Today we’d like to introduce you to Nick Marocco.
Hi Nick, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have been surrounded by music and rock and roll my entire life. My dad was a guitar player and played the instrument constantly when I was growing up, he was also an avid Record, CD and Tape collector so some of my earliest memories are going to record shops and music shops searching for treasures with him. My first two loves of my life were The Beatles and KISS and I think that’s why I am still doing what I do today.
Around age 16 I joined my first *real* band and after working in a bar alongside my mom as a busboy and a dishwasher I was determined to do something for work that involved my passion. I begged a friend of mine, Drew to ask his Dad, Dave, to hire me at his recently opened guitar store called Bluesairmen Guitars which was located in Garden City, Michigan. It was a small operation rooted mostly in service and used gear. Dave ether saw something in me or felt bad for me and brought me in one day a week. At Bluesairmen I was able to develop deep knowledge on new and used equipment, develop relationships with local musicians and hone my sales skills in a trial by fire style. I was extremely fortunate to work with some legendary players and musicians that really helped me develop as a person and a player.
In 2011, when I was 20 years old, Dave decided he wanted to retire and made the decision to close Bluesairmen and for fear of having to “go get a real job”, I asked Dave if he’d be willing to sell me the store as I thought it was something I could excel at. With the help of my Dad and Grandfather I was able to purchase Bluesairmen Guitars. I ran that store and location for 5 years trying different products and promotions before deciding I wanted to do something bigger with a larger focus on lessons, new gear and more vinyl records.
In 2015 at age 25, I moved to Livonia Michigan and rebranded as Rock City Music Company. The store space was about 5 times as big as what we were doing at Bluesairmen so it was quite a jump. Since opening Rock City Music Company we have been able to grow and expand to 6 lesson rooms, full service repair, thousands of vinyl records, pinball machines and we are a dealer for some of the best and most iconic instruments in the music world such as Reverend Guitars, PRS Guitars, Taylor Guitars, Fender Guitars. We’ve also been able to host some incredible in-store signing events with some of my biggest musical heroes such as Alice Cooper (2021 and 2023), Geddy Lee of Rush, Butch Walker, Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple, Bootsy Collins and Blackberry Smoke just to name a few. We also were honored to win Small Business of the Year in 2021 in our hometown of Livonia
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Oh no! Very far from it. Every day is a challenge. Some days are harder than others. We have endured everything from multi-day power outages to supply chain issues to theft to pandemics and everything in between. We’ve had a lot of “growing pains”. A difficult thing in this industry is that it’s niche goods, a hobby for most so when things are tough like they are now, we and businesses like ours are the first to suffer. We’ve had difficulties in trying to get vendor/dealerships and building a great a team over the years but I’d say the hardest thing now is that it’s really difficult to get people to pay attention, every minute people are being inundated with ads or products or services, because of social media everyone is saying “HEY! LOOK! OVER HERE!” It’s extremely competitive and I do feel like over the years music has become a “disposable good”. Schools don’t focus on it much anymore which is an absolute shame and in society where everyone is buried in their devices a lot of incredible songs and music are cut down to 10 second tidbits in reels on instagram. It makes it hard to really convince people of the value of what we do
We’ve been impressed with Rock City Music Company , but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Established in 2015, Rock City Music Company is an independently owned music store for players by players. Located just outside of Detroit, Michigan, Rock City Music Company is a music mecca that encompasses everything from guitars and lessons, to vinyl records and t-shirts, to posters, accessories, our music-themed pinball machines and more.
Rock City has earned its rank as one of the top places in the country for in-store events. Rock City has hosted legends such as Alice Cooper, Geddy Lee (Rush), Butch Walker, Dee Snider (Twisted Sister), Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Gary Holt (Slayer/Exodus), Blackberry Smoke and many many more. Rock ’n’ Roll is our passion, and we strive to provide excellent service, and a great experience, both inside and outside of our store.
We offer a deep music lessons program teaching Guitar, Bass, Drums, Piano, Vocals and more. This is where I think we all collectively feel the most rewarded when we are able to help students of all ages reach that “next step” of their career, whatever that might be. With our quarterly student jams which sees our lessons students of all ages participate in a live concert in various groups performing songs by a wide range of artists. We also offer full service repair. We have a huge focus on community and have raised money for Burger School for Autism, Detroit Dog Rescue, Collected toys for D.O. for Denny and Partner with Guitars 4 Vets providing and donating instruments.
A big part of my store is allowing the personality of myself and my team shine through. We love to discuss music, albums, gear and more with our customers and I like each person on the staff to be able to be themselves as I think that’s what separates us from the big box stores and certainly online sellers.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I am an only child so I had to learn how to entertain myself, I’ve been a little bit of a loner but also have a personality like I’ve been shot out of a cannon. I’ve loved music and rock and roll for my entire life and I’d say that every day when I wake up my mission is to gain more knowledge about music/artists/instruments etc. I struggled in school because I was constantly bored by what I perceived at a very young age as information that did not apply to me. It just wasn’t interesting. Don’t get me wrong, I am extremely grateful now for the English skills, writing skills and basic math skills as I think these are essential to life but I wish there had been a larger focus on individualization for people like me who felt their life was in the creative arts field. For most of my life I’ve had an instrument in my hand, I started with Guitar and always enjoy playing it but I never felt like I really excelled there. Around age 12 I picked up a set of drumsticks and that has been my “professional” position ever since. I’ve also always been a collector of vinyl records and physical media. My collection spans over 5000 LPs and I enjoy constantly finding and educating myself on music I am not familiar with. I am a big animal lover and have 3 dogs. I like to think I’ve always had a business mind as I was the kid working at my own lemonade stand on the corner of street, when Pokemon cards were big in their original go around, I’d be the kid who was negotiating trades and trying to get cards to the people who wanted them. I’ve always enjoyed seeing the satisfaction from a customer who finally gets what they’ve been after and I always am chasing the next deal.
Pricing:
- Lessons = $139 per month
- Vinyl Records .025 cents – $500
- Guitars from $49 – $10,000
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rockcitymusicco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rockcitymusiccompany
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rockcitymusicco
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvN9Ax8SOeKTfVTJZ4f9UCw
