Supplying fine electric guitars to both established artists and rising stars, music-industry veteran Jace Nuzback is pleased to inaugurate a new store that will cater to the needs of plugged-in guitarists all over town. Conveniently located near the Hollywood Freeway in Studio City, at 10962 Ventura Boulevard, The Axe Shop is nearly equidistant between the San Fernando Valley and the greater Los Angeles basin. It’s a stone’s throw from the intersection of Ventura and Vineland, inhabiting a cheery, prosperous stretch of sidewalk, with metered curbside parking in front and an ample lot in back. A week before the store’s Grand Opening (scheduled for Saturday, September 15), All Access Magazine paid a visit to owner Jace while he set up shop. The storefront window beckons with bright rock-’n’-roll merchandise such as Metallica clocks and Guns-’N-Roses beach towels, and on the walls inside are arrayed rows of high-quality electric guitars. Behind the store is a shaded patio and a peaceful patch of garden, well-suited for patrons who want to pick and grin, or listen in, or just plain relax. From front to back, The Axe Shop provides a gracious grotto for electric guitar-slingers ready for good rockin’. At a comfortable table on the patio, Jace Nuzback took the time to talk about the vision behind the establishment.
AAM: Why did you decide to focus on electric guitars only? Is there that much special-interest demand?
Jace: Yeah, I think there is. For one thing, focusing on the electric guitar allows me to carry a lot more of them. So instead of being able to carry only a handful of basses, a handful of acoustics, this really lets me show a big line of electrics. I want to carry only a few brands, and really just stockpile them, really support those couple of brands.
AAM: Those brands being?
Jace: Moser Custom Shop, which is run by a local guy who used to work for B.C. Rich, who makes great guitars. The ESP “Ltd.” Line, and of course B.C. Rich!
AAM -- You're referred to as a "music industry veteran." Can you fill us in on your background, please?
Jace: Sure. I started out doing the band thing when I was young, and then I managed a music store in Salt Lake City for about six years. I moved from California to Utah when I was about 12 years old, and I acquired most of my musical upbringing in Utah, surprisingly.
AAM: How long were you in Salt Lake City?
Jace: A long time. I was there from the time I was 12 until I was 28. I owned two recording studios out there, where I produced a lot of local CDs, including a few of my own, and I did a lot of live sound for area bands. So with that background, I kind of grew up in a musical community. I went to the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences in Tempe, Arizona, and I graduated from there, and then I tried to get out here to do musical production. But I found out that there really wasn’t a whole lot of money in musical production. But a friend of mine worked for Digidesign, and he got a job starting a new post-production facility, and so I helped him design and make that the first pro-tools-based “post” facility in town. So I got into that area of business, and then I worked for Tascam, helping to design gear such as Line 6 and M-Audio. And then, after M-Audio, I really wanted to do try and do something that was my own. I wanted to design my own products, or bring something to the table that nobody else had, but it’s pretty hard to 
be competitive in the product market, when you’ve got people like M-Audio who can make things in such large quantities, with such price breaks. So I decided to start my own store instead, to sell some of the things that I had helped create for the music industry.
AAM: That’s pretty impressive! So, Jace, may we ask what guitar-based technologies have you participated in developing? Any favorite inventions?
Jace: Well, there’s Line 6. I helped developed an amplifier called the Vetta II, putting in my two cents’ worth when I got there. And also there’s a piece of software they make for their Variax guitar, which is a “virtual” guitar … you see, it’s all electronic. You turn the knob and you get an acoustic guitar, or electric guitar or banjo or whatever. So what I gave it was a piece of software that allowed you to go in and edit those things. For instance, if you wanted a have the sound of a Strat body with a Les Paul pickup, it was just kind of a “click and drag” idea, and we made it a little more computer-friendly, to let you make the guitar into what you want, and to store your settings.
AAM: “Photoshop” for the electric guitar?
Jace: Yeah, kind of an interactive photoshop. And then over at M-Audio I made a lot of computer interfaces that worked with M-Card Pro Tools, like one called the “Jam Lab. And then I worked with Roger Lynn on something called the “Black Box.” Roger Lynn, of course, is kind of the creator of the drum machine in our world, and he made a little box called the Adrenaline, which has all these great amplifier effects, and time-based effects, so everything is locked to a clock or to a tempo. So when you get a tremolo on a guitar, you can just tap in the tempo and it’ll lock to it by itself, or in a computer program, if your song is 120 beats per minute, it tells it to do it a that rate. So I put each of those effects with a guitar interface, to make them easier to access. I worked on things like that, and other high-end guitar applications.
AAM: So, Jace, since your field of expertise and interest is so current, do you think that maybe we won’t be seeing too many vintage guitars on your walls? Any Sunbursts, for instance, that are so collectible now?
