Remembering Michael Smith

Clearing out the old shop in Georgetown has been very hard on me. But now that the cat’s outta the bag about leaving the Miller Building I can express myself a little bit. (I can see your eyes rolling from here…).
But anyways, I’m not going to talk about myself just now. I want everyone to know a little history of our store. I wasn’t always the owner and I wasn’t here at the inception.
This place was opened in 2010 by our late, great founder Michael Smith who came South to Georgetown after his many years at Trading Musician.
This beautifully fucked up Yamaha 12 string is just 1 of so many strange instruments that that man put his hand and heart to. He was an artist, a musician, a prankster, a boss, and an over-all fun-loving guy that smoked too much weed and drank too much coffee. He was also a giant pain in the ass. But we loved him. A lot of people did.
His legacy is long and sinuous, and interwoven into the collective memories of countless musicians who’ve graced the stages of Seattle, and the world, past and present. He sold hundreds of people their first instrument…. and second and third… I bought a white Kramer with a Floyd from him in 88.
I’m sure many of you that read this remember Mike fondly.
After he passed away we joked at the store that his ghost was still playing pranks on us. Like the time when the padlock on the front gate was removed and replaced by another one but the key still worked somehow. We never figured that one out. Mike’s ghost probably.
Mike’s still in the walls of this place. We miss you Mike. Thanks for being a weirdo.
Anyways, thanks for letting me reminisce.
Take care of each other. You never know when one of your people will go away forever.