I was raised in the college town of Natchitoches, Louisiana.  Although not rhythmically talented myself, I loved to listen to music…all kinds.  In the fifth grade, I earned a large am/fm radio for selling Christmas cards from one of those ads in the back of a comic book.  There wasn’t much available on the FM band, (I can’t remember any stations) but there was a top 40 AM station (KEEL radio) in Shreveport where I got to hear lots of artists from that time.  There was also a station in Little Rock, Arkansas with call letters KAAY that played good music, but it was after 10:00 at night they played a format called “Beaker Street” with a very low and quiet speaking DJ that turned us on to all kinds of alternative music that wasn’t making the top 40 list.  I quickly developed a love for the artists that weren’t mainstream and tried to learn more about the individual musicians in each band.

I went to concerts at Northwestern State University at that young age and heard groups like Peter, Paul, & Mary, Nino Tempo & April Stevens, Johnny Rivers, Gary Puckett & the Union Gap, and Ted Nugent & the Amboy Dukes.  I even saw Z.Z. Top in the small fine arts theater before they had beards!

At fifteen, I had my first component stereo system, and was collecting albums and eight track tapes.  I also was going to any concerts that I could find.  I talked my parents into letting me take the car to New Orleans to go to a Johnny Winter show.  Brownsville station opened, then Johnny came out and said, “people keep asking me, where’s your brother”, the crowd erupted when Edgar Winter came out and the two brothers just burned down the municipal auditorium playing just about everything they could pack in a three hour show.  I was hooked.

In those days, Shreveport had a great roster of artists that came to their municipal auditorium, so I burned up the road between it and Natchitoches.  Alice Cooper, Emerson, Lake, & Palmer, Mountain, Leon Russell, Z.Z. Top, Foghat, Doobie Brothers, Jethro Tull, Head East, R.E.O. Speedwagon, Savoy Brown, Rush, Black Oak Arkansas, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Humble Pie, and in 1970 a flash in the pan band called Bloodrock played, but were completely upstaged by the opening act, a little known but amazing band called Grand Funk Railroad.

In college I continued with travels to hear groups in other cities like Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Houston, and Austin where Albert King, John McLaughlin, Al Dimeola, Paco Delucia, Gregg Wright, America, Journey, Blue Oyster Cult, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Rod Stewart, Peter Frampton, Jeff Beck, Santana, and many others played.  Some I remember, and some I have faint recollection of.

I moved to Lafayette in 1977, and took a job at a stereo store.  The name of the store was Sound Electronics, and we sold albums and tapes as well as audio components.  I loved that job and I had an awesome boss who mentored to me the importance of taking care of customers.  He let me make mistakes, and then helped me learn from them.  In a year I was leading the store in sales and was promoted to floor manager.  Lafayette was a great place to be in that time because the city was booming.  We had a lot of really great customers that made my job interesting and the nightlife was off the hook!  We built a great, expanding group of steady customers, as well as people like George Rodrigue (the blue dog artist), Dennis Reggie (the photographer), and many oilmen who had lots of disposable income.  I got to do some really creative home stereo installations.  Of course reel to reels and turntables were the sources of choice for best sound quality.  Later, cassette decks got better and replaced the big reels.

About this time I started to become exposed to and learn the differences between good and excellent stereo equipment.  I became familiar with imaging, sound staging, and tonality and started to become aware of the world of high-end audio.  I sold my big Pioneer SX-1050 receiver, Technics turntable, and my acoustically fatiguing Bose 901’s, and got my first real system.  It consisted of a Phase Linear 700 amp, pre-amp, tuner, Pioneer PL-530 turntable, Shure V-15 cartridge, and Acoustic Research AR-LST speakers.  There was a phenomenal difference in accuracy between what I had owned and the new system.  I also started ordering Mobile Fidelity half-speed master albums (when I could afford it) and was now totally eaten up with working toward the “holy grail” of better sound.

In 1979, the Sony Betamax came out and we were selling them for $1,400.00 each.  If you wanted the clock to turn it on at a certain time, that was extra.  These VCR’s recorded for one hour and used a tape (L-500) that cost $24.95 a piece!  About the same time, Sony came out with a big 72” screen television that was projected from a coffee table onto a fixed curved screen.  It was great, but you had to get the room really dark in order to see the picture very well.  Naturally, we started using the audio output to feed the line inputs on our stereo equipment to create theater sound from our stereo systems.  Add a little reverb, an equalizer, and the first home theaters were being born!

