Brooks Berdan says bye bye

I remember Brooks Berdan when he was one more salesperson at GNP in Pasadena. Tons of respect for the now departed Brooks and those who carry on in his name.

In the email, Sheila said she was moving to Washington State (in the Northwest corner above Seattle) to be closer to her daughter Jen (I’ve known her and her older brother Brian---who owns Audio Element in Pasadena, an excellent shop---since they were little kids). Sheila and store manager Rick Vides (I believe they are a couple now) will be operating Brooks Berdan, Ltd. from there, but she didn’t state if it would be out of a storefront as the shop in Monrovia has been since Brooks opened there in the 80’s

Brooks Berdan, Ltd. was not just a great hi-fi shop, but for over thirty years the meeting place on Saturdays for a wonderful group of hi-fi and music fanatics. There was no pressure to buy anything, and Brooks was a great host, often buying lunch for everyone (he always had a nice roll in his pocket ;-) . He had a great crew, which included tech Tom Carione and tube expert Joe Knight. Brooks’ passing was a real loss to everyone who knew him.

I was a customer of Brooks' when he was the turntable set-up man and general tech at GNP in Pasadena, and followed him when he went out on his own. He and I became close, and I started accompanying him to the Winter CES every year. The first year I shared a room with Brooks and Sheila, and learned what serious snoring is ;-). My gawd what a racket! Sheila hired me to put a band together for Brooks' 50th birthday party, and that night he got up on my Gretsch drumset (he played drums in high school) and played "Wipeout" with the band. Happiest I ever saw him. A coupla years later he was gone.  

Great read Bdp24, thanks for sharing. Looking forward to their adventure in my neck of the woods.

Cool story as always, bdp24.

Berdan was a place that was within a reasonable drive(45minutes, traffic permitting) for me.

From the messsage, it appears  being close to family is a big factor.  I can't imagine trying to keep an audio retail business successful here in SoCal. 

They will be missed but as a Washington resident, welcome ! i do hope they have a storefront. Tom the tech is a true zen master. I bought a few bits out of Brooks private collection of gear, including his revered SP-6C, 
Eric thanks for the trip down memory lane…..