Festus Music World

Meyer's Guitar Lessons

We want to extend a huge thank you to Kory Meyer who owns and operates Meyer’s Music Lessons.

He generously passed on two brand new guitar packs which means we are able to donate them to those in need in the community. We are blown away by the sheer generosity. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

(We will be contacting two other families that messaged us this week)

https://www.facebook.com/Meyersguitarlessons?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Meyer's Guitar Lessons Call or text (636)-209-7713 or email at [email protected] to set up a free appointment!

Learn to play guitar and music theory!

In the age of blacks, browns, tans, and filters… Be a nuclear green.

The 1980’s are calling and WE ARE HERE FOR IT! 🤘

Tim and Caleb

We’re not sure what’s going on in this photo.
We think Caleb is sprinkling “magic dust” into that tongue drum and Tim is getting an attitude with that ukulele.

A quick note to thank all of you for messaging us. There are so many deserving kiddos out there in our own community that deserve the opportunity to make and play music that it’s clear to us that we would like to do all we can.

If you didn’t receive a reply back, please know that we tried our best to discern by need, and that we will actively look for ways to accommodate as many children as possible. Thanks to the generosity of others who have offered assistance, we see that we can help more than one child.
Why stop with one guitar? We can and will do more as often as we can.

If you weren’t chosen this time, stay tuned. We will do our best to provide what we can when we can. We don’t get it right all of the time. Probably not half of the time, but believe us when we tell you that we really do care about each and every one of you, and we really do want you to make and play music.

We appreciate all of you so very much. ✌️

He said he was “setting up” this ukulele.
Crazy thing is- we give him a year before he probably can. 🙃

He’s a pretty clever fella.

We vote yes.

Tim in his natural habitat with the youngest grand baby. It’s a happy Friday for us.

Then and now

Caleb's high school senior band banner. We are big fans of the work Mr Boyer does over at De Soto high school. No matter what school you go to, Jeffco isn't lacking for talent in the high school band department.

Caleb is just a little taller than his Grandpa and during high school we would know he was coming. Not because the Tuba is at the end of the line but because he was so small; all we would see is a tuba with feet when he'd march the parades. 😂

Thanks to everyone for sharing and sending in your messages. 🙂

We will start reading messages this evening and will be in contact with someone in the next week.

We really do appreciate all of you. Truth is, we often have great people doing great things for others. Instruments are often donated and each and every time they are, they are given to someone deserving. As small business owners we’ve seen a lot over the years, and we know and understand struggles just like any average family. We have been blessed to do what we do, and our own children have benefited greatly from having instruments at their disposal.

We know that music has kept our own kiddos from going crazy 😉 (unless you’ve met our daughters, HA!) and we know that it will your kids too. In this strange new world of twitter and wireless, pandemics and robots, drones and automation; music is a true refuge.

Thanks so much for the awesome response. You guys, gals, and everything in between, are real deal awesome. 😎

Hi friends. Serious post here.

On occasion, a Good Samaritan will come in and leave the occasional guitar for free and ask that it go to a good home. Truth is, they always do.

During this Christmas season, someone left an electric that we will be setting up, re-stringing and getting to playing condition. 🙂

We are asking the community for your help in nominating a child who could benefit from a guitar that may not be able to obtain one by typical means.
We prefer a child or teenager because we know that music helps and heals. We know this. We mean this. Besides. Grown ups stink. Kids are way cooler. 😎

We are happy to provide the recipient with all they need to get playing, with lessons on the house. For that reason, we prefer someone who has a parent, friend, or caregiver who can get them to lessons once a week and help support them on their journey.

If you know someone, feel free to message us. We will choose someone in a few weeks based on greatest need. If you don’t hear back from us, know that we will do our best to discern by need; and if you do hear from us, we will be in contact to get the recipient going. Discretion is important to us and we understand that sometimes needs are sensitive.

Send us a message if you know a cool kid who is ready to rock.

No country music fans. (Just kidding.)

We always remember your name. For the most part. 😉
And we definitely remember what you play.

