The chances of stumbling upon a music store centered on accordions are slim to none. You have an even lesser chance of finding the owner of an accordion store as interesting as Kimric Smythe, owner of Smythe’s Accordion Center in Oakland.
Smythe owns one of only seven accordion stores in the US and he has owned his business since 1997. After the death of Orlando Meniketti, a renowned owner and teacher of several accordion schools throughout the Bay Area, Smythe bought broken accordions from Meniketti’s warehouse to repair and sell them.
Smythe grew up taking summer school classes on how to solder and build circuit boards when he was 8 years old. He continued his handy work in the Air Force in the 80s as a mechanic. In the 90s he started working for Survival Research Labs – a “robotics performance arts” group, which stages socio-political-themed performances using massive machines and complex pyrotechnics.
His pyrotechnic experience at Survival Research Labs landed him a gig creating fireworks for Burning Man, the massive arts festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. “I used to burn the man,” Smythe proudly recounts.
When a friend asked Smythe to help repair their accordion, an instrument Smythe did not play, he fixed it with ease. He realized “wow, that’s more money than I make in two days,” and after demand grew for more accordion repair jobs he began the Accordion Center.
As a side hobby, Smythe creates steampunk cosplay accessories on his Etsy site under the name of “Deathstar Samovar.” At its height, his Etsy account, consisting of goggles, armor and Mad Max-themed accessories, has made him an upwards of $2,500 a month.
Although its location has been moved several times because of ever-changing city plans and high rents, Smythe’s Accordion Center has been in its current location on Broadway Street for five years.
