In the next few days, Enumclaw’s Radio Shack will close its doors. Permanently.

And there you are. Another vacant building on Cole Street.

Craig Gammon has been managing the business for the past 17 years. Most of you probably don’t know him in that capacity because you’ve never been in the store, which is precisely why the place is closing.

You’re more apt to know him as a musician who commands some respect and admiration in the local music scene. More on that later.

Craig was born and raised in Minnesota where, in 1970, he graduated from St. Cloud University with a performance degree in harpsichord and pipe-organ. (That may sound like an unusual degree, but it actually isn’t that uncommon, particularly at prestigious music schools.) Shortly thereafter, he found himself in Thailand, sitting on top of the largest ammunition dump in the whole of Southeast Asia. And that’s where he sat for the next couple of years. When he wasn’t arming U.S. war-places, he analyzed his purpose in life and tested various states of consciousness, which you shouldn’t find surprising. (I mean, he was, after all, in Thailand.)

Craig had always cultivated an interest in electronics and, after he was discharged from the Air Force, he spent 10 or 12 years working in different aspects of that field, attending several Radio Shack schools and bouncing hither and yon around the country. In 1985, he ended up in Enumclaw, hired by Greg Thompson and Virgie Green, who had bought Gronvik’s Electronics and opened Radio Shack.

Craig suggests “The Shack” has fallen victim to the same revolutionary, economic and technological changes that are raising hell with so many businesses on Main Street America. Small, local franchises and independent operators can’t compete with the giant box-stores. Then too, people who are into electronics can buy everything they want on the Internet, often tax free. Consequently, profits started falling around 2007 and, with the onset of the current recession, they took a first-class nose dive, especially since 2010.

So, I asked Craig what he intended to do with the rest of his life.

“Well, assuming I have a few months left,” he smiled whimsically, “I’m going to concentrate entirely on my music. It may not be profitable enough to sustain my current lifestyle, but at least I’ll survive with some degree of comfort.”

I’m sure he will. He’s one of the most productive musicians I’ve ever known. Through the years, he’s played keyboards, wrote arrangements and helped recruit and organize 12 to 15 bands. Currently, he’s with the “Pleasure Hounds,” a classic rock and rhythm-and-blues group that mostly books private parties – birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, etc. – as opposed to clubs or concerts. The band recently performed at a festive gathering for the Washington State Patrol. Remarked Craig, “That was the wildest celebration I’ve witnessed in some time.”

He has frequently contributed solo performances at various art openings and exhibits around town, in particular “Art In the Garden.” He’s also recorded entire scores for the musical shows offered by our local theater, Stage Door Productions; that is, he creates the whole, integrated orchestra from his keyboards, records it on a CD and that disk becomes the music for the production. He’d like to sit down with three or four really excellent rhythm and blues musicians and make an album of authentic, down-home, gut-level blues.

Craig’s always been fond of classical music and he hopes to pursue that interest more diligently. He’s created a few scores for the local Ballet

Workshop.

You can never be sure what the future holds, but Craig will embrace whatever it has.

“You have to create something,” he giggled. “Either that, or go crazy!” Then he paused to dwell on that thought before adding, “Except for those very rare artists who combine the two!”

I think I know one of them.