THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 22, 1995 TAG: 9503210135
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Around town
SOURCE: Linda McNatt
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
Remember the J. Quincy Brown Band? About four years ago, it was one of the most popular around, playing pop and country hits.
And one old-timer who's been around Isle of Wight County and its home-brand music for years once told me that if anybody had a chance to go professional, it was Joe Brown, who led the J. Quincy group, played drums and sang.
He was quite a showman, with his salt 'n' pepper kind of Kenny Rogers beard, blue jeans and leather vest.
So, whatever happened to old Joe?
These days he's wearing an apron and keeping a country store.
Long hours. From 4 a.m. until 6 at night. After that, when he closes the store, he does woodwork in a small shop at one end of Barlow's General Merchandise, while his wife, Nancy, does cross stitch and ceramics.
Mostly, it was the long hours, Joe says, that caused him to leave music.
``I kept up with it for about a year after we opened the store,'' about four years ago. ``I would leave here Friday at 6 p.m., get home at 2:30 a.m. and open up here again at 4:30. It'll sure wear you down.'' Joe's 41 now.
So he had to make a choice.
Actually, he made the choice when he married the former Nancy Barlow.
Nancy's dad, Ray Parker Barlow, ran the store at the corner of Route 10 and Burwell's Bay Road for 30 years. When he decided to retire, he sold it outside the family.
But soon it was up for sale again. And there was kind of a family tradition to keep going.
``I started working here when I was 12 years old,'' Nancy says. ``I swore up and down I'd never do it again. But, oh well. We're happy. It is a lot of long hours, but we have a good time.''
The couple runs the country store - kind of like a convenience store with lots of country traditions still lurking - with the help of only one part-time employee. The rest, they do themselves.
``The main thing I had to get used to was how much stock to order,'' Joe says. ``We've got to keep it turning over so nothing goes bad.''
The hardest thing was making the decision to do it in the first place. Joe had his music, and he was working in the family-owned automotive repair and towing business, Brown Brothers.
Nancy was working for GTE. And she was facing being transferred out of state because of cutbacks at the local office.
So Daddy Barlow said, ``How about it?''
And they did.
The store has anything a modern convenience or small grocery would have: canned goods, bread, cakes, sugar, flour - all of that. And the lottery, even the computer for Lotto.
But, hey, there is also the huge round of rich, orange cheese you associate with years gone by, smoked meats, country sausage, a few cans of snuff (raw and fried), red-skinned peanuts by the pound and roasted peanuts by the bag.
``We like to keep some of the traditions,'' Joe says. ``People love that cheese. We still get a little advice from Mr. Barlow.''
He drops in most every morning for coffee, Nancy says.
The music was always fun, but it never did pay the bills, Joe says.
Even today, after nearly three years away from it, he says he gets calls from other bands looking for a drummer or a singer.
``I sat in with a band called Trouble about a month ago at the American Legion. I had a great time. I sure did.''
But he says he would never think of going back to music again on a permanent basis, even if some folks did think he may have had a chance to go pro.
After all, he is a pro - a professional storekeeper.
``It's a whole lot more hours,'' he says. ``But you sure meet a lot of good people. The people in this community are as close as family. I love what I'm doing.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by LINDA McNATT
Musician Joe Brown now runs a country store.
by CNB