Meet Ross Collier of Woodbine

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ross Collier.

Hi Ross, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I started Nashville Omnichord Supply Co. after the death of my longtime collaborator, Dennis McCarke. Dennis, Zeke Bandy and I had made many Omnichord-oriented records; as I recall, it was Dennis who originally exposed me to the Omnichord.

My obsession with these fascinating instruments (neither lute nor synth, but something in between!) has grown over the past 10 years or so. After Dennis showed Zeke & I an original OM-27 Omnichord and convinced us to act as his proxy performers for the first “A Very Omnichord Christmas” Album, I eventually taught myself how to take them apart and repair the various components inside. Most of this was out of necessity. I was playing many Omnichord gigs at the time, around town with the Styrofoam Winos or on some network TV gigs (Nashville on CMT). It was a busy time, and I couldn’t afford to lose work because of technical issues. After I got into a rhythm with repairing them, I just started buying broken online and fixing them up. I realized I could salvage many of these items, and since they were discontinued, I had no choice but to get them back into commission. My dream was thus generated, and I envisioned a way to get Omnichords into the hands of recording studios and producers around Nashville. I figured, if folks were equipped with them, we could bring the Omnichord back into pop vernacular. In 2017 I began officially operating as Nashville Omnichord Supply Company and grew from there. My sales doubled every year through 2021, when I pivoted to more repair-oriented work. Twice over the pandemic, I moved workshops due to rent / real estate issues in the Nashville market. However, I eventually built up a workshop with hydraulics and an entire pneumatic system for receiving repairs out of my basement. It’s a work of art and allows me to service Omnichords sent to me from worldwide. I’ve made many friends in the Omnichord community over the past few years!

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a smooth road?
As the #1 Omnichord vendor in the continental U.S., the biggest struggle for me has been keeping up with spatial needs to meet the amount of Omnichords I sell & repair. The volume of work is annoying, and we’ve had to dial it back over the past year. I have a great team of unpaid interns who help a lot with the grunt work of the business, but generally, I am a one-man show. I still source all of the broken Omnichords that come into my shop for refurbishment, and I receive every package that is sent in for repair. Most importantly, I make all the designs for my Nashville Omnichord Supply Co. magnets. It’s a lot to balance, and while it is a business, it’s something I operate out of love for the craft and profit is not the priority. Sometimes that is hard to balance with the other gigs I have going on.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I take a lot of pride in the effect that Nashville Omnichord has had on the access to Omnichords across the creative community. Here in Nashville, I can count on more than two hands the number of producers, musicians, and engineers I have sold Omnichords to. Often, these are artists (successful beyond your wildest dreams) who have young children or family, and the Omnichord allows them to educate them in music theory & the joys of music creation. Moreover, it’s a studio tool they can use while making “the hits.”

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check?Of course, this will seem like a wild non-sequitur, but as I am a fan of Greek Classic Literature, I draw a lot on the wisdom of “The Classics” in my approach and motivation to repair & restore Omnichords. One book that is currently on my workshop table is Thucydides’ “History of the Peloponnesian War.” I was reading through it for the second time in 2017 when I first had the dream to found Nashville Omnichord Supply Co. I’ve been revisiting it lately to muse on the parallels between running a small business in modern America and the struggles that Athenian general Thucydides documents (particularly in Book 5) regarding the Sicilian states building a fractured peace treaty to confront Athenian aggression on the heels of the Athenian victories (contra Sparta) in Pylos and Sphacteria. As we know, later down the road, the Athenians (with support from Alcibiades) later armed an expedition to conquer Sicily but could not achieve their goals of conquest, as the Sicilians received aid from Gyllipus and Spartan factors. It is a rather dense parallel, but I feel very clearly when I re-read these histories that the Small Business Owner in a local community is similar to Sicily, and the Market is Athens. Sparta, then, is a role played by the customer, and it is a clear vision that small business owners must band together and support each other & their communities. It can only conquer the dangers of our late-stage capitalist market with the aid of our own “Gyllipus,” the humble customer. It reminds me that all business is relationship based.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nashvilleomnichordsupply.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nashvilleomnichordsupplyco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nashvilleomnichordsupplyco

Image Credits
Dennis McCarke / Ross Collier