BY PHILL BARNETT
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
TOMAHAWK — James E. Webb Musical Repair and Sales has been a staple of the Stidham community since its opening in 1972. Though the little music shop was forced to shutter its doors in February 2022, it is now back up and running with the son of the original owner at the helm.
The shop is open 2-3 days a week and hosts monthly concerts and jam sessions along with frequent instrument workshops for musicians of different skill levels to learn banjo, fiddle and more.
The next workshop is Memorial Day (May 29) beginning at 1 p.m. The workshop will last about three hours and is geared toward those interested in beginning to learn to play banjo.
Jim’s son Joey Webb, one of the Webb Twins, will lead this workshop.
According to Webb, the “beginner” workshops at the shop will be accessible to folks who have never picked up an instrument. To register for a workshop, message James L. Webb (Jim) on Facebook.
Workshop participants are encouraged to bring their own instruments. However, there are a limited number of loaners available at the shop. Workshops are capped at a 20-participant maximum to ensure everyone has adequate attention and time with the instructor. Workshops generally last about three hours and cost $20 to participate.
Monthly jams and/or concerts will be held Sunday afternoons until further notice.
“What I’ve learned is that most musicians aren’t busy on Sunday afternoons,” said Jim Webb, the current owner-operator of the shop. “So, if you want to get the best musicians around, you do it at 3 o’clock on a Sunday afternoon, and you offer free food.”
The shop sells standard instrument accessories for guitars, fiddles, mandolins, banjos and more, as well as high-quality new and vintage instruments. One of the rarer and more interesting finds currently at the shop on Stidham Road is a 1910 Gibson trapdoor banjo.
Webb has also taken up his father’s trade of building, repairing and modifying musical instruments. Though Webb is skilled and experienced at doing many of these tasks by hand, he is pioneering the use of CNC machinery to craft delicate instrument parts from wood, such as fretboards.
Webb’s workshop features a state-of-the-art CNC machine capable of millimeter precision, which requires advanced technical knowledge to operate. Webb is a retired system administrator, giving him a keen edge toward using the machine to achieve his artistic vision.
The music shop’s building itself has been a mainstay on Milo Creek even longer than the shop itself. Before James E. Webb opened his music shop in 1972, the building served as the Stidham post office and as a general store.
During its time as a music shop, the store has seen its fair share of country, bluegrass and old-time musicians passing through. Jesse Wells, Don Rigsby, and Tommy Webb are just a few of the well-known musicians to have purchased or repaired an instrument at the shop, Jim Booth and Wayne Andrews, former president of Morehead State University, and many other notable public figures have also stopped by the shop and acts such as the Local Honeys and Senora May have supported the shop during its renovation phase.
While most of the major damage caused by the February 2022 fire has been repaired, some small structural repairs are still underway, including repaving the front patio and a new sign.
Follow James E. Webb Music Repair and Sales and James L. Webb on Facebook to keep up-to-date with workshops, concerts, jams and other events at the shop.
