MARC AQUILA owns and operates FXPedals in Lebanon. Almost its entire stock is devoted to guitar and bass effect pedals, making it a very unusual endeavor. Pedals are generally considered accessories, but at FXPedals, the pedal is the store’s main feature. It is one of the few stores in the country to have such a specific focus.
Guitar and bass effect pedals are the punctuation of rock ‘n’ roll — an integral part of music-making. The small but mighty pedal has an outsized significance in modern music. It developed in lockstep with the emergence of rock ‘n’ roll, and the pedal expanded and grew as the music grew. The varieties and uses of the pedal are endless, and the guitarists who utilize the pedal run the gamut of style, genre, and era. And there is actually a film — 2021’s “The Pedal Movie” — explicitly devoted to the pedal’s history.
Aquila is a relatively recent transplant from Connecticut, where he performed keyboard duties in several bands. He makes the wry distinction that he never considered himself a musician — “I consider myself a guy who plays music!” He also owns Crescendo Music in Darien (which is still in operation).
FXPedals’ clientele ranges from beginners to seasoned musicians.
Music students and their teachers often seek specific effects, like distortion or delay pedals. Aquila is available to provide guidance or, if guidance isn’t needed, to enhance what the customer already knows.
FXPedals has a vast array of pedals — overdrive, distortion, reverb, chorus, and many more. There is a Jimi Hendrix wah pedal that truly evokes the tones of the late, great guitar master. The store offers a whole gamut of effects that one could choose to add. Aquila understands full well that this can be a little daunting for the beginner.
“If they’re just starting out,” he observed. “There are some basics you should probably have to get going. To start out, I would recommend an overdrive pedal, maybe a delay pedal or a reverb pedal — just to get going. And then you could always add from there.” FXPedals has inexpensive items for entry-level students and continues up the professional line.
Once that is taken care of, Aquila asks what a customer is specifically looking to get, sound-wise. Although he spreads the word about his business via Facebook, Instagram, his website, and the cloud, word of mouth among the music community has proven to be his best form of advertising.
FXPedals also buys and trades and offers pedal and electronic repairs and pedal modifications.
Lebanon has been a welcome change. For one, he has found Tennessee more receptive to small businesses than Connecticut. He has intriguingly re-created the same dynamic he had in Connecticut. Crescendo Music was in proximity to New York City, and his client base drew from that huge metropolitan center. Lebanon is in proximity to Nashville — Music City.
The welcome change has much more to do with an improved economic climate. “I love it here,” Aquila said. He welcomes the escape from the fast pace of the Northeast and has discovered that people in Tennessee want to talk and tell you their story. “I just need to learn to slow down a little bit more. I love to talk to people, and they love to talk with me. It’s a lot of fun.” He has the constant opportunity to meet new people and get to know “this better way of life.”
The passion for playing music is often described as a fever or something you can’t shake off. “It’s kind of like a disease!” Marc Aquila echoes. “Because once you start, you don’t stop!”
“Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu” comes to mind — this is not a bad sort of disease to have. Those who catch it will find themselves a part of a large, equally infected population. GN
