After tragedy, a new tune in Rosemount

Standing in his new shop of bright blue walls and gleaming guitars, complete with a psychedelic image of Jimi Hendrix, Brad Wegner bears no resemblance to the banker he once was.

Though he's only been out of the banking business for five years, Wegner's entire life is nothing like it used to be.

Gone is the banker's suit. In its place is a T-shirt bearing the sleek logo of downtown Rosemount's newest business, The Guitar Shop.

Spurred by his love of music and passion for guitars, Wegner opened the shop in April, providing a store and hangout he thinks local musicians are craving. He sells guitars and equipment, offers lessons and does repairs. At 53, the Rosemount man is living his dream and hopes to help local musicians do the same.

While life is good now, the road to opening the new shop began with tragedy.

In 2007, Wegner was on his was to his banking job in Jordan when he received a call from his daughter, then 5. "She said, 'Mommy can't get out of bed.'" He rushed home to take her to the emergency room.

Doctors found she had cancer, and it was too late. "It had started in her breast and spread through her body," he said. "Her liver was completely covered... She was dead in 30 days."

Wegner left his job to be with his two children that summer. "But that was in 2007 and the economy tanked in 2007," he said. What was originally going to be a summer hiatus turned into five years of being a stay-at-home dad. When he was ready to go back to work, he decided banking was out of the question.

"So I thought, what do I love to do? Play guitar."

He started searching for guitar repair schools and found one of the best in Red Wing. After completing the program, Wegner decided he might handle some small repairs out of his garage.

"Then I thought, well, if I'm going to put $10,000 into remodeling the garage, I might as well look at renting a place. Lo and behold, here we are with a full-fledged shop."

While there won't be any Gibson Les Paul's on the racks, a nice acoustic guitar can be had for a good price.

"The Guitar Shop" caters to beginner or mid-level musicians who want to hang out and talk music. Wegner said he would be happy just to have some people come in and "jaw" about guitars and playing in bands.

A longtime musician himself, Wegner still plays in a band called "Flashback," which mostly caters to weddings and small events. Wegner said he would like to help young people start bands and possibly sponsor some. He already wasted no time trying to get the first few kids through his door started.

"Right away I started grillin' them," he said. "'Have you started a band yet? Why not? Let me know. I can help you with it!'" He hopes to play music in the store with customers, too.

At the front of the store, Wegner has set up a stage to encourage "jam sessions," complete with an in-store sound system, stage lights, a drum set and a microphone. He's already hosted one after-hours session and looks forward to many more. Eventually, he'd like to turn jam sessions into something bigger.

"I envision putting a stage out [in the parking lot] and have some bands for Leprechaun Days," he said. For now, though, he just hopes The Guitar Shop will become the go-to place for anybody interested in guitars.

"I want it to be a place where, if someone is home in the afternoon with nothing to do, they can say, 'Hey, I'll go down to The Guitar Shop and play some guitars.'"

Ashley Bray is a University of Minnesota journalism student on assignment for the Star Tribune.