“I live a simple life, I have no desire to make all my profit from one person. If a customer leaves happy, that’s enough for me.”
Foundations
Meet Dave. Born in Downey, Idaho, and grew up around Kaysville and Layton, Utah. Life back then was simple. Family mattered. Faith mattered. Hard work mattered. That steady rhythm shaped him long before he understood music, long before he ever picked up a bass guitar. The foundations of a meaningful life are often formed in ordinary, quiet places.
Dave got married in 1970 just as the Vietnam War weighed heavily on the country. Not long after, he was drafted. He recalls that his draft number was 44, and they said if you were below 80, you were going, and he went. He served three years in the United States Air Force. When he returned home, he and his wife moved back to Layton where he worked in a paint shop until it closed.
His father-in-law who was living in Rock Springs during the booming years suggested they move there due to the availability of jobs. Though uncomfortable moving from a place you are familiar into uncertainty, Dave took the opportunity to move, and he found steady work here which provided for his family; something he was grateful for.
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Responsibility may not always be glamorous, and come with sacrifices, but those sacrifices are the catalyst for stability, character, and gratitude.
Discovering Music
Music had always been in the background of Dave’s life. His mother played the accordion and piano. He remembers growing up gathered with other children around her to sing as she played. But he never thought about playing himself until third grade, where he willingly without much thought volunteered to perform in a Christmas program despite never having touched a piano. When he told his mother, she was surprised he chose to do that without any foundation or prior desire to play. She taught him his first song on the piano; Silent Night.
That moment became a pivotal point in Dave’s music career. For the first time, music wasn’t just around him; he felt it was part of who he was.
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Growth often begins the moment we open ourselves to step into something we may not yet be ready for, but yet have the desire to experiment. Through such bravery, vulnerability, and experimentation do we discover our gifts and who we are and can become. Life often presents us with opportunities to expand, and our courage to lean in becomes the catalyst for self-discovery.
Finding His Sound
As he grew older, Dave fell in love with Motown; “the groove” as he described the sound. The Temptations, The Four Tops, Diana Ross, and The Supremes grabbed his attention, especially the base. He didn’t know who played bass on those records; he just knew he loved the sound. Later he learned much of that groove came from James Jamerson. From that point on, Dave knew the bass was his instrument and something he wanted to do forever.
About 15 or 16 years old, he signed up for bass lessons at the local music store in his hometown. He remembers walking in and feeling something more than a place of business. It felt like a possibility. It felt inviting. The owners treated him with warmth and encouragement. He felt like he belonged. His teacher, seeing his passion and hard work, connected him with a couple of kids who needed a bass player. Dave remembers spending hours playing, learning, and growing alongside those kids.
Somewhere in those moments, a quiet idea formed; not of profit or monetary gains, but a desire to create an atmosphere like the local music store he goes to. One day, he thought, it would be neat to create a place that made others feel the way he felt walking into that store.
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Life often brings places and people our way for a reason. The way those people or places make us feel often shapes who we become and how we choose to treat others.
Creating a Place to Belong
Years later, before retiring from the power plant, Dave turned that dream into reality. He opened a small music store in the Plaza Mall in Rock Springs. Though modest in size, he built it around the same welcoming experience that inspired him as a young musician. Over time, the store expanded and eventually moved into its current location on North Front Street in 1995.
Dave is the first to admit he does not know everything about running a business. But one thing he knows for certain is this: “You’re supposed to be nice to people.” That philosophy has shaped both his business and his life. Money, he says, matters because it keeps the doors open. But it has never been the point; “People are.” When customers walk into his store, he treats them the way he was once treated; welcomed, encouraged, and valued. If he does not have something in stock, he will find it. Sometimes he even takes a small loss to make sure a customer leaves happy. “I live a simple life,” he says. “I have no desire to make all my profit from one person. If a customer leaves happy, that’s enough for me.”
His goal is not accumulation. It is contribution.
Deep down, he wants to serve other musicians, support the community, and create a place where people, especially young musicians, could walk in, learn, play, and feel that they matter. Jokingly, he said one of the main reasons he opened the store was to be able to get his band equipment cheap and be able to work on his craft.
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True success is not measured by what we accumulate but by what we contribute. When work becomes an act of service, profit becomes a byproduct rather than the purpose.
A Simpler Measure of Success
Some of Dave’s siblings have built large businesses and travel extensively. He admires them and their ambition. But for him, life is quieter. He enjoys repairing guitars, teaching lessons, playing music, and helping others discover their own sound. With a smile, he says that “a drive to Superior to see the ice caves is enough for me, I personally do not need to travel around the world or live a luxurious life to feel whole”. Dave believes success is not about chasing something bigger. It is about finding what you love and allowing it to serve others.
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Fulfillment does not come solely from ambition. It comes from living in harmony with who you are and allowing your gifts to make someone else’s life better.
Lessons from Music
Music has taught Dave far more than chords and timing. It has taught him how to live. When asked what advice he would give from his journey, he answered without hesitation: “If you want to grow, play with people who are better than you. But if someone isn’t at your level, be kind and help them grow. And if you’re serious about anything, practice, practice, practice.”
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Growth requires humility, generosity, and discipline. We become better when we learn from those ahead of us and help those coming behind us.
Treat Her Right
The day of our conversation also happened to be Dave and his wife’s fifty-fifth wedding anniversary. When I asked him for marriage advice, he smiled and kept it simple, he stated, “There’s a song called Treat Her Right. That’s it. Treat her right. Support her. Build her up. And most importantly, give yourself fully to her and the relationship.”
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Love is not sustained through perfection. It grows through awareness, consistency, kindness, and the daily decision to honor another person’s humanity.
Keeping Life in Tune
Dave believes life does not have to be complicated. For him, life is like a guitar. If you tighten the strings too much, they snap. If you never tune them, they drift out of harmony. But when you keep them balanced, tuned, steady, and cared for, they create beautiful music.
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Be kind to yourself and others.
Discover what you love and work hard at it.
Allow your gifts to serve something larger than yourself.
And most importantly, treat people right.
Keep Life in Tune.
