When Larry Myer was 14, his parents weren’t bussing him to sporting events; they were helping unload his guitars at bars where he played with older musicians—"juniors and sophomores in high school," Myer recalls.
He later hit the road—trading in bars in his hometown of Clintonville, Wisconsin, for larger gigs at fairs. More than four decades later, Myer is still on the road 15 times a year, now as a vice president of new business development with F.C. Dadson fixture management specialists. "Two nights here and there, and six days for IFA," he says of his travel schedule.
Larry Myer, second from right, is seen here in his rocking glory days with "The Flight." Today, below, the F.C. Dadson fixture management specialist sits in with the Franchise All-Star Band.
Today, he plays a handful of dates a year—mainly charity events with that same teenage rock band dubbed The Undecided, a name that stuck after they were undecided on what to be introduced as at a battle of the bands in Clintonville.
Rockin’ Wisconsin’s past
He may not have climbed a stairway to Heaven, but he did climb the stairs to his attic, where he found a portal into a new world. There a 10-year-old Myer found his first guitar, a stringless Holiday Bobcat.
His visit to the local music shop—itself a window into a world outside of Clintonville, a one-stoplight town of 4,000, 40 miles west of Green Bay—started him on his musical journey. He learned to play, he says, by listening and playing along to a Beatles album.
"It was ‘Beatles ’65,’" he says, remembering the album cover of the LP featuring the Fab Four sitting under umbrellas. "When the Beatles came out, everything ... it just took off." He was hardly the "rebellious rocker" type. The self-described "All-American Guy" was a football player, and even went door-to-door to raise money for a youth center, which he eventually managed.
"Most of the girls’ mothers absolutely loved me," says Myer.
Like music, Myer’s career is all about making connections. "Each franchisee is putting their life savings on the line," Myer says. "I feel it is my role to ensure they experience the same level of commitment, whether they are client No. 1 or 100."
"Larry is truly an old-school, relationship kind of guy," says Javelin Solutions President Ryan Cunningham. "Most people do not enjoy working exhibitor booths at conventions. I learned quickly to get my booth adjacent to Larry’s since he had the magic touch of finding a connection with everyone who went by."
Cunningham says Myer has a skill most people wish they had: the ability to truly listen.
The Franchise All-Star Band
Myer’s easygoing demeanor and guitar prowess made him a welcome addition to the Franchise All-Star Band in 2006. The revolving cast of musically inclined franchise executives run through a few sets of feel-good (mostly ‘80s) rock ‘n’ roll standards each year at the International Franchise Association’s Annual Convention.
"We have 25-to-30 songs, and we just go on stage and play," Myer says of the franchise garage band. "With all of these people from all over the country, you don’t even have a chance to practice."
Myer says the emphasis is more on simply plugging in and having a good time, rather than playing perfectly. "Anybody can come up and play, which makes it cool," Myer says.
Myer’s musical equipment conquests include tracking down a Fender Super Reverb tube amp with an ultra-rare Tolex cloth. It was requested by, and sold to, none other than Willie Nelson, he says.
"My first guitar was a Holiday," Myer says. "I took it apart, and was going to clean it up, but I lost all the parts and couldn’t find where they were."
When he’s not overseeing the conception and construction of franchise interiors, Myer can be found searching eBay for that elusive ‘63-64 Holiday Bobcat. He already has the Beatles album.
