Shivelbine gears up for start of school bands, marks two milestone anniversaries this year

Throughout Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and Northeast Arkansas, the name "Shivelbine" is synonymous with "music."

From piccolos to sousaphones and everything in between, Shivelbine music store in Cape Girardeau has been at the center of the music scene, especially at this time of year when schools -- and school bands -- begin "tuning up" for a new school year.

"School bands were the foundation of our business," explained Mike Shivelbine, who owns the business along with his brother, Greg Shivelbine, and their cousin Bill Shivelbine.

The store's roots can be traced back nearly 100 years to a local saxophone player and entrepreneur named Raymond "Peg" Meyer.

"Peg was really kind of a 'Harold Hill' kind of guy," Mike said, in reference to the fictional "Prof. Harold Hill" who convinced the townspeople of River City, Iowa, to start a "boys band" in the musical "The Music Man."

Brothers Mike, left, and Greg Shivelbine, far right, pose for a photo with their cousin, Bill Shivelbine, at Shivelbine music store May 18 in downtown Cape Girardeau.TYLER GRAEF ~ tgraef@semissourian.com

"Back in the 1920s and '30s, he would go around from town to town and talk to school superintendents, encouraging them to start band programs," Mike continued. "He would find a choir director or piano teacher or some member of the school faculty who knew a little bit about music, and he would instruct them on how to start kids on various band instruments."

Instruments Meyer would sell and service.

"He worked for a group of musicians from the St. Louis Symphony, as I understand it, and they started the St. Louis Band Instrument Co.," Mike said.

One of the people Meyer would regularly call on was the band director at Cape Girardeau Central High School, William A. Shivelbine (who, by the way, wrote the Cape Central Alma Mater). Shivelbine was the grandfather of Mike, Greg and Bill, as well as a fourth grandson, Scott, brother of Mike and Greg, who died in 2018.

"It was around 1943 or '44 that Peg and our grandfather formed a partnership, which was called M&S Music," Mike said. "That operated for a few years until, for some reason, Peg wanted out. Our grandfather bought him out and the contract shows it was 70 years ago, on Aug. 1, 1949."

A saxophone for sale is seen on a display wall at Shivelbine's music store Thursday in downtown Cape Girardeau.TYLER GRAEF ~ tgraef@semissourian.com

Not only did the store celebrate its 70th anniversary on Thursday, but this year the Shivelbines are also marking the 50-year anniversary of the store's move to its present location in a historic three-story building at 545 Broadway, which the Shivelbine family acquired in 1969.

William Shivelbine's son, Leland "Freck" Shivelbine -- Mike and Greg's father -- joined the business early on.

"And sometime around 1950, our dad asked his brother, William L. Shivelbine (Bill's father), if he would like to join him in the music store," Mike said. For many years, the next generation of Shivelbines built Shivelbine music into the region's leading source for school band instruments and other musical accessories in Southeast Missouri and parts of neighboring states.

"Bands are what has kept us afloat," Mike said, adding Shivelbine works with the music programs at about 100 school districts, many of which were fostered by "Peg" Meyer and the elder Shivelbine. Mike and Greg estimate tens of thousands of people throughout the region played in school bands over the years and used band instruments purchased or rented from Shivelbine.

"We frequently run into people who say, 'I got my band instrument from you,'" Mike said. "When you've been around 70 years, you run into that from time to time."

In the weeks leading up to the start of a school year, it's not unusual to see cases of band instruments lined up on the Shivelbine sales floor, awaiting delivery to a band director somewhere in the region. Unfortunately, because of budget cuts, some schools have had to eliminate music programs and marching bands. Greg Shivelbine estimated there are 10% or 15% fewer school bands now than there were when the number of music programs peaked 20 or 30 years ago and said another reason there are fewer music programs today than a generation ago has to do with a scarcity of music educators.

"[Southeast Missouri State University] used to produce a half-dozen band directors a year, but now it's down to two or maybe three. It's the same at [Southern Illinois University], and it seems to be that way at most other universities as well."

As he spoke, Greg looked over toward the store's sales counter where a half-dozen or so high school-aged customers were waiting in line to pick up everything from clarinet reeds to drumsticks.

"We see this a lot this time of year," he said.

One portion of Shivelbine's showroom is devoted to drums, including some with notable significance.

"We have a lot of historic instruments and memorabilia," Greg said. He pointed out several such instruments on a shelf near the front of the sales floor, including a drum case once owned by jazz drummer and bandleader Bernard "Buddy" Rich.

"This drum up here is our most iconic collectible drum," Greg said as he pointed to an antique snare drum. "It's a Ludwig 'Black Beauty' from somewhere back in the 1920s. Ed Shaughnessy from 'The Tonight Show' called us up and wanted to buy that drum right after Johnny (Carson) left the air, but obviously I didn't sell it to him because I still have it."

When the band Chicago made a tour stop in Cape Girardeau in May, the group stayed at the Marriott Courtyard two blocks from Shivelbine. That gave the band's drummer, Walfredo Reyes Jr., a chance to walk up the street to visit the store.

"He came in, taught a drum lesson and we hung out and talked a while," Greg said. "The next day, he walked back up here and hung out for a couple of hours. He was infatuated by these old drums, and I said, 'I've got some more upstairs, would you like to see them?' and he flipped out."

Greg said Reyes plans to make a return visit to the store to purchase one or more drum sets.

The family-owned business is actually split into two corporations.

"Greg and I have Shivelbine Music Inc., which is the school bands, print music, drum sets accessories and band instrument repairs," Mike explained. "Our cousin Bill's corporation is called Shivelbine Music & Sound, and he does all the combo stuff, sound system installations, keyboards, guitars, synthesizers and so forth."

In 2000, Shivelbine purchased The Band Room in Marion, Illinois, and renamed it Shivelbine's Band Room. Mike describes as a "smaller version" of the Cape Girardeau store.

"We're all one family," Mike said. "To the public, everything in here is Shivelbine Music and that's fine with us."

Bill Shivelbine's side of the business focuses on "sound designs" for churches and other large auditoriums as well as sound systems, guitars, keyboards and other equipment for professional touring musicians.

"I've gone from coast to coast ... California, North Carolina, Mississippi ... I've done church sound designs all over," Bill said, adding he "kind of fell into a niche" of designing and installing church sound systems about 20 years ago. "That's where my love has been and that's what I do more than anything."

Bill said sound system technology has come a long way over the years and has helped him improve the audio quality of worship services in churches throughout Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and parts of Western Kentucky.

"Am I an expert?" he asked. "I don't know about that. I just know I've been doing it a long time."

As for the touring bands and professionals he's worked with, Bill said he has helped outfit hundreds, even thousands of groups, from garage bands to professional touring musicians. "There's gear with groups all over the nation that came from here," he said.

Regardless of whether it's a professional musician or a youngster learning to strum chords on his or her first guitar, Bill said they all have one thing in common -- a passion and love for music.

"It's awesome to deal with people who have a common passion," he said. "And there's nobody who comes through that door who isn't passionate about music, even if they're just buying a 25-cent guitar pick. It may be just a 25-cent pick to us, but to them, it's so cool. That's exciting. That's where it all starts. The passion of the music business is awesome."

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