The next evolution was the VHS tape, then stereo sound tracks on both formats.  The sound quality got a little better, but it wasn’t until both Beta and VHS came out with HiFi sound that video tape started sounding great.  (I still have a Fleetwood Mac concert and Thomas Dolby “She blinded me with science” video in Beta HiFi.)  At this early time, Paul Klipsch recommended a pair of Klipschorns for the front stereo speakers, and using a single LaScala wired for mono, as a center channel effect speaker.  This was way before any form of surround sound was created.  Our store also sold Laserdisc’s and ten foot C- band satellite systems, so there were new ways to be creative and enjoy home entertainment.

In the winter of 1982, I saw a preview of a CD player at the Chicago Consumer Electronics Show, and by 1983 we were selling them.  They promised “perfect sound forever” but were far from perfect sounding.  They recorded at slow digital encoding rates producing a brittle and sterile presentation, but had no hiss, clicks, or pops!  As digital decoding got better by over sampling the data stream and digital recording equipment got better, the CD quickly replaced the cassette tape, and eventually the album, as the preferred medium for playback of recorded music.

At this point I want to state that it has only been recently that CD’s have really become a serious contender to albums for the best realism of acoustic playback.  The vinyl album is still being produced and is even making somewhat of a comeback, as people are educated on the benefits of the sound it is capable of.  If all you’ve ever heard is a $200.00 turntable, you’ve never heard an album.  There are entry level turntables for sale that start around $1,000.00 (cartridge and needle add $300.00+) that will extract luscious sound from analog albums and send chills up your back.  A comparable CD player that will give this quality of presentation still runs close to the same dollar amount.  And no, a $99.00 dollar CD player doesn’t sound the same as a $3,000.00 dollar one.  There are differences in digital products just like there are differences in analog components.  The rule still applies that you get what you pay for, but let me get back to my time-line.

Also, about 1983, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg worked together on a film that would revolutionize the movie and audio industry.  Star Wars had as much emphasis placed on the sound and it’s effects, as the video effects.  Theaters had to rent audio systems from Lucas Films in order to play the movie.  The first true “surround sound” encoded movie was developed.  Of course, this spawned a whole new generation of movie-going experience and demand from the customer.  Effects movies and equipment would snowball.  Dolby Laboratories came out with an inexpensive surround encoding that was quickly adopted by the stereo equipment companies and we all added rear speakers to our systems.

Another monumental event occurred in 1983, on September 17th, my boss and mentor passed away with cancer at the age of 36.  Bryan Welborn was one of the best teachers of how to live I know of.  Although not a spiritual person, he walked as close to a Christian life as any one I’ve known.  He was the Andy Griffith of the electronics business.  Bryan taught me more about respect and taking care of people than he did about electronics.  He taught me principles that apply to living well, not just about business principles.  And he taught by example.  He steered with a gentle hand, let me make mistakes, and I can’t ever recall him saying a harsh word or raising his voice to me.  He put a lot of faith in me which made me want to perform more than if he had ridden my back.

The next few years were very tough as a silent partner came in and removed most of my decision making abilities, secretary, and store checkbook.  I felt it was a test, and if I could gain his trust, things would return to normal.  He was a very good business person, just not real good at handling people.  He and Bryan had obtained a television station license and while I ran the electronics stores, they worked on building the TV station.  I worked many late hours helping them literally build the station and learned a whole lot as it all came together.  One day, the new boss came by and gave me the keys to a 30,000 sq. ft. furniture store he owned and said he had fired the manager, for me to go take it over and manage it along with the electronics stores.  I took a crash course in furniture and worked literally seven days a week.  I became conditioned to work very hard, and I wouldn’t have minded as much if the owner had “coached” the same way.  There were lots of  demands, but never any pats on the back or recognition.

Early in 1986, there was an oil price drop that shut the town of Lafayette down overnight.  The economy went from 100 miles per hour to 0.  The local news gave nightly reports on utility disconnects and U-Haul rental activity as neighborhoods just went dark.  Banks failed, were absorbed by other banks, which failed and were taken over by other banks.  Property values fell in half as bankruptcies skyrocketed.  The whole economy was in a very deep depression.  My boss came to me and wanted to make some financial structure and accounting adjustments that I knew weren’t acceptable, so after a lot of soul searching I came to the conclusion that I didn’t want to invest any more time with this person, no matter what the cost to me.  I turned in my keys, and came to Alexandria where the economy wasn’t as affected by oil, but I literally had no money.  I did have a set of grandparents that would feed me anytime, and a mother and sister that lent (gave) me enough money to survive until I could figure out what to do.

