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by Craig Smith
Tonewood & Courage, a destination music shop and performance space, is open at 1300 First Street, #212 in Downtown Napa (next door to Deuces Market and a few doors west of Kitchen Door). Anyone who plays music will understand the “Tonewood” half of the name: a family of woods such as spruce, maple, cedar and others that enhance the acoustic property of the instruments. As for “Courage”? Creative spirits will appreciate that one.
“Anybody, whether a musician or an artist who decides to give up everything else and pursue their art, knows that doing so takes a lot of courage,” said Brian Courtney, a musician himself and the owner of Tonewood & Courage. Courtney walks the talk – when he was twenty, he announced to his parents that he was going to support himself as a musician. A year later, after finishing college, he packed up his belongings and moved from Chicago to L.A. to pursue his dream. He enjoyed a successful career as a bass player that lasted twenty-five years.
“Ironically, I would have been a guitar player and always wanted to be, but my parents bought my first guitar when I was eleven. They meant well, but it was a really bad instrument.” How bad? “When my guitar teacher heard it, he said, ‘You’ll never be able to learn anything on that.’ The only way I could get out of it was to switch to playing bass, which, fortunately, I fell in love with.” Courtney cautions well-intended gift buyers from going it alone when buying a guitar. “You should always talk to people who know guitars before buying one. You can buy a good guitar for under a couple hundred dollars, but do yourself a favor and talk to an expert.”
So why open a store? “When my wife and I decided to move to Napa, we wanted to be a deeper part of the community. We love wine and I pursued wine education, but when Napa’s only music store closed, we knew this was it.” Stringed instrumentalists will be able to get everything they need at Tonewood & Courage. “We’ll be Americana guitar focused.” Visitors can expect to find over 100 guitars in inventory, including Martin and Taylor guitars, as well as some higher end brands. ”We’ll also have some fun, one-of-a-kind pieces, such as something from luthier Bryan Galloup. It’s a guitar and chair that matches Frank Lloyd Wright’s ‘The Mission.’ The guitar hangs on the side of the chair and a drawer opens to a decanter. It’s been in a number of museums, but when Galloup heard what we are doing, he said I had to have it.”
Just as important to Courtney is that Tonewood & Courage is a performance spot. Courtney has a degree in recording engineering and said, “The general contractor who built out the store has built a number of recording studios. He really knew what he was doing.” The first artist to perform in the new space was Will Evans out of Rhode Island. “All night, people were telling me that this was the best sounding room in Napa. They also loved the intimacy of being right on the floor with the performer. That’s exactly what I wanted, and my wife told me I had a huge smile on my face all night.” Courtney spent a lot of years playing in Nashville, and going forward will bring in high-end players who can do master classes, or just play and have fun. He’ll also invite local musicians to perform. “The plan is to do something one night during the week and on Fridays and Saturdays.” The store has a full liquor license and offers San Francisco based Del Popolo pizzas. If this sounds like an emerging plan, it is. “We want to be flexible enough to respond to what the community wants.”
Courtney was a self-proclaimed jazz nerd in high school, playing piano and the upright bass. “Our school had an amazing music program. We actually wore Letterman jackets.” After a few years in L.A., he left for Nashville and became a country musician. “It was kind of funny in our family. I was into jazz but my parents were country music fans. They may have been the only ones in Chicago.” He played constantly, and knew the bass part to hundreds of songs. “I was the guy a band would call when something happened to their bass player. I could walk onstage without rehearsing.” He said his claim to fame was, “Playing with Ken Mellons, and opening for Billy Ray Cyrus.”
Courtney met his wife, Debby, when he was playing at Shoreline. She was in publishing, and helped him migrate to that industry. He originally sold ads for magazines, including Guitar Player, Bass Player and Keyboard Player. He was promoted to publisher, and was the youngest person in their history to perform that roll. He “retired” from that and move into book publishing with Too Far Media, which often took him to England.
He and Debby bought a second home in Napa in 2010, and moved into it in 2022. Their son is a music production major at Belmont College in Nashville, and their daughter is a third -year sociology major at Sussex in Brighton, England. They love Napa, and are here to stay.
Tonewood & Courage will be a magnet for string musicians in Napa, as well as for people who want to enjoy casual, top quality performances. Non-musicians who are interested in what goes on in the world of performance music will have fly-on-the-wall chance to hear stories from people who made a living on stage.
Tonewood & Courage is open seven days a week Whether you are a musician, support a musician or just plain like listening to music, stop in – you won’t be disappointed.
tonewoodandcourage.comTonewood & Courage | 1300 First Street #212 in Downtown Napa
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