Jace: It’s probably not what you’re going to be seeing here. In fact, I think my store is the opposite of that. Nothing against vintage instruments, they’re wonderful, but it’s just that there are so many other places to get them. This town has many, many shops that have great equipment, but nobody’s doing the kind of thing that I’m doing.
AAM: Could you please tell us about any high-profile guitar heroes or celebrity session players who might appear at your store?
Jace: All of the companies that I have been working with have endorsed artists, people I’m going to try to wrangle in to the store. There’s Eric Turner from Warrant, who’s working with me on my cable stuff, and I’m going to have quite a few other guys.
AAM: Players who are endorsed by the manufacturers?
Jace: Yes, and with them, I plan on doing a lot of clinics. On that note, there’s something that I want to do at The Axe Shop called “Cuttin’ Heads.” Remember, right off the bat I’m going to be doing a lot of recording clinics, teaching people how to write songs and how to use Pro Tools to record. And I’m also going to bring in guitar clinics and things like that, including jam sessions and such. So about this thing called “Cuttin’ Heads,” well, if you’ve ever seen the movie “Crossroads,” you’ll remember the great scene at the end with Steve Vai and Ralph Macchio, which was the supernatural guitar competition. Of course, those two were battling over Ralph’s soul as the prize, while at The Axe Shop we’ll just be giving away T-shirts and stuff. The idea will be for local guys to come in and play against each other, just for fun and prizes, and then we’ll have the bigger-name guys join in as well, both to play and to judge. Everybody will get a “Cuttin’ Heads at The Axe Shop” T-shirt, and they’ll have a lot of fun.
AAM: Any other kinds of live music performances that we can look forward to?
Jace: I want to try to do that. One of the focuses of the store is that I want to be able to support the artists who support me. So I’m going to do every I can to fulfill that, and as far as performances are concerned, we might have a Performance Night on Friday, let’s say, where everybody gets ten minutes or whatever, for whatever they want to do. If it’s just jamming, or if it’s a song you’re working on that you want to show everybody, then you’re going to have a chance to do that. But beyond just that, if an artist has a gig coming up, I’m going to give free advertising on my website, and I’m going to play any music or video they have on my LCD screen here. Anything that I can do to promote them, I’ll be glad to do.
AAM: Indeed, you’re very supportive of the local music scene, and you have mentioned that you’ll be able to post a band’s banner on your website, www.theaxeshop.net. Tell us how this might work for a struggling, up-and-coming garage band. Will they get a link?
Jace: Exactly. They’ll get a link to their website from mine, and they’ll be able to put banners on there, and if they’ve got a gig coming up or a CD release soon, we’ll mention it. Anything I can do to support them. Plus, I think it’s great when you can walk into a store and hear your music playing, and people can come in and say, “Hey, this is great, who is it?” And this gives me a chance to get behind them and hook them up, link them up, support their website and promote them.
AAM: You’re a guitarist yourself, right? Now, there are so many subdivisions these days, from emo to thrash, and yet for all we know, you might be classically trained. Is there any particular genre that has you by the hair, so to speak?
Jace: No, I’m not classically trained at all. I taught myself how to play, more than anything. I had lessons here and there, and I was always thinking, “I want to be able to play that! Show me what I’m not able to do.” And after a short time I was able to pick out a lot of things by ear, and I got better. And I appreciate all kinds of music. Anything that’s a good representation of its style, its genre, from jazz to country, is good with me. But when it comes to guitar playing, even though I play a few other things, Eighties and Nineties metal is where I live. It’s Judas Priest, Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, things like that are what move me as a guitar player and a songwriter. And thus, this store, trying to appeal to the metal crowd. And there’s a great deal of good new metal stuff going on also, and we’re there.
AAM: So your Grand Opening is scheduled for Saturday, September 15th, from 11 AM to 7 PM, right? Any special guests or surprises we can look forward to?
Jace: Well, I’m trying to have as much giveaway stuff as I can. I hope to have some fun things to pass out, product-wise. We’re hoping to have a lot of artists show up, so we’ll see how it goes. It should be great.
AAM: You have a fair amount of space out here in back, what with this shaded patio, plus the greenery and the “gravel garden.” Do you have any particular vision for this area, or will you keep it as it is?
Jace: I don’t know. When I first got this place, they had a giant storage shed out here, one of those metal industrial monolith things, so when I took it out, it left this giant patch of dirt, and I had to do something, so I put in these plants and rocks and the fountain. You know, if you park in back and come on in, I want it to be inviting. You know, a lot of parents come in to buy things for their kids when they’re first starting out, so it’s good to have a space that they appreciate when they walk in. I wanted to create a place where it’s fun to hang out. I don’t yet know what else I’ll do out here, but at least it’ll be a calm place to be.
AAM: As already noted, The Axe Shop is located at about an equal distance from both the San Fernando and Greater Los Angeles basins. Are you already getting interest from musicians on either side of the hill?
