# steve kirman (steve's music) has passed away..



## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

http://www.cjad.com/CJADLocalNews/entry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10355579#comments


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## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

Sad news. I have good memories of Steve's...I sent an amp there to be repaired back in about 1994 and I forgot about it. I got in touch with the store about 6 months later or maybe longer and the guy said "Yeah a few people were wondering about that amp but I said that it belonged to someone but we didn't have contact info for the owner". I had it sent to me and it is still going strong.


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## Guest (Mar 5, 2012)

I still remember my first visit to the Montreal store. And it was on the kind of trip where you don't usually remember much about Montreal the next day. But Steve's, that I remember.

And of course: the weird teller-behind-glass system they had in the Toronto store.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

david henman said:


> http://www.cjad.com/CJADLocalNews/entry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10355579#comments


I remember that street corner with great fondness.  You'd walk past a bunch of pawnshops where the owners would great you with "Yes, boys...." and a suspicious eye, and Steve's you could walk into and spend some quality time there.

Bought my Peavey Classic there in 1973.


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## Boogieman (Apr 6, 2009)

iaresee said:


> And of course: the weird teller-behind-glass system they had in the Toronto store.


The Montreal store has the same arrangement. Another Montreal music store, Italmelodie, has the same arrangement as well.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

mhammer said:


> I remember that street corner with great fondness. You'd walk past a bunch of pawnshops where the owners would great you with "Yes, boys...." and a suspicious eye, and Steve's you could walk into and spend some quality time there. Bought my Peavey Classic there in 1973.


...those pawnshops were weird. i felt intimidated by the proprietors virtually every time i walked in. i wonder how that helped their business...


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

david henman said:


> ...those pawnshops were weird. i felt intimidated by the proprietors virtually every time i walked in. i wonder how that helped their business...


I don't know that it did. I think it helps to remember that pawnshops were not traditional vendors of musical instruments. So their merchant style was likely shaped by dealing more with wedding rings, watches and people trying to either steal or fence jewellery.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

mhammer said:


> I don't know that it did. I think it helps to remember that pawnshops were not traditional vendors of musical instruments. So their merchant style was likely shaped by dealing more with wedding rings, watches and people trying to either steal or fence jewellery.


...no doubt, but these particular pawnshops sold musical instruments almost exclusively, as i recall.


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## Boogieman (Apr 6, 2009)

david henman said:


> ...those pawnshops were weird. i felt intimidated by the proprietors virtually every time i walked in. i wonder how that helped their business...


The person who ran the pawnshop at the corner of the street was a bully. I got a taste of that decades ago when I was a kid.


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## rollingdam (May 11, 2006)

Boogieman said:


> The person who ran the pawnshop at the corner of the street was a bully. I got a taste of that decades ago when I was a kid.


You must mean Jack's-the original owner was something...


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

This got major coverage on CBC Newsworld this morning.


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## TubeStack (Jul 16, 2009)

Was sorry to hear this today.

I bought my first Marshall half-stack at Steve's, when I was sixteen. I lived in a small town and drove down to Toronto to get it. I was so excited, had worked all summer and barely spent anything, saving for it. They actually didn't have any heads in stock, so I had to take the big 1960B cab home and stare at it for a week.  When I went back to pick up the head, the guy actually wheeled out another cab to my car, not knowing I'd already taken one home. Being the nice honest boy I was, I told him I had it already.

Anyway, great store and a lot of fun for a kid from the sticks. RIP, Steve.


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## Stefano (Aug 31, 2009)

Rip to Steve. But that block on St.-Antoine used to have the biggest collection of assholes in the city. Hopefully that has changed...I would not know because I vowed I would never spend a dime there again. I remember the dude who used to work/run jack's...ouch!


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## ThePass (Aug 10, 2007)

Sad news indeed. Growing up in Burlington, me & my friends would often "go-train" it into TO and hit up Steve's. Always as lookers though, I honestly can't say I bought anything significant there. But, we thought of Steve's as our own local "Manny's" if you will.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Count_Chocolat said:


> Rip to Steve. But that block on St.-Antoine used to have the biggest collection of assholes in the city. Hopefully that has changed...I would not know because I vowed I would never spend a dime there again. I remember the dude who used to work/run jack's...ouch!


Most of those places started out as pawnshops, and ended up selling music gear in addition to wedding rings and gold watches. I suspect they were used to dealing with a shiftier crowd, and behaved accordingly. That said, yes it was generally not a pleasant shopping experience.


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