like Cliff Gordon - people who care about their fellow musicians (Cliff is a clarinetist), knowing full well that I'd be leaving town, and that he'd quite possibly never see me again. Yet, he still saw fit to allow me to practice at his facility free-of-charge.

I urge any musicians who do this not to take advantage of Cliff's generosity, and to slap down a reasonable sum of money on his desk. This company has rent to pay, wages to pay, electricity, inventory, etc., and people taking advantage of Cliff's generosity, even if they're thankful, ultimately contribute to the demise of small businesses like this. If you're a young, struggling musician, give him *something*, no matter how small, as a gesture of respect.

Thank you to Cliff, and to his entire friendly, courteous staff for their hospitality during my two-week stay. I hope to see you again in the future, and yes, I *will* be paying you back - sometimes in ways that you least expect, but most deserve ... like this one.

Don Rockwell