NEVADA COUNTY AT A GLANCE
back to the original.” Her business is
nestled between Nevada Club, a self-
proclaimed dive bar with pool tables
and a dartboard, and Foothill Flowers,
a family-owned florist that has been in
business since 1966. And just a block
down West Main Street is the Holbrooke,
a gold-rush era hotel that opened in 1862
and is being renovated.
Population: 98,764
Median Age: 49.8
Median Income: $60,610
Size: 978 square miles
County Seat: Nevada City
ABOUT THAT NAME?
When Sorci moved to Grass Valley,
“Bluegrass was a very popular style of
music,” she says. Her inspiration for the
name, she says, was “Foggy Mountain
Breakdown,” written by Earl Scruggs
and first recorded in 1949 by Flatt &
Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys,
featuring Scruggs playing a five-string
banjo. The song was used as background
music in the 1967 hit movie “Bonnie
and Clyde,” especially in the car chase
scenes. Sorci recalls that the California
Bluegrass Association held its first fes-
tival in 1975, and the annual four-day
event is on Father’s Day weekend at the
Nevada County Fairgrounds. She also
says the clouds in Grass Valley, at 2,500
feet elevation, “remind me of fog.”
HOW'S BUSINESS?
“We’re busy, always have a lot of clien-
tele,” Sorci says. “Our clients are very
diverse, lots of different kinds of musi-
cians.” She says her store differs from
many of the big-box stores that sell in-
struments because it not only sells and
rents instruments — she carries more
than 200, including guitars, drums,
keyboards, banjos, ukuleles, horns and
harps — it offers lessons and instrument
repairs and appraisals. On a Monday af-
ternoon in July, Sorci answered phone
calls and greeted customers, including
two who came in to purchase strings,
while she replaced strings on another
customer’s ukulele. “We sell a lot of
strings,” Sorci says. “Some people prefer
to have us replace them.”
THE 10-COUNTY
CAPITAL REGION
Biggest Cities: Truckee (16,108),
Grass Valley (12,860), Nevada City
(3,068)
SOURCE: MYNEVADACOUNTY.COM, FACTFINDER.CENSUS.GOV
MOST FAMOUS CUSTOMER?
While Sorci’s clients mostly come from
the surrounding region, she’s had
some famous customers over the years.
“We’ve had quite a few,” she says. “Gene
Parsons from the Byrds, Leon Russell,
Doc & Merle Watson, and the guys from
The Band.” Sorci says many of the musi-
cians who have performed at the nearby
Center for the Arts come into her store to
browse or purchase, “because we have
something for everyone.”
MOST UNUSUAL INSTRUMENT?
“We are so diverse,” Sorci says, “beau-
tiful harps and mandolins, and we do
a lot of ukuleles. It’s a great instrument
for first-time players.” Perhaps the most
unusual instrument is the bouzouki, a
mainstay of modern Greek music. It has
a flat front and either three or four pairs
of strings. It’s played with a plectrum,
and its sound is reminiscent of a man-
dolin, but pitched lower. n
Tom Couzens is executive editor of
Comstock's. On Twitter @tomcouzens.
"We thought (Grass
Valley) would be a great
place to start a business.
(My mother) had run a
business before, so she
taught me how to run a
business. ... And it Took on
a life of its own."
~ Mary Ellen Sorci, owner, Foggy
Mountain Music
MAIN STREET profiles businesses
in our 10-county Capital Region.
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August 2019 | comstocksmag.com
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