The Guitar Studio sits on the second floor of an unassuming shopping center at 4455 Camp Bowie Blvd. It set up shop in Fort Worth in 1983 and has been teaching hundreds of guitar players ever since.
And while its location may be unassuming and quiet, like much of the classical guitar that is taught there, the studio has made a big impact on Fort Worth and, in particular, on the many students who have taken lessons there.
The Guitar Studio recently celebrated its 40-year anniversary and received a proclamation from the city. Forty years for any business is something to celebrate. Forty years of a business focused on classical guitar is worthy of a flamenco tremolo flourish or two. Along with the instruction that takes place at the studio, Guitar Studio instructors work with five area colleges to provide and enhance classical guitar instruction. As the city proclamation notes, the Guitar Studio has had an impact across four decades and two generations.
I called up Will Douglas who now owns and runs The Guitar Studio. He gave me a history of the Guitar Studio that offers lessons, guitars and a little something else that has built a cadre of loyal fans over the years.
He gave me a short history of the business.
The Guitar Studio was started by Michael Dailey, who grew up in Phoenix and began teaching himself guitar at a young age. By the time he was a teenager, Dailey was opening up concerts for the Grateful Dead. Dailey soon had a list of music credits that included Eric Clapton, Stevie Nicks and Linda Ronstadt. One bio of him mentions that he spent a year in Alaska where he survived a bear attack. Dailey then moved to Fort Worth so his then-wife, pianist Janet Dailey, could study with Cliburn winner Steven De Groote.
He began The Guitar Studio shortly after, first in the building behind the Ridglea Theatre. Dailey also taught at then-Tarrant County Junior College’s Northwest campus and began to sow the seeds of classical guitar study.
Douglas, meanwhile, had just started college when 9/11 occurred. He was thrown off by the upheaval in the world and wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. He was in a band and one of the guitar players started improving rapidly. Douglas asked the guitar player where he was studying and was directed to the Guitar Studio.
“I knew I wanted to find out the secret,” he said. “Wherever he was learning, I needed some of that.”
Like many of Dailey’s guitar students, Douglas found a lot more than just musical knowledge.
“He was a mentor as well as a teacher,” Douglas said. “We keep that tradition going. Lessons are about more than just the guitar and sometimes, if someone’s having a bad day, a bad week, it may not be about the guitar at all.”
The study of classical guitar did more than just improve Douglas’ musicianship.
“My grades improved, I started getting straight-As for the first time in my life and I had some focus,” he said. “I wasn’t the only one.”
Douglas eventually became a music major at the University of North Texas.
Douglas believes the study of classical guitar allows people to get in touch with themselves.
“People who study classical guitar, they don’t need a band, they don’t need a vocalist. They don’t need any other accompaniment, but you learn how to express yourself musically,” he said.
Dailey was a tall man, 6-foot, 3-inches, with a long white beard and stood out in a crowd, Douglas said.
“He wore a suit almost every day but with Birkenstock sandals, so you couldn’t miss him,” he said.
Dailey, 65, died in the fall of 2021 during the pandemic. Douglas, who was already teaching at the studio, now owns and runs the shop.
Douglas keeps the same look and feel to the Guitar Studio that Dailey began.
“The thing about the space here is people feel like they can come in and be exactly who they are,” he said. “Michael was a person where people felt at ease being around him. The business has been able to maintain that and that’s very important to me.”
Jose Andrade began studying with Dailey when he was at Polytechnic High School and now teaches at the Guitar Studio.
“I started out playing heavy metal and that sort of stuff, but I knew I wanted to learn more,” he said. “One of my teachers suggested Michael to me and he really helped me, not just in guitar, but figuring out how to pursue my goals.”
Andrade said he would not have known how to put together a program to study music without Dailey.
“Basically I would study with him during the school year, then he would give me free lessons during the summer otherwise I couldn’t have afforded it,” he said. “I was not the only one, that’s just how Michael was. If he saw the potential, the desire, he was going to support that.”
Andrade was the last student to receive a Bachelor of Music in guitar performance and pedagogy at Texas Wesleyan University under the direction of Dailey.
Now, Andrade said he is able to give some of the same guidance to his students that Dailey provided him.
“Students need music instruction, but they also need to know how to do other things, too, like manage their time and to not tackle something that is too difficult, that will simply frustrate them,” Andrade said. “That’s a lot like the guidance Michael gave me.”