Happy New Year from all of us. We hope its great!

from left.
Tim
John
Alan Dale
Fay (kinda center front)
Dale
Kim
Hannah
Delbert (holding Aimee)

Taken before a ”singing” North STL
we think maybe 1995

We hope you all are having a very Merry Christmas 🎄

We crack a lot of jokes here, because we are of the belief that faith and humor are the two things that separate a man from a machine. Without them, man fails. With them, Joy is created.

A local mama messaged us yesterday in desperate search of a keyboard because her child decided last minute that she had to have one… and most parents understand that we really want our kiddos to have their hearts desire. We were lucky to have this small little keyboard- mama was happy. So…. joyful mama she is, she gives her little girl the keyboard early- and we just wanted to share this with you because… Well. Sometimes words aren’t needed.
Little ones face is lit up with the kind of joy that can’t be fabricated.
Mama didn’t have to send this photo or take the time to thank us; but she did. She’s a joy spreader. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.

Festus has definitely gained a new keyboard player. ❤️

Merry Christmas Eve! We will be here until 5pm and are happy to help as always. 🙂

On another note: To wrap our year off we can confirm that many of you are on our nice list. The people who are patient and kind, the ones who tolerate our kiddos, and those who come in and discuss chemtrails and neural link, ALL of our students, and every kid and kid at heart- y’all are getting presents.

The guy who thumbed through our parts and wanted our parts for nothing, and threw a hissy fit, the guy who said we were cult members, the guy who kills our mannequin at the piano, and the guy who’s name rhymes with “Blevin” all y’all are not getting presents this year. 😂

In all seriousness, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas! ❤️🎄

Take it easy, John and fam.

It’s truly the end of an era.

That’s a wrap! Thank you for years of support and friendship, you’ve all been amazing.

We hope we’ve encouraged a love of books and literacy to our little corner of the world. There were definitely a few skeptics when we started out 25 years ago.

We look forward to seeing our friends Steve and Caroline carry the torch for books and more when they open in June. Also happy that 411 West Main will be home to a fantastic local business, Backbone Home.

I’ll leave you for now with one of my favorite book quotes from Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: “And how shall I think of you?' He considered a moment and then laughed. 'Think of me with my nose in a book!”

Silent Night - Recorder By Candlelight by Matt Mulholland

We’re gonna be upset if you all don’t watch this.
Watch it.
Come on. Ya gotta.

Not all music is beautiful. We’re sorry!
😭🤣

Silent Night - Recorder By Candlelight by Matt Mulholland Listen to my album. I dare you.Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/album/2B84s8zKcvsbPaIVRZiDcRApple Music - https://music.apple.com/nz/album/after-you-grow/1...

We plan on being open tomorrow for no other reason other than we’re sometimes a few crayons short of a box. 🖍️📦

You awesome folks have cleared us out of a lot of guitars- and this makes us happy. 🙂

However, we will be here if you need more cowbell.

(Laugh with us, not at us. We know the jokes bad, ok? 🤣)

Anyhoo. Stay safe. Stay warm. Hunker down.

Happy Tuesday!

With the upcoming weather forecast- we really suggest stopping in today if you need anything. Thursday and beyond we could be like this...

John you’re gonna have to quit doing this. The police said they’re gonna give you a ticket next time.

It’s not fair, but we don’t make the rules.

Just a friendly reminder that we are closed today and picking our kiddo up from school.

On a side note we don’t think the “youngins” are fans of us singing “Mama Tried” as loud as we can in the car… but hey, it drowns them out. 🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏼‍♀️

A 20 year old Amanda holding a newborn Caleb. Caleb is now older than Amanda was in this photo. We are trying hard to get him to "recreate" this photo- he is still young enough to be hesitant but getting old enough to throw ole' Mom a bone. He was also recently gifted a priceless (truly, priceless) guitar out of Amanda's collection and we think he should humor his mother given this fact. 😉 (hint.hint. kiddo)

On a side note, the devil is in the details and we notice pegboard on the string wall with mostly Ernie Ball and GHS strings, as well as a cardboard Mel Bay book display. Some things never change though, and neither has that scowl. 🤣

More important than all that- this was the day after September 11. September 11 fell on a Tuesday, which was Dale’s day to take the store and we very clearly remember that day as we rocked our newborn son and watched the news in horror- wondering what kind of world he would grow up in. We think the kid did alright. 🙂

Amanda and Caleb: September 12, 2001.

