THE EARLY DAYS
The 70's:
Music Villa was originally called "Joos' Music Villa" and the first location was in the old IGA parking lot (now Pricerite & Universal). Armina Joos and her husband were the owners. In the late 70's they moved down the street to 615 N. 7th (where Re-Compute is now). Armina's daughter Cheryl married and her and Ron Greenig purchased the store. They dropped the Joos' part of the name and moved to 7th & Main where Sweet Peaks Ice Cream shop is now.
Fred Decker ERA:
1980:
Fred Decker decided to start playing guitar again and started a band called SGT. ROCK. He didn't even own a guitar. Every weekend he'd come to Music Villa to rent a guitar and a PA System. After several months of this Ron said to Fred, "Why don't you just buy all this stuff already!? … in fact, why don't you buy the whole store?" In December 1981 Fred went to the bank and wrote up a buy-sell. They inventoried on the weekend and hashed out a price. Fred handed them a check on Monday morning and took the keys.
Fred inherited two employees, Tom McMail and Robi Johns. Fred's first day as owner was during the dead of winter with not a soul in sight. Later that afternoon a boy walked over from Wilson school to buy some valve oil. Fred was excited to get his first dollar to frame. It was 75 cents, and wouldn't you know it, the kid pulled out three quarters. Fred eventually received that first dollar and framed it.
1982-1999:
The Deckers owned the building at 34 West Main so Fred quickly moved the business there by April of 1982. It was a small but bustling little full service shop. They even expanded to add rock n' roll-style clothing and for several years Music Villa used two store fronts, one for 'Fred's Threads' (where the Root is currently). The clothing side was closed in 1990. During this era, a young Paul Decker was quietly vacuuming in the background.
A DECKER TRANSITION:
After touring with his band for a few years, Paul decided he wanted to jump back into the family business. In 1997, he started pushing for a bigger building. He found the old Army Navy building (the current location) in 1999. After the Winter NAMM Show in January of 2000 Music Villa officially changed its mailing address to 539 E. Main and had everything shipped to the new store. The store was filling up with inventory, but was still under construction. After many late nights, the new location celebrated its Grand Opening on May 7th, 2000.
Paul Decker ERA
2000-present:
The new location was also the beginning of a new era for Music Villa. Paul bought out his dad and took over full ownership. This May we celebrate 20 years in the current location and the store is looking better than ever, thanks to Paul's vision. Our music community continues to thrive and we're happy to remain your hometown locally owned and operated music store!
