We had the good fortune of connecting with Todd “Toddzilla” Austin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Todd “Toddzilla”, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
As we both have had long careers in the retail music industry, we wanted to develop a store that would be a fresh experience for musicians and music lovers. Just hanging slatwall and bringing in instruments wasn’t enough; we wanted our customers to feel welcome and comfortable, and we wanted to create a “vibe” that facilitated that aspect. It is important to us to give a unique take on a guitar store that can serve the Nashville community’s large range of musical levels.

What should our readers know about your business?
Tone Central Station is the product of two people, who care deeply about music. With over 50 years of combined experience in the Music Instrument world, we want to make it known that we are here to help! We joined forces in 2023 at Sam Ash Music. With its closure in 2024, we saw that our paths were forged and what we NEEDED to do! Our mission is to help guide musicians of all levels and style, in any way we can. We care. We want to be set apart by our actions. When you visit our store, you can see in the details of what we have built, that we care about it all!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
First and foremost, the best spot in the city is ….Tone Central Station! We have live events, music and you can play every instrument in the store! Plus, with East Nashville being the hub for music in this city, you never know who might show up! AND…WE HAVE A POOL TABLE! We’d then take you to get some of the most flavorful Mexican food in the country. Just down the street from Tone Central Station is Mar y Tierra, We would recommend the entire menu. Make sure to try the made in house Green Sauce 😉 Then we’d take you for a drink at The Cobra. This is one of the best dive-bar-venues in all of Nashville. Cool people, good hangs and the smoker’s garden is where all the problems of the world get solved. After that, it could be a toss-up of heading to Broadway (the madness), an amazing experience seeing anyone at The Ryman Auditorium or The Basement East. Then, we’d cap it of at Daddy’s Dogs with a late night snack and work up a plan to do it all over again next year!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We would like to first and foremost, thank our wives for their never-ending support. Heather Jackson (Jamie) and Abby Costello (Todd). They are mean the world to us and are the driving forces in our lives! We also are ever-thankful for the music community for believing in us and what we have built. Every pack of strings, stand, cable or just “likes” and “shares” online are more help than you will ever know!

Website: https://www.tonecentralstation.com

Instagram: Tone_Central_Station

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61563161770830

Youtube: @ToneCentralStation

Other: IN PERSON!!!
TONE CENTRAL STATION
1056 E. Trinity Lane
Suite 102
Nashville, TN 37216
615-490-8699

Image Credits
None

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