<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE> Zep's (orig. posted April 2002)</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
Here's one of the old posts on Zep. It's from a friend of mine who used to work for Zep at his store in Burbank:<BR>
<BR>
----------<BR>
<B>From: </B>Jack Mootz <mootztown@jps.net><BR>
<B>Date: </B>Sat, 13 Apr 2002 17:25:26 -0700<BR>
<B>To: </B>JimDBB@aol.com<BR>
<B>Cc: </B>Nancy Giffin <nancyink@ulink.net>, Trumpetom@aol.com<BR>
<B>Subject: </B>Zep's<BR>
<BR>
<FONT SIZE="2">Jim:<BR>
<BR>
Nancy Giffin just forwarded Tom's answer to your query about Zep's.<BR>
<BR>
My dad (Jack Mootz, Sr.)played trumpet in Spike Jones big band with Zep, and I worked at that infamous store for a couple of years. It was on Orchard Rd. in Burbank for years, with Bert Herick next door, and then moved to its current location on Magnolia.<BR>
<BR>
The picture over the doorway to the supply room is one I took in about<BR>
1980. Zep opened his first store in 1954, or there abouts. He made<BR>
about a fifteen percent profit on stuff; everybody said that he couldn't<BR>
do that, but he did. His hours were Mon-Sat. 1-5, so that his musician<BR>
workers could sleep in ,and leave on time for gigs.<BR>
<BR>
Inventory was huge and disorganized. We did a lot of estimating when it<BR>
came to inventory taxes. We'd clean up every so often, find lost items,<BR>
and then say, "looks like a real music store."<BR>
<BR>
Zep, whose real name was Joseph Meissner, played reeds and trumpet. He<BR>
could play the trumpet without a mouthpiece. His most amazing talent,<BR>
however, was his ability to sing solfeggio; any tune, any time, any key.<BR>
<BR>
There's gobs of stories from that store. Tons of memories. He used to<BR>
let musicians take instruments out on gigs to really try them out.<BR>
They'd have to sign a little blue book, with the date and the<BR>
instrument. He had everybody's signature who every played a wind<BR>
instrument in L.A. in that book: Snooky Young, Graham Young, Dick Nash,<BR>
even Doc S.<BR>
<BR>
I'm rambling more than organizing thoughts, so I'll close with one quick<BR>
Zepism. This lady called and wanted the price on a Bach trumpet. Zep<BR>
told her, "$450.00." "Well," she said, "Baxter Northrup sells them for<BR>
$430.00." "Why don't you buy it from Baxter," Zep replied. "There all<BR>
out." Said the lady. "Oh!" Zep retorted, "when we're all out we sell<BR>
them for $425; click."<BR>
<BR>
Jack Mootz<BR>
<BR>
</FONT>
</BODY>
</HTML>