I rented a typewriter and started putting together a vision for a store in Alexandria that told the story of what the business would look like including a business plan, pro-forma statements, data from lots of sources, pictures of similar operations, and letters from manufacturers and suppliers lending support.  With the help of some local business people (saints) and a loan from Security First National Bank, Simpson Electronics was turned into a reality.

The first location was positioned in a small retail strip center on Metro Drive and at 4,000 square feet, I thought it was huge.  We built TV shelves, a stereo room, a car stereo room, a service department, and had some nooks and crannies for accessories.  Our products ranged from walkman’s, jamboxes, rack stereo systems, component stereo equipment, speakers, car audio components and installation, accessories, TV’s, and big screens.  Our brands included Sony, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, RCA, Klipsch, Polk Audio, JBL, Technics, Harmon Kardon, Alpine, Rockford Fosgate, and Audio Control.  Some of my old college fraternity brothers were some of my first clients and each house we delivered or installed equipment in became a testimonial and walking advertisement.  There was also a playful one up-manship that developed with some of the physician’s groups that when one partner saw another partners installation, they would come in and request a similar set up, but “just a little better”.  I was back in my element.

1986 was a terrible time to own a business, much less start a new one.  The economy was still tough, credit was tight, and electronics was popular, but there was no boom.  We had decent business but expenses pretty much equaled our profits.  I lived in a small rent house just off Bolton and was about the lowest paid employee at the store.  I drove a stripped work van and where I lived was so bad, one night someone broke the window just to steal my sunglasses.  But I spent most of my awake hours at the store.

In 1990, Rex Electronics store closed on South MacArthur Drive.  They had opened a 12,000 square foot freestanding store the same time I opened my store.  It was built, as all their stores were built, as a big box.  With no announcement, one night I was passing by and saw an 18 wheeler backed down to the side door.  The next morning when I passed, there was a note on the front door.  I pulled up and read, “Closed”.  “If any questions, call our Jackson Mississippi store.”  Looking through the front door it looked like a tornado had hit.  There was pieces of displays, pieces of wood, pieces of plastic, and lots of paper littering the inside, but nothing of value.  They had literally loaded up everything overnight and disappeared.  A light bulb went off in my head and I immediately started trying to find out what would become of the building.

It had been three years since I opened on Metro Drive.  I had $30,000.00 worth of interior fixtures built and a going business, but now I would leave that behind and wanted the building that was the old Rex.  I managed to find out the real estate company that owned it and secured a lease.  On July 4th, 1990 we celebrated the grand opening of our new store.  It was so big, I had trouble filling it up.  My ego wanted an electronics “Superstore” even though I’ve seen countless large electronics stores fail.  I added appliances and the big store picture was complete.  So were the big electronics store downfalls.  With the big store, sales increased, so did the headaches of more payroll, more delivery costs, interest expense, rent expense, and so on, and so on.  Expenses outpaced income and I just about lost it all.  From the outside we looked great, from the inside, my stomach was in knots.  Some tough decisions were made, I had to basically start over with a clean sheet of paper and work with the bank on how to turn this business around.  I had to lose the ego, study what was profitable, and what was the biggest profit drain.  At a very critical point, prayers were answered.

I got a phone call from a real estate agent in Dallas for Blockbuster Video.  He inquired if I would split up my building and lease half of it to them.  It took a lot of wrangling but we struck a deal that put me on the right track.  I could unload the unprofitable appliance business, get out of the car audio business, and concentrate on my passion of audio, video, and custom installation.  It was the turnaround I desperately needed.  Once Blockbuster was in place, our custom business went through the roof.  We spent a great deal of time in seminars, learning about new technologies, and new techniques.  Our customers received the benefit of everything we were learning, and I could concentrate on that narrow focus.  We became an IBM structure wire integrator, started doing larger and larger closed circuit television systems, became a preferred installer for a national retail background audio company, and were doing board rooms, hospitals, casino’s, restaurants, and even the new Alexandria International Airport.  We have been privileged to do homes all along the Gulf Coast and even in a couple of other countries.  We got back to having fun.