Really regretting taking all the parts down.
😂😢

Cataloging an entire parts and accessories wall isn't very fun.

Parts will be unavailable most of the day. When Amanda comes in with a ladder, power tools, and paint cans, all you can do is listen. 😐

They will be back up after we cry, scream, and curse ourselves trying to reorganize them.
And when the paint dries. 👨🏻‍🎨👩‍🎨

T.

Just a heads up- we will be closed this Friday, December 16. We realize this is close to Christmas and we apologize for the inconvenience.

One of the most noticeable things about the store since Dale passed away, is that we often have to juggle a tight schedule between home and the store, a schedule that Dale used to juggle with us.

Please understand we have a child with Down syndrome that needs assistance on and off the bus. However, for this particular day, we are picking Caleb up from school near Springfield.

We will be open during our normal store hours with the exception of this Friday. As always, we are here to help you hide your musical presents from your fam and friends, and will be open on Christmas Eve as well.

ALL and we mean ALL ukuleles are on sale this week. 😀

We are getting ready to ”redo” that section of the store and we will be generous with the discounts.

We have an entire tree of entry level ukes that are not only adorable, (Yes. We said adorable.) they are perfect for Christmas. As we’ve mentioned 9 million and 22 times before; the ukulele is the perfect bridge to playing music.

If you buy from us, you get a free group class and you get to be BFF’s with us.
…and we’re the cool kids. You should sit at our table. 🤣

And you get your child (or yourself) something valuable that lasts a lifetime.

This is how we play the flute at Festus Music World. 🙃

She should have gone to the crew at Nottlemans. They know what they’re doing. 🙂

You all know John. ...and if you dont, then are you even alive? Because let us tell you, you could be out of state and someone knows John.

John is our real MVP. He’s been with our family for decades, a friend for so long until we recently learned he’s related. By marriage. Somewhere in there.
There were a lot of parties in the 70s. 🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏼‍♀️

…and of course, John’s throwback photo doesn’t look like a throwback because he’s aged well. Then again, John has never been married so maybe that’s his secret.

This photo would have been taken when he was teaching in the OG lesson rooms.
(fine print:you may be entitled to compensation if you were given lessons in those back rooms. we lie. you’re not. but we bet you’re still playing music)

All kidding aside; we love ya’ to death John. We’re grateful for you. You’re our brother, and we even love your jokes. Thank you for walking with us the past few years, especially. You're the real deal.

We feel the need to make a public service announcement. This morning, a grown man took it upon himself to make an unprovoked attack on our child as well as “Christianity.” We are also, apparently a cult.

If you witnessed this awesome exchange, then you realize that it was weird. However, being musicians, we are weird ourselves, and we wanted to let you all know that YES! We are indeed a cult. A cult of personality.
(Bah duh dum hiss) 😂

At any rate, we want you to know that we are who we are. We believe in God, but you don’t have to and we’re cool with that. We’re sorry about the radio selection on our speakers but an FYI… contemporary Christian music scoots those out who have bad juju. Trust us, Tim would rather be listening to Kansas or Grand Funk, and Amanda, probably Slayer on most days. 🤘

In the meantime….

In case we haven’t mentioned it twenty million and ninety two times, we’re really proud of the kid.

Parents, we can’t stress enough, the importance of music in your child’s life. Too often, even in 2022, it falls by the wayside. We see music used as a privilege and not a right, which it is. It is a right.

We love ya big, kiddo. We know all your dreams are going to come true.

-Mom and Dad

(PS: that’s an Ibanez Talman he’s playing.😉)

Must’ve had a rough weekend.