There’s a sign hanging over the register at Dale’s Drum Shop that says, “We’d rather make friends than $$.”
It’s a mantra for the surprisingly large and extensive drum retailer tucked away in a residential neighborhood in Colonial Park. With multiple rooms filled wall-to-wall with supplies, it’s enough to make any drummer drool. What makes the shop even more interesting is its history. Founder Dale Wise was the right-hand man of legendary drummer Buddy Rich.
Rejjie Troup is the general manager at Dale’s and has been a part of it pretty much since the beginning. On a recent workday, Troup, who has a raspy voice and a horseshoe mustache, was sitting in the shop’s workroom, a narrow space lined with boxes of drumheads, sticks and countless tools. Joining him was Dale’s sales manager, Dan Grabski, a tall and skinny man with a beard and a few tattoos peeking out of his shirt.
“Basically, Dale came off the road—he was Buddy Rich’s drum tech—and started the store with two other friends of his,” Troup said. “It was down in the basement. You had to duck your head to get down in, but I remember, the first time I went in, I was amazed at how much gear he had fit into that small space.”
The shop opened in 1982, and was originally called BCR, which stood for Bluegrass, Country and Rock n’ Roll. BCR still exists today in Lemoyne, but with different ownership. Wise’s two business partners handled the guitar end of the business, and he had the drums.
Troup remembers Wise tinkering in his limited space, making everything stand out perfectly. He speaks of him with a reverent and respectful tone, but he doesn’t gush. He tells the stories of the shop’s origins with the same humbleness Wise is known for, but he still takes great pride in what they’ve accomplished.
“A lot of times, he’d sneak in at night and maybe move his stuff one or two more inches to pick up space from the other guys that were there,” he said. “They never even knew that he did it, but he knew, just like it is here now, that you have to have product and that’s why people come in.”
The shop drew customers in from near and far. Troup says that he used to make a sometimes 45-minute commute himself.
“If you bought anything else from around here, you were paying full list price,” Troup said. “Dale’s prices were, at that time, roughly 40 percent less than anyone else’s.”
In 1985, the shop moved to its current location, a renovated, two-bedroom blue house just off of Jonestown Road, behind a strip of commercial properties. Grass-lined sidewalks separate the neighboring homes from the quiet street. Most of the traffic is made up of cars going in and out of the small parking lot in front of Dale’s. A large sign in the shape of a cymbal hangs over the door.
The late-night tinkering in the original basement shop continued in the new location, where many late nights were spent renovating the house, preparing displays and getting the shop ready for customers.
“We used to spend evenings here, just like Dale used to in the old place,” Troup said. “Rearranging displays, building displays, just trying to make space for one more piece of gear. We still do it but not to that extent.”
“I remember stories, you guys would work all night, and then be like, ‘Oh, we have to open in an hour and a half!’ and then clean up and sell all day,” Grabski said. “And then you’d have to go back and do it again at night.”
Perhaps the most interesting piece of Dale’s history comes from the equipment itself. While he was on the road with Buddy Rich, Dale had amassed a collection of equipment that once belonged to the drummer.
Buddy Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Known for his innovative techniques, versatility and precision, he was heralded as one of the greatest drummers ever to have lived.
Much of the shop’s original merchandise had belonged to Rich, though Dale never advertised this fact. It was like selling a guitar that once belonged to Eddie Van Halen, or cleats that belonged to Barry Sanders, and never telling your customers.
“That’s the difference between this shop and any other shop,” Grabski said. “If it was any other shop owner, he would’ve been selling himself, saying ‘You know who I am, look at what I have,’ and Dale is the complete opposite. He wants to cut you a great deal, and it’s about you, not him.”
In keeping with the sign over the counter, customer service is first and foremost at Dale’s Drum Shop. Whether you buy a huge drum kit, a pair of sticks or nothing at all, the staff is glad you came. Grabski says the keys to their success are never being satisfied and always striving to make the shop better. It helps when your staff is made up of real-deal drummers, and better yet, real-deal drummers who are all friends.
“I think that’s what sets us apart from other retailers,” Grabski says. “At night, you’re either gigging, working on your personal equipment, or your staying here and working late. It’s not just reading out of a book and studying it. We’re actually into it and interested in it for our own needs and know it for our customers.”
This small, close-knit team takes pride in the shop they work in, literally day and night. It’s a family affair, and, when you’re at Dale’s, you are a part of it.
“This isn’t just a hobby for us,” Troup said. “This supports a lot of families. We care about the gear we sell, and we care about the people buying it. I think that’s what keeps us getting better.”
Dale’s Drum Shop is located at 4440 Fritchey St., Harrisburg. For more information, call 717-652-2466 or visit www.dalesdrumshop.com.
