Local Musician Expands His Stage (Ninja) Presence
No tag for this post.EXCLUSIVE FEATURE:
Local Musician Expands His Stage (Ninja) Presence
Story by Ryan Williams - Photos by Submitted Photo -When most musicians think about getting their signature gear into music stores around the world, it’s usually in the form of their preferred instrument. Local guitarist Brent Eskew has found another route into those stores, and he did it by trying to make the lives of musicians easier. Stage Ninja started out as an idea and some prototypes. Eskew says the company has matured since then into a professional equipment company that services a select community. The company produces items like retractable guitar and mic cords and electrical power cords with plug-ins every few feet. The whole idea is to make lives easier during set-up and tear-down.
And it’s catching on. Eskew says “We are global, baby,” referring to the placement of Stage Ninja products around the world. The products are already in 11 Sam Ash stores around the nation, and he’s secured distribution in Japan, South America, Germany, Norway, Canada, and Bermuda. “It’s a universal application.”That, of course, means that there’s a lot of travel involved. Of the five main employees at Stage Ninja, “One of us is on the road every week.”
That road work includes training in-house salespersons at places like Musicians’ Friend and Guitar Center on how to use and sell the products, as well as working with high-profile musicians to get the gear in their studios. Eskew says they’ve got Stage Ninja products into several professional studios and touring rigs. And the work never stops coming. Eskew says “There’s always something going on.” He adds that the company is “always working on advertising,” and that Stage Ninja is adding a new product to push at the Winter NAMM session in January of 2008. Still, he can’t imagine doing anything else right now.
“This is the greatest job in the world. I can’t wait to get there in the morning, and I have to pull away in the evening.”
– Related Link: http://stageninja.net
