BACK TO THE FUTURE

“Spin City,” “Back to the Future,” and “Family Ties”—who isn’t a fan of the ever-popular Michael J. Fox? One morning, I was at my usual spot at the front counter, just to the right as you enter the store. The owner likes to compare me to the Statue of Liberty, always in the same place, an icon. To me, the front corner is like the bridge of the Starship Enterprise: it’s where all the action is. It’s prime real estate. Nothing passes me by. Even on slow days, the odds are in my favor that I’ll pick up a guitar sale or two just by the law of averages: ask enough people if they need help and someone will buy something. Standing in the front of the store also means I don’t miss a single browsing celebrity or rock star when they stop by.

One morning, while scanning my two computer screens, I glanced up, and standing right in front of me was Michael J. Fox and his young son, Sammy.

“Hi Mike,” I called out, “How are you today?”

“Fine,” he replied.

“What can I do for you guys?” I asked, and then, like I do with all customers, I racked my brain to think of something to create a connection with him. Suddenly, I remembered that Mike had purchased a guitar from the Eric Clapton auction held at Christie’s Auction House on 6th Avenue. “Mike, that was a very cool Clapton guitar auction,” I said.

“Were you there, Steve?” he said, noticing my name on my store ID tag.

“Of course, it was very cool,” I replied.

“I thought it was great too!” Mike said.

“Bingo,” I thought to myself, “Let’s rock!” I asked him what I could do for him that day. Michael explained that his son Sammy was interested in playing the bass. I directed them to the appropriate section and asked little Sammy if there were any basses he was particularly interested in. Sammy, who was about 12 years old, pointed to the high-end custom shop ’63 reissue Fender Jazz bass. Beautiful candy apple red finish and an ultra-thin, fast-playing neck. A very healthy price tag of $3500.00! “Here it is, a home run,” I said to myself. A guy like Mike would pull the trigger on this baby and make Sammy a very happy camper!

But Michael leaned over to Sam and reminded him of their agreement: Sam would start off with a student bass in the $300.00 range. It was very cool for Michael to teach little Sam the value of a buck, but I watched my homerun fantasy threaten to transform into the reality of a bunt single. No way was I going to let this happen. As I went to grab the requested bass, I remembered the Musicman Stingray bass that I had in stock. The one with the killer black metallic sparkle finish. “Little Sammy will love it,” I thought to myself. And I also liked the $1350.00 price tag!

I headed back to the sales floor with a bass case in each hand: the student bass and the striking black metallic sparkle one. I handed Sammy the student model and whispered to Michael, “I have this really cool Musicman Stingray bass, but it is a bit more expensive than your student budget. Is it okay to show him that one as well?”

“Will he like it?” Mike asked.

“He better love it for $1350.00,” I said, and we both started to laugh. I opened the case and brought the bass over to little Sammy. It was love at first sight! It wasn’t a home run, but at least the all-star salesman, Steve “Babe Ruth” Pisani, turned a ‘bunt single’ into a ‘homer’!

That was a blast, but seeing Michael J. Fox, now a grown-up father with his son beside him, transported me back nearly 20 years to the days of his blockbuster, “Back to the Future,” in 1986. I couldn’t stop thinking about how much Michael has changed and how much West 48th Street has transformed. Those were the glory days of the coolest, hippest music instrument capital of the world! Hard rock was all the rage. Guys wore spandex, doused their hair in hairspray and mousse, and cranked up the biggest, loudest Marshall amp stacks they could afford.

The makers of “Back to the Future” captured the essence of this era perfectly. In the opening scene, Michael’s character, Marty, plugs his electric guitar into a gigantic amp, cranks the volume to the max, and with one powerful windmill motion, strums the strings so forcefully that the amp blast sends him flying back against the wall. Only in the movies, right? Wrong! On any given Saturday in the late ’80s on West 48th Street’s music row, young guys would plug in their B.C. Rich Bitch guitars and tap out Eddie Van Halen’s “Eruption” solo over and over again. These guitars were loaded with so many switches and knobs it seemed like you needed a pilot’s license to play them. The bigger, the more extravagant, the better.

Walking down West 48th in the mid to late ’80s, you’d find Sam Ash Music, Manny’s Music, Alex Music, Terminal Music, S & H Music, We Buy Guitars, Accent Music, and Rudy’s Music Stop. Each store was filled with dream guitars, and the street was alive with the screech of heavy metal guitars. Customers would hop from store to store, checking out the latest gear and comparing prices. While most stores offered standard merchandise, the key to high profits was in selling “Unique-Exclusive” guitars—rare instruments you couldn’t find anywhere else. A handmade classical guitar from Spain, for instance, would fetch a high profit.

One day in 1986, a used B.C. Rich Bitch Supreme guitar saved my life. It was the ultimate metal machine, with not just the traditional volume and tone knobs, but also a pre-amp volume, vari-tone control, coil tap and phase switches, and mini toggle switches for dual preamp circuits. Over the top? Sure, but that was the ’80s music scene—excess sold.

A “tech head” who frequented the store every weekend throughout the ’80s, glasses as thick as coke bottles and high-water jeans, never spent a dime. He always asked tons of technical questions. One busy afternoon, he asked to play the guitar in the window. I handed him the B.C. Rich Supreme, plugged it into the amp, and said, “I’ll be right back,” heading to the front to help other customers. As I tried to focus, I heard strange sounds coming from his guitar. It reminded me of Marty’s wild version of “Johnny B. Goode” in “Back to the Future”—no one knew what he was playing.

“Steve,” he called out, “What does this switch do?” pointing to the coil tap switch. I told him and tried to return to my customers. “And what about this one?” he asked again. This scene repeated over and over as I became increasingly impatient. “One more question, please,” he begged. “Okay, but I’m very busy,” I snapped. “How about this mini switch here?” he asked, pointing to another switch.

“Oh, great question,” I said, feigning excitement. “That’s the flux capacitor control,” I said, giving him a thumbs-up. Trying to escape, I told him I was needed at the front. “Flux capacitor?” he asked. “Yes, that’s what it controls. I’ll be back in a sec.” His eyes were rolling like a slot machine out of control.

Moments later the tech head, still holding the B.C. Rich guitar, called out to one of my sales guys, “Excuse me, do you work here?” “Yes,” he said. “Can you tell me what a flux capacitor is?” Frank the sales guys said , catching on to the joke from the “Back to the Future” movie, replied, “It makes time travel possible!”

The tech head looked at me, smiled, and said the words every salesman dreams of hearing, “Do you take MasterCard?” Cha Ching!