Dell Knickerbocker, owner of The Sax Clinic in Valparaiso, has lived in the spotlight for most of his life. His passion for music began as a child when he would listen to records with his older brother and blossomed throughout his high school career as a saxophonist. During his senior year, Knickerbocker received a standing ovation at one of his band concerts.
“My older brother inspired me a lot with music that he would play on his record player. I would say the first time I knew I wanted to be exclusively a musician and make my income through music was in high school. Getting a standing ovation for one of the performances really defined that,” Knickerbocker said.
Knickerbocker then decided to study music at Central Michigan University. After college, he began making a living off of another one of his long-term interests – instrument repair.
“I started repairing musical instruments when I was 15. That would have been 1981, so I've been doing it a little over 40 years now,” said Knickerbocker.
The Sax Clinic officially opened in 2014, Knickerbocker's home-based music studio that provides sales and service of professional saxophones and clarinets, equipment consultations, and private music lessons. By the time he established a storefront, he was already incredibly well-known in the music community.
Before opening The Sax Clinic, he worked for a music company as a woodwind technician.
“When I started my business I already had a great deal of experience and established myself through a local music store,” Knickerbocker said. “I moved to the Northwest Indiana area in 1989 and went to work for Paxton Music Company. I was their lead woodwind technician. At that time, I was the only one. Then, in 2003, the business was acquired by Quinlan & Fabish Music Company out of Illinois. I worked in that business up until 2014.”
The Sax Clinic allowed Knickerbocker to explore a more personal approach to instrument repair. He soon gained clientele from several different continents as well as clients looking for one-on-one lessons.
“My business is fortunate enough to have clientele now on five different continents. I have a very strong national client base. I have saxophones and clarinets shipped in from across the country, and I sell instruments abroad. The mainstay of how I make my living is from the sales and service of professional woodwind instruments. I also teach private lessons in sax, flute, and clarinet and have been doing so for 35 years,” Knickerbocker said.
In addition, Knickerbocker is also a veteran member of The National Association of Professional Band Instrument Repair Technicians (NAPBIRT). He has presented repair clinics at some of their national conferences and is regularly sought out by younger technicians for guidance.
“Mentoring young people is one of my great joys in life," he said.
Knickerbocker is also a professional voice actor.
“I got into that job living next to a documentary producer right here in Valparaiso. Gary Foreman of Native Sun Productions asked me if I would be interested in providing some voice work for his History Channel documentaries. I was fortunate enough to make my debut on the History Channel,” said Knickerbocker.
Voice work is a welcomed break from the rest of Knickerbocker’s usual tasks. Though his heart lies within the Sax Clinic, he enjoys how flexible the voice acting career can be.
“It's not a career that demands every bit of my time to be lucrative. It works well with balancing out the Sax Clinic, the private lessons, and the voiceover work,” said Knickerbocker.
On top of balancing the many aspects of his career, Knickerbocker also resides as the on-call saxophonist for the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra, and has been doing so for over 20 years.
Because of his ties to the symphony, Knickerbocker was able to meet one of his musical idols, Pete Fountain, whom he grew up listening to with his brother.
“I met him when he was performing with the Northwest Indiana Symphony. He was probably the most accommodating and friendly guy you could possibly imagine. He said, 'If you're ever in New Orleans, stop into my jazz club and say hello.’ Well, when I was 35 years old, I rode my Harley-Davidson all the way to New Orleans for my birthday. I did stop and say hello, and he remembered me,” Knickerbocker said.
Fountain isn’t the only celebrity musician Knickerbocker has gotten to know over the years. Knickerbocker has also met Grammy Award-winning saxophonist David Sanborn and Marc Russo of The Doobie Brothers and founding member of the Yellowjackets.
Knickerbocker was also a stage performer for many years as a band leader and as a sideman. He has joined the likes of Tony Bennett, Buddy Guy, Albert King, Big Time Sarah, Joanna Connor, The Kingsnakes, amongst others, on blues stages in Chicago.
Though his career has taken him in a multitude of directions, Knickerbocker feels the most rewarding part of his career is being able to mentor the next generation of musicians.
“I really love playing a mentor role to my students and to my younger clients. I would say that's probably one of the most rewarding things,” Knickerbocker said.
The Sax Clinic is open by appointment only. To learn more or schedule an appointment, visit www.facebook.com/thesaxclinic.