Jace: You know, the location is so good, what with being so close to the Metro Station as well as the freeways and the bus lines, so I’m getting tons of walk-by traffic. Everybody’s stopping by and looking in the windows. This little kid walked by the other day and yelled, “Look, Mom! They have KISS stuff, excellent!” – I thought it was great. So yeah, there’s going to be a lot of interest, especially with our logo going up in front, as people start to get a feel for what I’m doing here.
AAM: Which reminds me, speaking of the merchandising items – we’ve already noticed Led Zeppelin ashtrays and Pink Floyd incense holders, AC/DC coffee mugs, Iron Maiden barstools. How about rock-’n’-roll mouse-pads, or what else?
Jace: If they make it, I will get it. There are starting to be more and more of these things out there, and they’re just fun. I’ve enjoyed these things out there, seeing folks rockin’ with the Iron Maiden lunchpails that were made a couple of years ago. So I’ll include as many cool things as I can find.
AAM: Noticing that your primary focus is on the electric guitar, tell us please – what, if any, emphasis will there be on the guitar amplifier at The Axe Shop?
Jace: I’m actually very, very happy to be partnered with this brand called Randall Amplifiers. Randall has made a lot of really great things for a long time, and nobody in town carries them. They’re not around, so our town hasn’t had the ability to try these things out, and it’s very much in a heavy-metal vein, which is in demand. So Randall has this great MTS Series, which is the first modular tube amplifier. You can actually take different modules and say, “All right, here’s a Twin module, here’s a Mesa Boogie dual rectifier module, here’s a Marshall JCM module,” and you can just interchange them for whatever the gig might be. And they’ve got that in combo amps or in heads, and it’s just spectacular-sounding stuff that our area hasn’t even had the chance to try. So I’m really proud to have that Randall equipment here.
AAM: What kind of custom treatment will shoppers get here?
Jace: We’ll be doing a lot of custom guitar work. Even if you can maybe see a certain model somewhere else (which you probably won’t!), we’re going to have things set up where there will be a special circuit in here which will give you certain custom pre-sets. So instead of just going from treble to bass, you’ll get different sounds, different frequencies, so it sounds like a different instrument. How about sustainers, where you push a button and you get all this automatic sustain, like you’re in front of a big amp and it’s feeding back, but it’s all controllable. Yes, we’re going to have a lot of custom guitars.
AAM: We understand that you're joining forces with Eric Chaz from Eric's Guitar Shop in Van Nuys. Will he be doing guitar set-up for you over at his location, or will he also be spending time here at your new site?
Jace: Eric Chaz will be doing the set-up work over in his own Van Nuys facility. Over in this area, there might be some pro guys who are doing very specific work on specific instruments, but not always the kind of guys where you can just come in and say, “Hey, I’ve got a problem here, can you fix it?” But although Eric is over off the 405 Freeway at Roscoe, which isn’t that close to me, players can just drop their guitars to me here, and we’ll get it over to Eric and let him do his thing, and the customers can just pick up their instruments back here when they’re ready, which will be a real convenience for them.
AAM: What about basses? Didn’t we see at least one bass guitar on your wall?
Jace: You know, I wasn’t going to do any basses at all, but the Moser Custom Shop bass products are just so cool that I had to include a couple of those, and I’ll have at least one bass amp for people to try them.
AAM: Your upcoming opening sounds really exciting, so is there anything that you’d like to add about the shop for our readers?
Jace: Well, the “tagline” that I’ve come up with for the store is this: “The Axe Shop – Your Heavy Metal Guitar Lifestyle Shop.” Whether you need a pack of strings, or a Dio cigarette lighter, or a new guitar, we’ve kind of got everything that goes along with that. You know, with the decline of the record store, with everybody buying everything online, the personal touch is gone, and I miss that. I miss record stores. Not so much the vinyl LP record format, which could be a pain, but the store itself, because you’re not getting all the other stuff you used to find in the record store, like all the fun posters and hats, and all that stuff. So I’m trying to merge the coolest record store you’ve ever been to with the coolest guitar shop you’ve ever been to, turning it into one cool rock-’n’-roll kind of place. That was the idea behind the shop, really, just trying to bring those two worlds together. So I don’t get musicians only in the store, I also get people who don’t play, but who still love heavy metal and rock-’n’-roll.
AAM: That’s right, because this is a walk-in store, rather than the proliferating online outlets we’re seeing.
Jace: Exactly.
AAM: And that’s good cause for celebration, so naturally we’re all looking forward to this new outlet for electric guitar players here in the Valley and L.A. as a whole, where rock-’n’-roll gets made for a music-hungry planet. Thank you, Jace, for your time and attention, and we wish for you the best of success to you in this long-awaited venture.
The Axe Shop, 10962 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, 91604 (818) 755-9851 Monday through Saturday, 11 AM – 7 PM
Featuring Guitars, Strings, Pedals, Amps, Stands, Metal Swag Galore, & More - An Electric Guitarist’s Candy Store! www.theaxeshop.net
