THE T-SHIRT CLUB
FOR GUITARISTS
FEATURED SHOP OF THE MONTH
DECEMBER 2023
DAVE'S
GUITAR SHOP
At the age of 12, Dave Rogers was instantly hooked on guitars, thanks to his older brother who played guitar in a local band. One of Dave’s first jobs was at a local music store, which unfortunately went out of business, and when he applied for jobs at other music stores, no one would hire him because he only knew about guitars. So, in 1982, he did what anyone with a love of guitars and a personal collection would do -- he rented a 400 square foot space in a vacant dental office in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and Dave’s Guitar Shop was born!
The first 17 guitars displayed in Dave’s Guitar Shop were from his personal collection. He took every dime he made and invested in more guitars, and “didn’t even draw a paycheck from the business for at least the first five years.” Fun Fact: The first guitar Dave ever sold was a Les Paul Junior to Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen! Since then, Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), Joe Walsh (Eagles), Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam), Vince Gill, Faith Hill, members of Pink Floyd and Def Leppard have all become customers. A 1954 custom Gibson Les Paul was even sold to Eric Clapton, one of Dave’s personal heroes.
The shop, now in its fourth decade, is one of the largest independently owned guitar stores in the Midwest, with over 21,000 square feet and over 2500 guitars in stock, including Fender, Gibson, PRS, Hamer, Rickenbacker, Gretsch, Ibanez, G&L, Victoria, Vox, Peavy, Matchless, Crate, Savage, Ultrasound, Martin, McPherson, Larrivee, Taylor, Guild, and more!
Dave’s own '57 Fender custom color Taos Turquoise Stratocaster kickstarted the dream of the shop -- and you can see it -- and over 500 vintage guitars from his personal collection (including a 1959 flame topped Gibson Les Paul) in The Museum Collection on the second floor of the building. Thanks to this incredible reference of historical guitars, and technicians with over 50 years of shared experience, Dave’s repair and restoration department remains one of the finest.
Visit Dave’s Music Shop for a jaw-dropping experience and to explore a remarkable collection of musical history!