It took all eleven years of rent income from Blockbuster to get us healthy as a company.  They were a great tenant the entire time and a good fit.  But, technology is changing and video rental has evolved to more people buying DVD’s as prices go down, Netflix has re-invented the way movies are delivered, and video on-demand is up and coming.  I was sorry to see them go but I knew it was inevitable.  I thank them for getting us to the next level.  With them gone it gave us the opportunity to expand and to completely renovate our now twenty-two year old building.

When I first approached Charlie White Architects with the idea of the transformation, he got excited.  He is a good customer as well as a person with vision, so the first thing he did is go to Dallas to the store I told him I wanted to emulate, and take pictures until they asked him to leave.  He came back and brought a wonderful group of ideas that we implemented and drew a new store plan.  The new store would have open areas for general display of lots of flat panel TV’s mounted to beautiful stained wood panels.  Those areas would meander around taking you past five different theater rooms with progressing systems ranging from good, to better, to best, to insane, to “if you have to ask”.  There’s a patio area showcasing outdoor speakers with in-ceiling models, swivel bracket surface mounted, and even speakers that look like rocks.  In the patio area is also an outdoor TV and copper waterfall mixed in with some landscaping.  There’s also a kitchen where the granite island doubles as a blueprint layout area.  From here we meet with customers and architects to work up the plans of what we will do in the house or business.  Everything we do is displayed within reach of the island.  On the kitchen counter is a TV that displays cable, satellite, internet, or cctv cameras we mount around the house.  There is also a Panasonic multi-line phone with intercom which allows you to call any other room, all rooms, or answer the doorbell.  After talking to the person at the door through the speakerphone, you can change the channel on the kitchen TV to see the subject you are speaking to.  You can also unlock a gate or door from any of the phones.  On the wall is a touch screen keypad that allows you to do home automation features all over the house, like control lighting, audio sources, video sources, audio levels, temperature, curtains, lawn sprinklers, etc.  It also makes operating your theater system easier and saves energy on electricity usage.  How cool is that?

The overall look of the store is that of a very large home with large columns as you enter, then track lighting, blacked out ceiling, and very little retail signage.  You’d think that we’d have to be expensive with this type of format, but the reality is that we get on-line every week and research prices from Circuit City, Sears, Best Buy, Crutchfield Mail Order, and SonyStyle.com to make sure we are as cheap or cheaper than they are.  Then we have knowledgeable sales staff, 0% interest programs, free local delivery, knowledgeable installation technicians, licensed service technicians, a great selection of furniture to put your new TV and components on, home theater seating, and the best prices on extended warranties anywhere.  Then our technicians, or “specialists” as we like to call them, frequently go to training seminars all over the country to keep up with the latest technology and stay ahead of the curve so we can future proof your home when we wire it.  I’ve surrounded myself with people who’s thirst for knowledge is pretty healthy.  They get it, they don’t just do it for the money, they eat, breathe, sleep, walk, talk, and love electronics.  And when you are doing something you love, it’s not a job, it’s a hobby.
And I know that makes us the right company to do the job every time, there is no comparison between us and most other companies in the states.  That’s not brag, it’s fact.

Our retail partners are now Sony, Toshiba, LG, Mitsubishi, Samsung, JVC Procision, Sonic Frontiers Anthem, Sony ES, Klipsch Reference, Paradigm, Paradigm Reference, Russound, Niles, Xantech, Monster Cable, Panamax/Furman, Sanus, Chief, Riverside Furniture, Bello Furniture, Berkline Premier Home Theater Seating, Sony CIS (custom install systems), Control4, AudioStream, Panasonic CCTV, Sony CCTV, SimPro CCTV, Panasonic Telephone systems, and OnQ Legrand structure wire products.

So, Simpson Electronics has evolved into a Specialist company that sells and installs high definition televisions, projectors, projection screens, background audio systems, home theaters, power conditioners, commercial surge protectors, electronic furniture, theater seating, structure wire systems, computer LAN’s, commercial and residential closed circuit television systems, commercial and residential telephone/intercom systems, Control4 home automation systems, boardroom systems, and all accessories and service required by this equipment.  We warranty all of our work and take care of everything for our customers.

So, in a nutshell, Simpson Electronics started from selling Christmas cards to buy audio equipment, then grew into an audio/video company selling electronics, who now buys Christmas cards to send to it’s customers.  The irony is amazing, isn’t it!