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Ramona Music Center finds a new home but keeps the same vibe
Grand opening slated for April 12
Ramona Music Center's John Hasz
“If I hadn’t broken that string, we might not be married today,” says Cat Curry Hasz of her husband Jon. “I went in to Ramona Music Center [previously known as Blue Horse Music] in high school, after breaking a guitar string at band practice. Jon and I met and became close friends for six years before realizing best friends make great significant others.”
Today, Jon is still married to Cat, and still running his business with co-owner Todd Allen. Just not in the same spot where the couple met. Says Jon, “After 27 years of music in that building, the owners sold it and the new landlords had a new vision for the property, so we set off on our search for a new home in October 2024.”
He says that Ramona's main drag still feels very reminiscent of the classic small town Main Street," and he's glad for the new town sign, but he acknowledges that "while we have a range of wonderful, new wineries and restaurants in Ramona, a lot of the empty buildings have not found new tenants after 2020."
“The store moved a few blocks east down Main Street, so they are serving the same community,” says Cat. “But now they have new neighbors, and they're closer to some of Ramona’s most popular music venues, like Reds Whites and Brews, Pamo Winery, and Ramona Family Naturals.” (Not all of the new neighbors are bipedal. “They also include an opossum, raccoon and small crowd of cats we are all desperately trying to bribe into a lifelong friendship.”)
So far, the advantages of relocating seem to outweigh the hassle. As Jon explains, “While the change and shuffling can be frustrating, we are excited about all the possibilities with this new location. We are closer to the Old Town section of Ramona, which hosts more community events, things like the yearly tree lighting and car shows. We have new, taller ceilings, which make the space feel bigger, and which will have a great impact on the sound of our recording studio. We also had the chance to work on the layout to make sure that it is set up best for our needs, rather than adapting to an existing floor plan.”
One thing that hasn't changed: Ramona Music Center still isn’t your typical big box music store. If anything, it offers more modes of personal expression, things like classes on designing and building your own guitar pedal. “We are planning on a big anniversary grand opening event mid-April [12]," says Jon. Perhaps the Hasz’s band, The Beard and The Bird, will be performing. “We are also working scheduling a series of masterclasses, sales, and group classes to bring new eyes into the space.”
Though leaving behind the spot where their life partnership began is a mite melancholy, there are plenty of memories that will surely prove portable. “I always loved getting to meet the touring acts that came through town to play the Ramona Mainstage,” says Jon. “It was fun getting to do quick repairs for Ace Frehley and Powerman 5000 just hours before they were set to perform, and work on historic instruments from other legendary artists. But I think my favorite run-in was with our cable rep. He came through monthly, but on this particular occasion, I was busy with customers, and he had to burn some time. So he grabbed a guitar and started shredding. After I finished my conversation with customers, I walked over and said, ‘Man you can really play. I hope you get discovered!’ He smiled and said thank you and moved on to our business.
"Months later, we had run out of cables, and I called him to make an order, but he said, ‘I’m about to get on stage so I can call you back tomorrow if that’s ok.’ I said, ‘ ‘Oh, I didn’t know you had a band’ and he responded with ‘I wrote "Cherry Pie" when I was 16’ and chuckled. I had no idea this whole time that he [guitarist Erik Turner] was a founding member of the band Warrant. You never know who is going to walk through the door.”
Here's something you might be interested in.
Ramona Music Center finds a new home but keeps the same vibe
Grand opening slated for April 12
Ramona Music Center finds a new home but keeps the same vibe
Grand opening slated for April 12
Ramona Music Center's John Hasz
“If I hadn’t broken that string, we might not be married today,” says Cat Curry Hasz of her husband Jon. “I went in to Ramona Music Center [previously known as Blue Horse Music] in high school, after breaking a guitar string at band practice. Jon and I met and became close friends for six years before realizing best friends make great significant others.”
Today, Jon is still married to Cat, and still running his business with co-owner Todd Allen. Just not in the same spot where the couple met. Says Jon, “After 27 years of music in that building, the owners sold it and the new landlords had a new vision for the property, so we set off on our search for a new home in October 2024.”
He says that Ramona's main drag still feels very reminiscent of the classic small town Main Street," and he's glad for the new town sign, but he acknowledges that "while we have a range of wonderful, new wineries and restaurants in Ramona, a lot of the empty buildings have not found new tenants after 2020."
“The store moved a few blocks east down Main Street, so they are serving the same community,” says Cat. “But now they have new neighbors, and they're closer to some of Ramona’s most popular music venues, like Reds Whites and Brews, Pamo Winery, and Ramona Family Naturals.” (Not all of the new neighbors are bipedal. “They also include an opossum, raccoon and small crowd of cats we are all desperately trying to bribe into a lifelong friendship.”)
So far, the advantages of relocating seem to outweigh the hassle. As Jon explains, “While the change and shuffling can be frustrating, we are excited about all the possibilities with this new location. We are closer to the Old Town section of Ramona, which hosts more community events, things like the yearly tree lighting and car shows. We have new, taller ceilings, which make the space feel bigger, and which will have a great impact on the sound of our recording studio. We also had the chance to work on the layout to make sure that it is set up best for our needs, rather than adapting to an existing floor plan.”
One thing that hasn't changed: Ramona Music Center still isn’t your typical big box music store. If anything, it offers more modes of personal expression, things like classes on designing and building your own guitar pedal. “We are planning on a big anniversary grand opening event mid-April [12]," says Jon. Perhaps the Hasz’s band, The Beard and The Bird, will be performing. “We are also working scheduling a series of masterclasses, sales, and group classes to bring new eyes into the space.”
Though leaving behind the spot where their life partnership began is a mite melancholy, there are plenty of memories that will surely prove portable. “I always loved getting to meet the touring acts that came through town to play the Ramona Mainstage,” says Jon. “It was fun getting to do quick repairs for Ace Frehley and Powerman 5000 just hours before they were set to perform, and work on historic instruments from other legendary artists. But I think my favorite run-in was with our cable rep. He came through monthly, but on this particular occasion, I was busy with customers, and he had to burn some time. So he grabbed a guitar and started shredding. After I finished my conversation with customers, I walked over and said, ‘Man you can really play. I hope you get discovered!’ He smiled and said thank you and moved on to our business.
"Months later, we had run out of cables, and I called him to make an order, but he said, ‘I’m about to get on stage so I can call you back tomorrow if that’s ok.’ I said, ‘ ‘Oh, I didn’t know you had a band’ and he responded with ‘I wrote "Cherry Pie" when I was 16’ and chuckled. I had no idea this whole time that he [guitarist Erik Turner] was a founding member of the band Warrant. You never know who is going to walk through the door.”