Camgal Music's mission is to 'grow the music' in the New Bedford community
NEW BEDFORD —The first thing you notice when you enter Camgal Music at 1801 Acushnet Ave. is how pristine it is. Everything looks brand new.
Owner Brian Martins spent 18 months renovating his new music store with girlfriend, Michelle, before its soft Labor Day Weekend opening.
"She's the Picasso, and I'm the carpenter," he joked, adding the work included replacing the floor and ceiling.
It's his first music shop, but he brings years of experience in the music world.
The New Bedford native's background as a performer started when he began playing the alto saxophone as a 5-year-old.
"When I hit junior high school I did tenor sax. I was a big guy so they asked me to play tenor sax," he said.
Former New Bedford High School band-music director and later headmaster Donald Vasconcellos asked him to switch to tuba. The high school band needed a tuba, so Martins took up the instrument.
Learning the tuba made it easier for Martins to transition to the contrabass bugle in drum and bugle corps competitions with the Spartans Drum & Bugle Corps of Nashua, N.H. after high school, and later with the San Francisco Renegades Drum and Bugle Corps.
He won national and international championships with them.
"I owe a lot to Mr. V," he said.
Concert time: Composer Soon Hee Newbold is coming to lead Dartmouth orchestra students through her work.
Played trumpet with several Portuguese bands
He also continued to learn different instruments while still in high school. That included playing the trumpet for several Portuguese bands.
He then joined the Navy and played with several units during his five years of active service, which included 11 1/2 months at sea.
He rose to the rank of Petty Officer, 2nd Class, and also served three years of inactive duty.
"You're serving your country. In my case I was representing New Bedford on the carrier and in all the various different countries. New Bedford's name is out there. So when you pull into Perth, Australia, you see hints of New Bedford, it's like wow," he said.
He worked as an EMT when he returned to New Bedford, and got his federal CDL to drive a truck.
"Finally I had enough money to get a shop open," he said.
Game day roundup: 5 SouthCoast spots to improve your wing game during the Super Bowl
A community-driven mission
The veteran-owned shop is community driven, Martins said.
"Our mission is just to grow music, to help make it affordable and get more kids involved and stay involved."
Camgal Music does it all, from providing lessons to instrument and accessory sales, to repairs.
And the emphasis for the new business is to make everything as affordable as possible.
For instance, lessons are $15 per half hour where the prevailing rate can be $25 - $28.
There's the supplemental program for students taking up an instrument in school. Their lessons are $7.50 per half hour. "We help you improve as a musician in school."
Lessons for first responders and veterans are just $2 per half hour.
"Right now we have the basic student instruments in stock. We have the flute, clarinet, alto sax, tenor trombone and the trumpet. We also have snare drum kits and student drum sets," he said.
They also have "pocket trumpets," which are compact versions of the regular trumpet that are easier for children to play.
Any instrument not in stock can be purchased through Camgal Music's distributors. "We try to do the best we can to make the instruments affordable with good quality in mind."
They also ship instruments.
"We've shipped over 85 items nationwide. We just got our 21st state involved in shipment. We've also gone to Puerto Rico, Portugal and the Armed Services. Instruments, accessories, whatever's needed. We'll ship them to them."
Why the name Camgal is special
The name Camgal is special to Martins.
The first four letters are the first initials of his grandparents' first names: Carlos, Assuncão, Maria, Gil.
"They immigrated here from Portugal, basically selling everything they had to come here," he said.
The GAL at the end also represents Portugal, he said.
A portrait display is set up in the store of his grandparents attending his first birthday celebration, which his girlfriend made for him.
Martins' pledge to run a community-driven shop is also special to him.
Camgal Music currently sponsors the "Reeds for Food" program. Reeds are thin pieces of flat material used to produce certain saxophone and clarinet tones.
A normal reed can go from $2 to $3.50. If a student comes in with a can of corn, can of beans, box of pasta, or bag of rice, they can get the reed for free.
"They'll save money in the long run. They're also helping the community with non-perishable food items," Martins said.
The night before he was interviewed for this story, Martins helped in an effort to locate homeless people and get them off the street because of the cold.
Camgal Music participated in its first Toys for Tots campaign in 2023, and rewarded the person bringing in the most toys with a new student's clarinet.
Giving back to New Bedford schools
They also give back to the schools, and recently made a donation to Keith Middle School to augment its percussion section.
The store will also give back 10% on new instrument sales, and 5% on accessory sales, to the schools where the students hail from.
"They just have to give us the name of their school."
Lessons are provided on weekdays from 4 to 7 p.m., and on Saturdays from noon to 7 p.m. They can be arranged by appointment for Sundays.
Several musicians work with Martins providing lessons.
"The lessons are mostly in the evening because we're just getting started. We're trying to keep the overhead low. That way we can pass on the savings to the people," he said.
Martins also continues to drive a truck throughout New England for J.P. Noonan by day.
Martins acknowledges being the "new kid on the block" has its challenges, but Camgal Music continues to grow steadily.
"We're trying to get the word out we're here. We want to help grow the music."
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Camgal Music's mission is to 'grow the music' in New Bedford
