Paul Weinstein had come to Kaua‘i in early February to slow down on his “favorite island.” But after seeing how well Kaua‘i’s economy was doing, the fiftyish Maui-based music shop entreprenuer’s engines kicked in. Weinstein was soon convinced the time
Paul Weinstein had come to Kaua‘i in early February to slow down on his “favorite island.” But after seeing how well Kaua‘i’s economy was doing, the fiftyish Maui-based
music shop entreprenuer’s engines kicked in.
Weinstein was soon convinced the time was right for another music shop on Kaua‘i.
Within days, a lease was signed and, three weeks after, the small industrial space once housing the A&D Fencing Company in Kapa‘a had been transformed into a tightly packed music shop with over $300,000 in inventory.
Today, Bounty Music — sporting a fresh coat of aqua-marine blue paint — is arguably the best-stocked shop in town.
“This place is nuts!” exclaimed Tommy Tokioka, a local musician and recording studio owner. “We really needed something like this in Kapa‘a.”
Drawing from existing stock at his 25-year-old Maui location, Weinstein was able to quickly ship two container loads of inventory, including public address systems, DJ mixers, amps, speakers, keyboards, guitars, ukuleles, strings, claps and cables.
Business is already brisk at Bounty, and its cluttered 17,000-square foot store is rapidly thining out. Weinstein says he’s done $80,000 in business since opening last month. That’s nearly half of what he does at his more-established Maui store.
“We’d looked at coming to Kaua‘i right before Iniki,” Weinstein said. But those plans, like those of so many, were blown away by the 1992 Hurricane. “When I came back recently, I was amazed at how well the economy was doing.”
Bounty Music is aptly named. It boasts everything from a $30 ukuleles to famous-named instruments with pricey abalone inlay, hand-crafted from rich mango and koa woods.
“We tried to get a wide-variety of stuff here, so that there’s something for everyone,” Weinstein said. “When you walk in, you’ll find what you’d get in a mainland music store.”
You’ll also find things you can only find on Kaua‘i.
Synthesizers and amplifiers are packed into the store’s niches. Limited-edition Martin guitars hang in rows, priced from the hundreds to the thousands of dollars. Hanging alongside a row of moderately priced Martins signed by music legends like Eric Clapton and David Crosby is a hand-made $5,000 koa wood dreadnought, magnificently handcrafted by Kaua‘i artist Mike Sussman.
Location is everything in the retail and it’s pretty tough to beat Bounty’s prime Kuhio Highway spot. Tourists have been coming in by the droves, says Weinstein, picking up ukuleles as a souveniers, or oohing and aweing over retro-cool guitars, splashed with brightly colored beach scenes and coconuts trees.
Indeed, Bounty does between 5 to 10 percent of its business outside the state, filling internet requests from the mainland and Japan.
But it’s the local musician who may benefit the most from Bounty’s arrival to Kaua‘i.
All of Bounty’s three full and four part-time employees play some kind of instrument. For full-timer and local musician Alan Domingo, it means getting in a little paid-practice time demonstrating equipment before heading out to play local gigs with his band “Fanta-See.”
“A lot of Kaua‘i musicians have had to go to other islands to get stuff, or mail order,” Domingo said. “Now, we can get it right here.”
Bounty competes with three full-service music stores on Kaua‘i. But with a wealth of local bars and resorts offering live music to sooth the souls of weary travelers, Weinstein’s sure his will continue to fill Kaua‘i’s increasing demand.
“Hawaiian culture is so musical,” he said.”You know, the aunties teach ukulele and guitar to the kids, so it’s passed down from generations. And there are still so many lobby bars with live music.”
Bounty almost never happened. Back in 1974, Weinstein was a graduate student in Psychology at the University of Hawaii. But a trip to Kaua‘i forced a kind of a paradigm shift in his thinking, he said.
“I’d always known that I wanted to live in a rural place, and have a simpler life,” he said. Weinstein’s says he’s far happier today listening to music instead of sitting in an office all day listening to the woes of humanity.
Bounty offers equipment rental to locals and visitors, and future plans include on-site music lessons.
Bounty is located at 4-991 Kuhio Highway in Kapa‘a. For details, see http://www.bountymusic. com.
