Closing music shop to get balance back
QUEENSTOWN musician Marc Hamilton is ‘‘gutted’’ he is having to shut his music shop in Gorge Rd.
He is predicting a few tears when for the last time he closes the door on It Might Get Loud Music Co.
‘‘It’s a bit of a sad thing . . . but I can’t spread myself too thin and that’s what I think I’ve been doing.’’
When Mr Hamilton bought the store in 2015, from Strawberry Sound Hire, it was a ‘‘holeinthewall’’ business, operating parttime.
Nowadays it had been open fulltime and stocked nearly everything that ‘‘makes a noise’’ — from ukuleles and guitars to drum kits and egg shakers.
The store had been for sale for a few months but when nobody bought it, Mr Hamilton decided he needed to ‘‘put a stake in the ground and go ‘Right, I need to do this now’.’’
‘‘I’m pretty gutted, to be honest, because I’ve built it up from nothing . . . it’s going to be quite hard when I close the door,’’ Mr Hamilton said.
But he is excited for what the future holds.
‘‘I can focus on my solo music, Ham Solo, spending time with the family — getting that balance back.’’
He will also continue his busy gigging with family band The Hamiltones along with his father, Ivan Hamilton, and sister, Stacey McDonald.
The shop’s closingdown sale started yesterday at the Gorge Road Retail Centre. —