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Band Mates Still Keep The Beat

Kevin Howe, for the Tribune

Henri, second from left, and Herb deRochemont, left, and Russ Magee, right, are the co-owners of Hoo Doo Music, 12302 Balm-Riverview Road, which opened in early January. Russ's wife Balinda Magee, second from right, manages the store.

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By SUSAN M. GREEN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 16, 2008

Updated: 02/14/2008 07:11 pm

RIVERVIEW - They started out painting buildings and picking guitars together, and now a group of longtime friends has opened a music store in Riverview, possibly the first in the area.

"Riverview needed a music store," said Balinda Magee, co-owner of Hoo Doo Music, whose husband, Russell, is a former rock band member. The shop opened in early January and already has a regular clientele, Magee said, including customers from Apollo Beach and Ruskin.

"People thank us when they come in," she said. "They say, 'We used to drive too far to get the little things.'"

She said longtime Riverview residents have told her they can't remember another music store opening in the community.

The Magees, of Riverview, teamed up with Henri and Herb deRochemont, two brothers from Brandon, to open their business in a 900-square-foot former hair salon on Balm-Riverview Road, next to the Life Saver convenience store. They figure their closest competitors are in Brandon and Tampa.

The three men, also commercial and residential painters, met about 12 years ago on a job in Sun City Center and discovered their mutual passion for the guitar. They formed a band and named it "Hoo Doo" after a reference to the "hoodoo rhythm devils" in a song by the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy.

The deRochemonts said they had been in bands for more than 20 years but got tired of lugging equipment to clubs and parties.

"I've been in everything from hard rock to country," Herb deRochemont said.

"My rock star days are over," his brother quipped. "What musician would not want to own a music store?"

Balinda Magee is a former buyer for a company that sells uniforms. She orders merchandise and runs the store by day, while her husband and the deRochemonts continue working as painters until the business gets off the ground.

Electric guitars with names like "Classic Ax," "Warlock" and "Black Widow" line one wall of the store. There are differences in quality according to the manufacturer, Magee said, but the shapes don't really affect the sound. They just help budding musicians emulate the performer they like best.

What customers buy, Magee said, "depends on what rock star they're into."

The store also carries acoustic guitars, drum sets, keyboards, amplifiers and numerous accessories, from strings and tuners to picks and polish.

Magee, who has two teenage sons who play guitar and keyboards, said Hoo Doo plans to cater mostly to youngsters who are just taking up music or trying to get garage bands together for practice.

"They come in and say, "We're getting ready for our gig,'" Magee said. "It's so fun to watch them. They get that stardust in their eyes."

She said Hoo Doo has already staged an event to encourage budding bands to play in front of an audience and plans to offer another in March.

The store does not have space to offer lessons but can refer customers to teachers in the area, Magee said. Musicians and teachers are welcome to post notices on a bulletin board at the front of the store. In time, Magee said, the partners want to offer lessons and instrument maintenance.

Walt Vickers of Riverview, who plays bass in a local band called Off the Cuff, stopped in last week with his wife, Bonnie, to check out the store.

Bonnie Vickers eyed a wall full of guitar strings and a rack of straps.

"You'll be back to buy strings and stuff," she predicted to her husband. "For him, this is his accessory place."

IF YOU GO:

WHAT: Hoo Doo Music

WHERE: 12302 1/2 Balm-Riverview Road, Riverview

HOURS: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday

INFORMATION: (813) 741-2200

Reporter Susan M. Green can be reached at (813) 865-1566 or sgreen@tampatrib.com.

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