Spa City mourns Mccabe
Musicians sing praises of guitar shop owner, ex-city commissioner
If Matt Mccabe had a motto, his musical partner said it would have been “it’s better to give than receive.”
“If you knew him, he probably did something nice for you,” said his musical partner Rick Bolton. “He was the gentlest, nicest person you would ever want to meet. His death blows a hole right through the Saratoga community.”
Mccabe died on Tuesday morning at his home from complications of COVID -19. The owner of Saratoga Guitar, regular musical guest at the Olde Bryan Inn and former city commissioner of finance was 63 years old.
His friends are devastated as they say Mccabe had a generous heart that he offered to all.
“He had an amazing ability in his life to make us feel like his best friend,” said pianist and singer Elizabeth Conant, who owns the Studio in Greenfield. “We all felt like his special friend. He loved us all. He was so selfless.”
Fellow musician and brand editor with Breedlove Guitar Michael Eck agreed.
“Matt Mccabe understood that generosity is the true core of music, and he reflected that, in his songs and in his actions, like few others,” Eck said. “More
than a kind word, he offered a kind hand to all who needed one, encouraging countless young musicians, inspiring peers and giving much needed support to Saratoga neighbors like Caffe Lena. Always
giving, always giving; that was Matt — time, resources, wisdom and patience.”
Jennifer Leidig, who worked with Mccabe on the Save the Ballet campaign and on the city’s marketing committee, said that as an elected official Mccabe was a careful steward of the city’s funds, with an emphasis on the downtown and preserving the fading rural areas of the city.
“He was an advocate for the urban core as well as Saratoga as ‘the city in the country,’” Leidig said. “When I was chair of his marketing committee, we did a survey old school. We mailed it to people. … the overwhelming response was people wanted a downtown movie theater and Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods, somewhere they could buy a selection of organic produce and food. We met with different developers … who wanted to come into Saratoga Springs; and lo and behold, we got the movie theater, Healthy Living and then Fresh Market. That was a direct result of Matt’s efforts. He wanted to be responsive to his constituents.”
She and Bolton said that Mccabe also always responded to those in need and played a part in the city’s many fundraisers.
“Whenever I went to a charity event, there was always a Matt Mccabe guitar for raffle,” Bolton
said. “If one of our friends got stricken with cancer, he would put something together to raise money.”
He also delivered meals on Thanksgiving morning to needy families in the city. “I just found that out,” Bolton said. “Matt was quiet about that kind of thing.”
Conant said she doesn’t know what she would have done without Mccabe when she moved to the area 12 years ago. As a single mom and musician, she needed work and he got her gigs. He also co-sponsored concerts at her Greenfield
venue.
“He was my champion, like no one else,” Conant said. “He would give me equipment, loan me equipment. He basically saw my need as a new member of the community here and he came to my aid.”
Now it’s his friends’ turn to do something for him. Bolton, who frequently played with Mccabe, said he and the executive director of Caffe Lena Sarah Craig are creating a musical celebration of Mccabe’s life that will be streamed on Feb. 20.
And Bolton said the list of people who want to participate is growing.
“I’m telling you what, my phone has been inundated with people who just want to do something,” said Bolton, who has played music with Mccabe for nearly 30 years. “They are 18 times around that block.”
While it seems everyone has a story on how Mccabe helped them, Bolton said that Mccabe was most devoted to his three sons, his music and his shop (there are two locations — Broadway and Weibel Avenue). Bolton is not certain that Mccabe’s guitar shop, a downtown staple since the early 1990s that sold and rented instruments of all kinds, can survive. Either way, he said “the town won’t be the same without him.”
Eck said there in only one way to get through the loss.
“The best way for us to remember Matt Mccabe is to try and be more like him,” he said.