Photo: Wenn
Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, along with his business partner Bill Schneider, is opening a guitar store in his hometown of Oakland, CA next month. Broken Guitars, which will be located at 423 40th Street, is set to hold its grand opening on April 3.
“We want to be a shop for musicians,” Schneider told the East Bay Express. “The focus is used American guitars: Gretsch, Fender and not necessarily just vintage ones.” The store’s general price range will run between $400-$800, so it can target discerning players on a budget.
The pair already have approximately 75 guitars for the shop’s walls, most of which have come from each of their personal instrument collections. The store will also sell amplifierss and will offer repairs for instruments and amplifiers.
The shop’s name, Broken Guitars, is said to have been inspired by a promotional poster for The Who that Armstrong and Schneider had seen, on which Pete Townshend appears to be getting ready to smash his guitar, along with the words: “This guitar has seconds to live.”
Amstrong and Schneider, who are also both members of Pinhead Gunpowder, helped move another Oakland-based music shop 1-2-3-4 Go! Records to its current location back in 2012, while also adding a back room for all-ages live concerts. Schneider also previously ran Univibe, another instrument shop in the area that closed in 2001.
.jpg)
