At 58 years old, Joe Stachowicz has an extensive background in musical knowledge. He began his musical career in grade school when he first learned to play the clarinet. Originally from Chicopee, MA, he studied clarinet and saxophone from some of the area’s finest teachers. Upon completion of his course work at Holyoke Community College, Joe entered the U.S. Navy, where he served for twenty years.

While serving his country, Joe had the opportunity to perform all over the world as a member of various Navy bands, including the Fleet Support Unit, the Great Lakes Navy Band, the Navy Band of Naples Italy, and the Navy Band of Washington D.C. In addition to being a phenomenal saxophone and flue instrumentalist, Joe served as a repair technician. He is currently one of three Repair Technicians at Gerry’s Music Shop. He has been an integral part of both the repair shop and Gerry’s family since he was hired. He feels that his specialty within the business is attempting to fix the unfixable, and his favorite part of the job is when he manages to successfully fix the unfixable.

During his career as an instrument repair technician, Joe has had the pleasure to work on instruments belonging to local legends Archie Shepp and Yusef Lateef.