The Fifth String

Posted on January 6, 2011 – 1:00 AM | by OldManFoster

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By Ross Hammond    Photos by Scott Duncan

The corner of Alhambra and J Street is a bustling one.  Traffic is in a constant flow;  Sutter Middle School is in the midst of another school year and the Safeway shopping center is always full.  It’s a welcome change to leave the busy environment of the street and walk into the room of acoustic aural bliss known as the Fifth String Music Store.

The Fifth String sells and services all things acoustic:  guitars, standup basses, banjos, dobros, fiddles and mandolins are the specialties here.   Sales, lessons and repairs have kept this store going over the decades.  Guitarist, songwriter and CPA John Green opened the shop in 1981 in the big Victorian that now houses BeBop Fashion at 20^th and L St.  After moving to a few different locations in East Sac, the Fifth String has been holding court at Alhambra and J since 1997.

From the beginning, Green’s store has served as a musical hub for Sacramento. I should know- I worked at the Fifth String from 1996-2003, and taught lessons there until a couple of years ago.  During that time I was able to meet hundreds of great musicians, both on staff and regular customers.  On any given day you could see local music heroes, known and unknown, walk through the doors and grab an instrument.  As a 19 year-old hack, it was a great musical education to watch guitarists like Jim Beeler, Gene Smith, Frank Hannon, Peter Kett, Kathy Barwick, James Gavoni, Arnie Gamble, Greg Townsend, Michael Gregory and many others jam and talk shop.

This is where the true beauty of the store lies.  The Fifth String isn’t really the type of place where you walk in, buy a set of guitar strings, and walk out.  The laid-back atmosphere and the staff’s warm encouragement to try all of the instruments on the wall is enough to keep a person there for the afternoon.  Green keeps the coffee pot brewing all day for customers, and will often find himself teaching free lessons on a variety of instruments on Saturdays.  It’s more of a clubhouse or a musical barber shop than a guitar store.

Nothing exemplifies this better than the Thursday night jam – a heavily attended session on the showroom floor for bluegrass, folk and old-timey music lovers.  Any Thursday, from 7-11PM, you can walk in with your instrument (not electric!), sit next to 20 other musicians and play through a wide array of bluegrass, folk and fiddle tunes.  There is no age limit, and seeing young and old joining in on a chorus of “Alabama Jubilee,” “I’ll Fly Away” or “Blackberry Blossom” is a pretty cool thing to witness.  During the warm summer months, the jammers  venture out to the parking lot and play long after the doors close.  Simply observing is welcome as well.

The Fifth String’s role in the Sacramento music community is not groundbreaking news.  Anyone who has walked into the store will attest that the cast of characters, high-line instruments and eclectic clientele make it a special place in Sacramento.

Not as evident are the services that John and his store also provide to the community.  The store’s annual Holiday Benefit Concert raises funds, clothes and usable goods for the Loaves and Fishes homeless shelter, and their numerous donations of instruments and lessons to underprivileged kids are evidence that altruism and music come from the same place.

The Fifth String has provided a place for music makers and lovers to congregate for three decades. Going forward, Green is planning to focus more on lessons, and will begin adding a new digital element to teaching.   The music school has some of the finest musicians in town; teachers such as Greg Townsend, Caroline Disney, Steve Randall, Steve McLean, Mike Kelly and Green himself can provide an education that few others could.   While Green didn’t want to give away too much about his new plans, it seems to be a step toward the technological age; but one thing is certain: the small-town atmosphere will remain.

The Fifth String, 930 Alhambra Boulevard, Suite 110, (916) 442-8282

http://www.thefifthstring.com

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