RSB Percussion Opens Doors At New Northport Location

NORTHPORT, AL. — Growth has been the ongoing theme for one Northport music store and that successful trajectory recently prompted a needed change of venue. RSB Percussion, now located in the Black Warrior Village shopping center at 244 McFarland Blvd., held a soft opening on Saturday and were met with a supportive response from the community.

"If you can play it, we got it and if you can’t, we can teach you to play it," said Rodney Booth, the store's general manager. "For the community this is an eye-opener and Saturday you saw people stand at the door and just say 'oh my goodness.'"

RSB Percussion — named for the owner and Booth's wife Rebecca Sue Booth — may be new to Black Warrior Village, but the brand is far from a rookie on the local music scene.

Last July, Booth said, RSB opened in another building that was around 800 square feet, but in a matter of months, the business outgrew the space.

"We opened in July and had our grand opening in November and were already busting at the seams," Booth said. "We’ve been in business for about five years and started this as a reverb-type store and it just grew and grew. Knowing so many different musicians in town from playing in bands and at churches and our connection with the high schools and universities, we grew, and the support from the local music scene and musicians is why we grew so much."

The opportunity to move to the newest location on McFarland Boulevard presented itself in April and once RSB secured its new building, management set out on a series of upgrades to the facilities.

"We have a permanent stage in here for all of our clinics and events going on here and we’ll be announcing more of that at the end of this month," Booth pointed out.

While the name may denote one facet of music equipment, local demand has seen RSB not only expand its offerings to accommodate more musicians, but also the way it presents the products.

Sporting one of the largest cymbal walls in the southeast, RSB is now the first store in the country to incorporate the new Zildjian Halo System — a new display system that was just rolled out by the world-famous equipment manufacturer. The store is also a flagship dealer for the widely-used DW Drums, in addition to brands such as Sonor, Pearl, Mapex, Tama, Gretsch and others.

On the guitar side, the store is a licensed Ibanez and Dean dealer, but could possibly announce a new partnership soon, Booth said.

Apart from the percussion offerings, Booth said the addition of guitars and other instruments has broadened the appeal for the store. He then said it's the people behind the counter and on the floor, however, who make the experience special for customers.

"I would say carrying guitars has added a good bit to us and we've also brought in a lot of used gear and consigned gear," he said. "We have Hunter Curry our percussion specialist, Carl Anthony who is our guitar sales manager and Glenn Sharp who used to own Decade Music for a little over 14 years. [Sharp] is well-recognized in the community and knows a lot about used and consigned gear and runs sound for a lot of different groups in town, so Glenn brings a lot of years of store management and knowledge to the business."

THRIVING DURING CRISIS

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has many stuck at home and looking to dabble in new hobbies, which has translated into good business for many music stores, including RSB Percussion.

Booth said for a store like RSB, many of the offerings can only be found in places like Atlanta, Memphis or Nashville.

"We really survived well through the pandemic because you have a lot of folks who are homebound," he said. "We’ve sold a lot of silent stroke drum heads. A lot of these companies make heads now that you can put on an acoustic kit that brings the volume down. Zildjian and other companies also make low-volume cymbals perfect for practice or cocktail gigs."

The biggest challenge spurred by the pandemic, according to Booth, has come in the logistics sector, with overseas manufacturers also dealing with effects of the deadly virus that has impacted nearly every walk of business.

"The COVID situation has put a damper on getting equipment," he lamented. "We have one sound manufacturer that we just can’t get anything from until probably October and some of the stuff comes from overseas and some companies that normally ship for these companies have switched their logistics over for medical and pharmaceutical supplies. You can get mad about it, but it is what it is."

Despite some workable issues as a result of the ongoing pandemic, Booth credited the support received from the Northport and Tuscaloosa communities, as well as Columbus, Mississippi, and expressed his gratitude to the local music scene in recognizing the potential for the store.

"We weathered the storm," he said. "Very responsibly, but we weathered the storm."

As the store grew, even through the pandemic, the brand remained the same and Booth said that was due to the feedback given by those doing business with RSB. While the expansion into guitars and other equipment gave management some pause in reconsidering its namesake, it was clear the RSB brand stuck out.

"We’re well-rounded now compared to when we started with just drums and percussions, so we decided to leave the name what it is because folks in this area and our national disturbers said to leave RSB," he said with a smile.

LOOKING AHEAD

Perhaps the biggest change for the store from a customer standpoint will be the new hours, with RSB previously being closed on Mondays at its former location.

Booth said the new location will now be open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. What's more, RSB will also offer a slate of classes and clinics, ranging from the beginner level to advanced.

"We’ve got Hunter Curry, who will be teaching drum lessons and we have a lesson room set up," Booth explained. "Mapex has afforded us a nice drum set to go in there and Zildjian has given us low-volume cymbals. We have a guitar room, too, and we're working on a getting an instructor."

In addition to classes, RSB also plans to announce some bigger events coming up that will feature nationally-recognized artists, with one possibly in mid-September.

"I know we’re planning one in October, but mid-September we will probably have an artist come in," Booth said. "We’ve got some nice national acts that are going to come in and showcase some drums and guitars, so it should be great."