A Scruffy Guitar Shop Survives the Chelsea Hotel’s Chic Makeover
A Scruffy Guitar Shop Survives the Chelsea Hotel’s Chic Makeover
In 2006, then-Chelsea Hotel owner Jeff Bergman became an avid music fan after moving to New York City. He came across a guitar, and after picking it up he asked the man who owned it, what it was.
“He said, ‘I’m going to give you it for free,’” Bergman recalled. “I was impressed with his generosity.” The guitar owner then invited Bergman to check out his store, which was located in a building near Times Square at 23rd Street. Bergman took a tour of the store, and was astonished by the eclectic mix of instruments it contained. “I couldn’t believe how cool it was,” he said.
What followed was the first of a series of meetings in which Bergman, a certified master guitar instructor, began inviting music teachers from all over the world, then students, to join him and other students in his basement, where he ran a small business, teaching guitar lessons, practicing and playing, and producing records.
Since then, he and his business partner and business manager, Jim “Bozo” Mancuso, have created the New York City Guitar School, which was the only one in Manhattan until 2015, when they opened a branch at 437 Washington St., in Chelsea Village, in the heart of the Manhattan arts district.
Since 2013, the store, located in a building with the same name, has been the only one in Manhattan that sells custom guitars, basses, keyboards, drum kits, and other studio equipment for recording artists and songwriters. And in that time, the store, which has the motto “Every Guitar Has a Story,” has grown into a community of guitar enthusiasts that have been inspired by the store’s owner, who once said, “No one can take my art and make it more interesting.”
To celebrate the store’s 10th anniversary, Guitar World spoke with Bergman to learn about what made the New York Guitar School so special. We’ve also posted a few excerpts of his interviews from the “Every Guitar Has a Story” section for readers to come in and listen to.
Here’s an excerpt from our conversation