By LAURA QUEZADA News Review Staff Writer– Earlier this month, on August 10, Open Jam Night returned to Moe’s Music, fulfilling a promise made to the community that Moe’s traditions would continue when Britta and Jordan Covert took over ownership a little over a year ago. The Coverts had planned an Open Jam for July 2023 but learned they needed to delay while getting their new owner’s business license.
“As far as we knew, we were just getting the final ducks in place to be ready to do everything. And then we were told in the week leading up to the event that ‘you’re not cleared to do events,’ as far as city and county are concerned,” explains Jordan. “It was a more complicated process than we thought,” adds Britta.
The inspection process turned out to be lengthy to schedule. “We kept trying to schedule stuff with conversations with people, and every conversation led to ‘You’ve got to talk to this other person,’” Jordan said. Eventually, Britta says, “We learned that to host large events, there are some changes that will need to be made to the building.” The primary concerns were around safety issues and Americans with Disability Act (ADA) requirements.
Britta tells us, “I posted to a local Facebook page asking for contractors and engineers who could help us with the project of upgrading our building so that we could be a safe and accessible venue for lots of people like we want. And somebody took it upon herself to find out what the building codes actually were and what we could do now. She said, ‘Hey guys, you can have events of up to 50 people now, if you just get a fire inspection.’ And so, it seems we could schedule one. That’s what we did.”
Musicians and music lovers turned out for the return of Open Jam. Singer/Songwriter John Ritchie volunteered to man the door and spent the evening counting heads to make sure there were only 49 people in the room. Ritchie tells us, “I have been a part of Moe’s since Moxie days (Moxie was the previous incarnation of Moe’s) and helping Elizabeth Westmoreland build up Moxie and then watching it turn over to Davey and Ashley (Jones), who I had never met in my life until that day, and then helping them get to where they were going, and then helping them through the move from Balsam to Ridgecrest Boulevard. It’s a family. I’ll tell you that it’s a family.”
“This is great to see Moe’s is back. I mean, it was a big deal for a lot of people and when it went away, there were a lot of unhappy people. It’s very cool,” remarked Tom “Kruncy” Rindt, musician for The WAZ. Lead singer for The Black Heartstrings, Kenneth Ramone, said, “I am very excited. It’s been a long time coming. It was one of those events that brought people in the music community together, and now it’s back and running.” Moe’s has special significance for this musician, “I’m in The Black Heartstrings, and we all met here in Open Jam, like we were just learning, we were starting out, musicians just starting out, and then we all came together through a common love for music, the same type of music.”
Open Mics and Open Jams are a place for novice musicians to find their musical voice. Ben Covert, brother of owner Jordan, tells us, “I’m a vocalist. I’m not quite clear on where I’m gonna be going, but this is gonna help determine. I’ve been in a couple of plays at Burroughs High School drama, and I’ve also been in choir for most of my teenage life, so I have been focusing on the vocal aspects of performing.”
In a town that is starved for live music venues, musicians are grateful that Moe’s Open Jam Night is back and Moe’s is open for live music events. The slogan for the movie Field of Dreams can fit Moe’s, “If you build it, they will come.” Monday nights will be occupied by Jeff Welsh’s songwriting course, “Sierra Songwriters Showcase.” For several Thursday nights this summer, Christ the King Anglican Church were in the house singing sacred music. September will see more Open Jams and on September 13 Less Than Perfect will perform to celebrate their lead singer’s birthday. John Ritchie will open for the band.
There are more hoops to jump through before Moe’s can have more than 50 folks in attendance. Britta says, “The main things are a sprinkler system and an ADA accessible bathroom. We have exits on both sides of the building. Doors open outward. There’s lots of space.”
However, the record/music store part of the business is doing well. Asked what the biggest seller is, there isn’t a definitive answer. Britta offers, “Instrument supplies are a pretty reliable seller-cables, capos…” Jordan adds, “There are days where we have one kid who wants to buy a reed, and that’s our business for the day. It’s not very common, but that happens.” Britta adds, “Then the next day, three people will buy guitars.” “It varies quite a bit,” Jordan interjects. “Guitar, acoustic guitar supplies, like strings and stuff and capos, those tend to be fairly popular because of the DIY musician culture that we have in Ridgecrest.” Britta clarifies, “There’s a lot of acoustic singer/songwriters.”
And yes, there are vinyl albums, CDs, cassettes (all new or used), T-shirts, and their new tongue-in-cheek orange baseball caps branded “Make Moe’s Great Again.” Sarcasm definitely intended. “I would like to highlight that we do have a lot of supplies for band and orchestra instruments,” emphasizes Jordan. “We also have a lot of sheet music. We’ve been stepping up our game, we actually have everything that the band uses for their literature-the high school band, middle school bands. We have everything that they use. We have most of the things that the middle school orchestras use, and we have lots of piano literature.
“We also have, mouthpieces, ligatures, stuff for wind instruments, stuff for string instruments. We carry a lot of that stuff. So feel free to stop by and see if we have what you need. And if we don’t have it, then we can order it, or we can tell you where to find it.”
You can find Moe’s Music on social media platforms or you can drop by at 207 W Ridgecrest Blvd., Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to 7pm closed for lunch 12 – 2:30 pm
