I love our historic Tempe neighborhood and our eclectic neighbors. Located just west of the ASU main campus and Gammage auditorium, we’re within walking distance of the university and downtown Tempe, offering endless opportunities for live music and dining.

I purchased our home on W 15th Street in 1980 not long after graduating from ASU. In 1990 we remodeled, adding several music rooms for our first record and stereo business, The Vinyl Valet. Over the years, a small sampling of distinguished neighbors were the Gin Blossoms, Meat Puppets, The Elliots, Walt Richardson and Roger Cline and the Peacemakers, originally The Refreshments. We also have world class recording studios, poets, craftsmen, artists, pinball wizards, professors, musicians, music teachers, an ad agency owner, a master mason, a studio designer, contractors, engineers, machinists but no lawyers or politicians that I’m aware of. We love our neighbors!

The ASU School of Music is right next to Gammage with free musical performances of a variety of genres in their various, acoustically excellent small concert halls. The icing on the cake is the Organ Hall, housing a custom built Fritts pipe organ. The acoustically perfect hall was specifically built around this organ. The Christmas program is a yearly favorite of ours. Anyone that loves music and perfect sound needs to experience the ASU Organ Hall.

Another wonderful musical experience within walking distance is the Tempe Center for the Arts, located on the shores of beautiful Tempe Town Lake. Whether you love classical, jazz, blues, folk, world or rock, the TCA has it all. Our friend, Woody Wilson, has done an excellent job curating and running the Lakeshore Music Series, a must for valley jazz lovers. The facility also houses an art gallery supporting local artists. The free Performance With A View series hosts ASU guest artists from a variety of disciplines. Freda is board president of the Friends of the TCA, so not mentioning this wonderful facility would lead to marital difficulty.

Yes, there is so much to see and do in our neighborhood but the best part is our wonderfully eclectic neighbors. The main purpose of this section is to highlight the many skills and small businesses within this small section of NW Tempe. Of course the focus is on music and sound but I also want to list all the other unique skills that can be found all around us.