Help Gilmore Music Cross The Finish Line

Hi I'm Dez and I am 1/3 owner of Gilmore Music Store on the corner 7th and Cherry in Long Beach.

After the passing of Clint Gilmore in November of 2020, it was thought that Gilmore Music Store would be closed forever. Nearly 12 Months had gone by with only sad news as far as the store's fate was concerned. One night while attending a show at the Que Sera, Louanne shared that the Gilmore space was now for rent. She thought I would be the perfect person to take it over and try to continue the legacy his family had struggled to keep going. I laughed it off and thought it was far-fetched and less likely that someone hadn't already occupied the space. On my walk home, I decided to take a photo of the rent sign anyway and set a reminder to call.

The conversation surprised me and gave me hope. The landlord told me he had been looking for someone with a realistic vision of occupying the space and felt my vision aligned with it. However, I was so scared to jinx it that I kept it primarily to myself while trying to quietly recruit friends that could help me bring a new Gilmore to life. I called a couple of friends for help (Andres Garcia and Erik A.), and after over 100 hours of phone calls with the landlord, the Gilmore family and lawyers, I signed a lease and received keys. I'm still in awe that I was the person to land this role, but it also felt right. I grew up on Cherry ave. I got my first instrument from Gilmore. One of my first bands recorded there. I still shopped there until its last moments open. It was part of my legacy as a musician.

Now it's been eight months of updating things, facing challenges (too many ever to type out here), making some new hourly rehearsal spaces (now open for the community to use daily) and trying to cross the finish line. We've faced every challenge head-on, no matter how big, but now we've reached the last obstacle and need the community's help.

WE NEED GEAR

After working so hard to update the store, which hadn't seen many updates since the late 1960's, we have spent a large amount of money. We are about ready to open the doors but need funds for gear. Your donations would help us secure some instruments and other musician needs that would help us better serve the community. Unfortunately, the nearest redacted is 25 minutes away. Thus far, we've got some amplifiers, some guitars, some horns and some amps, but we have ample space to fill before these doors can open, and we are not close.

Thanks

Dez Yusuf

Andres Garcia

Erik A.

The New Gilmore