Dave Holmes: Owner
I started Audio Emporium in 1977 because I love music and the gear that makes it. It’s always been great fun, but it reached a new level for me in 2006.
My right hand man, Mike Scott, died, shockingly/unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm we didn’t even know he had. Mike and I were about the same age and had talked about taking lessons (piano for me, guitar for Mike) for a few years. I wanted to get closer to Chopin. Mike wanted to get closer to Eric Clapton. We had talked about pushing each other in pursuit of playing, instead of just listening.
When Mike died, I was out of excuses. I’ve been taking piano lessons ever since from the
ever patient Marlene Cook in Shorewood. I’ll never be any good at playing the piano. Yet there’s no better way to understand and appreciate Chopin, Mozart, LVB, Schumann etc.
A highly resolving audio system can clearly depict a great pro bringing out the melody more beautifully by weighting the top finger on the right hand. A fine player can reveal a left hand melody of its own, at a subdued level, to augment the main melody. Just listen to the last movement of Schumann’s Papillons. It’s only a minute and a half long. It’s all there in state of the art quality by Marc Andre Hamelin on Hyperion. Or, you might consider the more contemplative interpretation by my buddy, Wilhelm Kempff on DG.
I enjoy the journey of learning the piano and sharing the passion of music with AE customers. While classical piano is my first love, female singers are close behind. I also have a zeal for the monster that is the Hammond B3.
My father had Alzheimer’s by age 70. There’s still no medicine that helps forestall it. Hence I’ve been following the advice of gerontologists- stay fit. I run about 4 miles every day and memorize the piano pieces I’m learning. You only run and play piano on the days that you eat.