Douglas said Dailey set a template that has led to a successful business, but also a successful community that supports the business.
“Michael did a lot of charity work and the community was very dear to him, and because of that he became dear to the community,” he said. “So this business has been able to sustain itself because people want to be here, to be involved.”
Press Café opening outpost in Aledo
Downtown Aledo will be the second location for Fort Worth staple, Press Café. The restaurant, part of the FAR Out Hospitality Group, is expected to open this fall at 109 S. Front St. (the former location of the Bistro restaurant).
The addition of Press Café-Aledo is part of an ongoing effort to revitalize and redevelop downtown Aledo, which includes the construction of the new Aledo Municipal Complex.
The restaurant will feature a full bar with wines both by the glass and by the bottle, locally brewed bottled and draft beers, as well as hand-crafted cocktails, similar to the Fort Worth location. FAR Out Hospitality is the owner of several Fort Worth restaurants, including Tavern, Pacific Table, Maria’s Mexican Kitchen, and the soon-to-open Le Margot and F1 Smokehouse.
Leases
LEC Management Inc. has renewed 4,874 square feet of flex space in Southpoint Plaza, 2115 E. Division St., Arlington. Jim Ferris, vice president of Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services, represented the landlord, GNS Foods, in the direct deal.
N2 Electrical Contractors LLC has leased 7,200 square feet of industrial space at 2821 W. Euless Blvd., Euless, from Euless Industrial LLC. Jason Finch, first vice president of Bradford
Commercial Real Estate Services, and Michael W. Spain, executive vice president and managing partner, represented the landlord. Jarrett Thornton of Progressive Properties represented the tenant.
Priority Express Logistics has renewed 4,000 square feet of flex space in Assured Business Park, 10728 S. Pipeline Rd., Hurst. Jason Finch, first vice president of Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services, and Michael W. Spain, executive vice president and managing partner,
represented the landlord, Euless Industrial LLC, in the direct deal.
XPS XPRESS Metroplex LLC has leased 3,200 square feet of flex space in Assured Business Park, 10728 S. Pipeline Rd., Hurst, from Euless Industrial LLC. Jason Finch, first vice president of Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services, and Michael W. Spain, executive vice president and managing partner, represented the landlord. Kyle Montana and Brian Hanie of Structure Commercial represented the tenant.
Lounge & Event Rentals LLC has leased 3,200 square feet of flex space in Assured Business Park, 10728 S. Pipeline Rd., Hurst, from Euless Industrial LLC. Jason Finch, first vice president of Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services, and Michael W. Spain, executive vice president
and managing partner, represented the landlord in the direct deal.
Skywalker, Bradford planning opportunistic investments
Investors have their eye on undervalued properties as the market for commercial real estate faces pressures from higher interest rates.
Arlington-based SkyWalker Property Partners has launched its fourth and largest fund, The Leverage Strikes Back LLC, which it expects will have the capacity to make up to $250 million of opportunistic investments in Texas and surrounding states.
Dallas-based Bradford Companies has its eye on a similar plan. It has fully funded Bradford Opportunity Fund II to strategically acquire commercial real estate assets throughout North Texas.
“The current high interest rate environment has lenders locked up and owners needing to trade out of assets with financing issues,” said Kevin J. Santaularia, president and CEO of Bradford, a full-service brokerage, property management and investment firm, in a news release. “Therein lies the opportunity for Bradford and our private investor partners.”
Skywalker Property officials expect a wave of maturing loans by the end of the year with owners struggling with refinancing, under-performing projects and continued tight capital conditions, said Gary Walker, president and founder of SkyWalker Property Partners, in a news release. “Our new fund is well-positioned to capitalize on these opportunities,” he said.
Skywalker Properties’ acquisition strategy will be aimed at multiple asset classes located in primary, secondary and tertiary markets.
“The new fund is a milestone,” said William Welder, SkyWalker Property’s director of acquisitions and capital. “It’s the largest in our history and a significant shift from our two-year focus on dispositions.”
Skywalker’s previous funds helped the firm build a $200 million portfolio of office, industrial and retail properties. It has since sold off several of the properties, including Brookhollow Riverside, a 119,121-square foot office building at 2505 N. TX 360 in Grand Prairie.
Do you have something for the Bob on Business column? Email Bob Francis as bob.francis@fortworthreport.org
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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