10 OCTOBER 23-29, 2025 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | mandolin alongside multi-instrumentalist C.P. Meyer, guitarist Adam Thompson and bassist Andy Blaylock, “and since everybody has good, honest day jobs, we don’t have to worry about making money.” Windy Pines’ debut album, Under the Mountain, is available on the cheek- ily monikered Mystery Moose Records; its record-release party at Rollinsville’s Howlin Wind Brewing & Blending took place on Sep- tember 13, less than a month before the fi re. The inferno didn’t just wipe out Armit- age’s axes. A number of other folks had instruments on consignment, including his old OME Banjos pal Chuck Ogsbury. “Un- fortunately, Chuck had a bunch of banjos in the store when it burned down,” he reveals. “I fully intend to pay him back for those instruments, along with anyone else who had instruments on consignment with us.” Working out those particulars will take a while, since Armitage and Hardt are cur- rently in the midst of navigating the thorny world of insurance. Brightwood Music was fully covered, and thus far, Hardt says that the process is going well. She’s hopeful that everyone will eventually be made whole, but the future remains hazy. “Right now, we can’t determine what our next steps are – if we want to open up again pretty quickly [in another location] or what exactly we want to do,” she concedes. “What- ever the capacity is, we have options. But we can’t make any decisions until we know more. We’re in the fi rst step of a thousand.” In the meantime, Armitage and Hardt have been fl oored by the outpouring of com- passion and concern that’s been coming their way. “Everywhere we go, whether it’s a meeting about this with other tenants of the shopping center or going out to dinner or to a bluegrass pick, everybody has been so incredibly supportive,” Hardt says. “We’ve heard from people we’ve never met before, people all over the country.” “To me, it’s awesome, and it’s fl abbergast- ing that we’ve affected so many people,” Armitage adds. “It’s absolutely amazing.” Such kindness helps offset Armitage’s melancholy over the loss of items that can’t be replaced, including “a violin that belonged to my great-grand uncle. He was with the Berlin Philharmonic, and he left Germany when Hitler came to power – and when he died, he left that instrument to me,” he notes. Another story of loss has a happier end- ing. “A very, very good customer of mine who’s been a customer for many years – Dave Barry, just like the writer – has bought many mandolins from me over the years. Years ago, when I got the Eastman line of mandolins and guitars, I got two of these wonderful mandolins. One was for me, and after I played it for Dave, he got the other one. I played that mandolin professionally for the last ten years, but it went up in the fi re. After that, we went to the pick at the Howlin Wind, and he brought his instru- ment to me with the case and the pickup I recommended and gave it to me. I couldn’t believe it. I just showed up to say hi to my friends. It just shows how incredibly kind people have been since this happened.” Email the author at [email protected]. News continued from page 8
