For nearly sixty years, Greer’s Coin & Pawn stood as a Fort Smith landmark on the corner of Grand and Greenwood. Now, the famous store is entering a new chapter with the opening of Audio Production Emporium in which the third generation of family ownership has converted the space into a music store and recording studio.
Aaron Frye, grandson of Dallas Greer who founded the business in 1965, got the idea for the change on a suggestion from his wife, Laurel.
“I was in college. I already had my B.A. in business and was back for an engineering degree,” Aaron says. “I was pursuing a degree in acoustic engineering, a newer field back then. In 2011 or 2012, my dad broke his back, and I decided it would be a good thing if I became the store owner until my dad could get back on his feet. It’s been just me and my wife running the store ever since.
“Over the past three to four years, I’ve noticed the decline of pawn shops around town. It seemed like those thirty or younger didn’t know what a pawn shop does. One day, my wife says, ‘Why don’t you just focus on music because you like that, and it seems that most of your money comes from selling musical instruments.'”
The idea immediately caught Aaron’s attention. As a lifelong guitar player, he knew the merchandise, and musicians were frequent customers looking to pawn or acquire used gear. He was also well acquainted with the music scene in Fort Smith and also knew of the need for more recording space that didn’t break the bank. Audio Production Emporium, or APE, rapidly came into focus.
“It was a great idea,” he says. “We started eliminating everything that wasn’t making money. A friend who already had an existing studio told me he would love a studio at my location because we have a larger building with separate rooms.”
The newly revamped store features several amenities for musicians and other media creatives. In addition to the musical equipment showroom, APE offers a recording studio plus a separate room for creating social media, specifically podcasts. The only non-music-related space is the gold and silver room, which Aaron retained due to it being the other most profitable part of the former pawn shop.
Today, Aaron is joined in the venture by Scott Ichniowski, who provides the technical expertise of the recording operations. With a lengthy background in the music production business, Scott brings valuable skills to that aspect of the company.
“He’s the studio technician. He’s the dude,” Aaron says. “He’s done a lot of shows and is a great studio musician in his own right. He’s set stages in some of the bigger venues in the state, and there’s a lot to it. He is that musical genius type.
“I’ve always been the guy they just hand the microphone to and say, ‘Hey, go at it,’ you know? ‘Take your guitar over there and play.’ But now he’s teaching me, and I’m learning. I can run the basics if we have a scheduled appointment and he’s unavailable. I do a good job at recording.”
The duo’s experience with the local music scene allows them to fill a gap in the community. Virtually every band wants studio time, but most find other studios too expensive. Aaron hopes to change all that with APE, offering quality services at a fair price. “We’re not a multimillion-dollar facility,” he says, “but we are a facility that can get a job done better than anybody with a home setup.”
Another goal, Aaron says, is to help highlight and support the local music talent, a scene he says doesn’t get the credit it deserves.
“There’s a lot of talent around here, but I’ve always heard managers and friends in the business refer to this area as the Dead Zone. I get offended because I think, man, there’s nothing wrong with our area. There are so many good people; they just don’t always have the chance to show what they can do.”
As if he needed another reason to help people achieve their dream of playing music, Aaron has seen its power at work in his daughter’s life.
“I have a studio I built at my house, a small one for my daughter,” he says. “She is a very talented musician who plays five different instruments and writes her own music. She also has three forms of Tourette’s, and that’s what started this whole music thing for her. When she had what’s called tics, I would give her a ukulele, and she would write a song, and her Tourette’s would stop. I thought, man, what a great thing for her.
“I feel like this can be a really special place, and I truly feel that in the next couple of years, people in Nashville and L.A. will ask somebody, ‘Hey, did you get that recorded at APE Studio?’ We’ve got our own flavor, you know? We don’t try to be something that we’re not, because one of my beliefs is it’s impossible to be who you’re not. So, you know, just be yourself.”
Audio Production Emporium
2700 Grand Avenue, Fort Smith
479.551.0218
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