Friendly River Music

Yesterday John Barton at Friendly River Music added 30 years to my life… seriously!
I was out for a drive in the country with my wife and we happened to find ourselves in village of Cornish, Maine. For those unfamiliar, Cornish would be the Wikipedia entry under «quaint New England village.» I asked if she wouldn’t mind a little detour. I told her how in one of my past lives in the early 1980’s I used to go with my bandmates to a very small guitar shop out in the middle of nowhere: Friendly River.
John Barton started his store sometime in the 70’s. The fact that he is still in thriving with his small shop in the age of big box retailers like Guitar Center and Sam Ash is nothing short of remarkable. The fact that he has built a global base of customers including many well-​known celebrity guitarist from a barn on a riverbank in rural… and we are talking rural, Maine is nothing short of a miracle.
How did he do it?
Having been out of the music business for some time, I’m always a little shy about reminiscing, especially with someone who continues to walk the walk. John greeted me with warmth and spent the better part of a half-​hour sharing stories of my past life as a musician. Much to my surprise, he even remembered one of my old bands, «The Coon Cats,» which enjoyed some modest success in the emerging country-​punk, rockabilly scene in the 1980’s.
He treated me as if I’d been a loyal customer for the past 30 years… and the fact is I had never bought anything from him! I was not a guitar player in those days; I was a drummer. I used to ride along with my guitar player friends and bandmates to carry and occasionally finance their purchases at Friendly River. I did remember John’s expertise and honesty…
…and those are the characteristics that account for his continued success.
John has customers all over the world who will call him for an order and trust him to ship vintage and high-​end musical instruments simply on his reputation. Many actually travel to Maine specifically to shop at Friendly River– and he’s glad to accomodate them.
Now at this point in the story I should tell you that part of one of my regular, intentional mid-​life crises I decided to play guitar. I’d hacked on it for years, but wanted now to get serious. I recently visited one of the big boxes and left, happily, with a Chinese made Fender Telecaster and a small practice amp. No complaints…
However– I’m starting to get fussy about my sound, I’m growing in my technique and I’m ready for an upgrade.
With this in mind, John could have sold me just about any vintage instrument that would satisfy my growing passion for surf guitar. (He did, in fact, show me a collector’s Fender Jaguar in the neighborhood of $ 6,000!) He could easily have preyed on my enthusiasm and my middle-​aged sense of status purchasing.
Instead, he asked me what type of playing I was into and what kind of sound I was looking for. Instead of dazzling me with technical specs, which he is fully capable of, he gave me a tour of the various features of several instruments from a player’s perspective. Instead of the Jaguar, he steered me toward a $ 1,200 used Stratocaster, though he did take advantage of a moment of weakness and had me drooling over a DiPinto Galaxie after he established our mutual admiration of the surf revivalists, Los Straightjackets.
The DiPitro was priced at about $ 600, a considerable drop from the $ 6,000 Jaguar.
Obviously, this is one of the reasons John has such a loyal and lasting clientele.
I was very pleased to hear that he was not only surviving, but thriving. Many businesses, particularly those dealing in largely discretionary spending have closed their doors over the past few years. I assumed that part of John’s success selling high-​end musical instruments from his wilderness outpost was a savvy exploitation of online sales and internet marketing…
…Nope.
He does have a website, barely. You really can’t order anything from his site– he says give him a call or send him an email and tell him what you’re looking for.
So what are the keys to his success and why should you buy your next guitar, amp or other fretted instrument at Friendly River?
1) Expertise & Experience — John Barton has been in the music business nearly 40 years as a retailer, collector, technician and musician. He has remained focused and true to his vision throughout. He knows what is current, and possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of the vintage and collector’s market.
2) Sincerity and Honesty — As I said, he could have sold me about anything. I left the shop with information and a greater understanding of exactly what instrument would satisfy my ability and interest. I did NOT leave with a guitar. I did leave with the surety that Friendly River is where I will be purchasing my next one.
3) Remote and somewhat inconvenient location — I know, that’s usually NOT a benefit… but this trip is really worth the effort!