With a thatch of gray hair pulled back in a ponytail and curled, work-worn fingers, the man picks up an acoustic guitar he once made and begins strumming a familiar tune.
Couldn’t be any more soothing. So much so that you get the sense music is his life’s calling.
Call him Danche, though his real name is Slobodan Ivanovic. His shop, Danche Guitar Co., at 7232 Madison St. in Forest Park, is where he makes guitars with customers and is a certified repairer of Fender models.
“Many times you have challenge with how to fix, how customers will be happy,” Danche said. “The moment when they finish job, and I’m happy, customer is happy and my pocket is happy.”
A reporter bursts into laughter, and Danche smiles, but quickly adds, “This is beauty of my job.”
His work is beautiful, without doubt. Walking into the back of his shop, there is a work area, and he’s in the process of finishing an electric guitar with customer Bob Conrardy, a River Forest resident. The blonde wood is lacquered to a shine, and you might imagine this example in the hands of someone like jazz guitarist Pat Metheny, who he’s met.
“He’s very proud of what he’s doing, proud of his instruments,” Conrardy said, adding he’s known Danche since his shop was located further east on Madison Street in Oak Park. “He’s an artisan and that’s what he knows. He knows music; he played music and learned a trade that followed his passion, and that was woodworking and making and repairing instruments.”
But times have been rough. The COVID pandemic put him behind financially and placed him in a position to lose his shop and the apartment he lives in above it.
That’s why Conrardy launched a GoFundMe campaign in March to help.
“I was figuring out ways to help him out,” Conrardy said. “Maybe people will have empathy toward him and help him out. I thought it would also create awareness of his plight.”
Conrardy and Danche go way back.
“I met him and his wife when they had their shop in Oak Park,” Conrardy said, adding he’s made two guitars with Danche, one for each of his sons. “They had just moved in. I kind of befriended them, I’d come there and we’d sometimes drink coffee at night.”
Conrardy works in downtown Chicago and even dropped in when Danche and his wife, Zdenka, were sworn in as U.S. citizens, a proud moment for the Serbian who is from Croatia and made a name for himself as a musician in that part of the world.
But just before COVID-19 struck, Danche’s wife passed, and that emotional devastation, coupled with the pandemic, competing with online vendors, inflation and other issues made it increasingly difficult for him to keep up with mortgage payments, bills and necessary repairs.
Hence the GoFundMe campaign, for which Danche is eternally appreciative.
“Oh, I was happiest guy,” he said. “[Bob] also helped me with my financial stuff.”
The funds raised will be applied to overdue mortgage payments, insurance premiums, medical expenses and building repairs.
“Without this support, Danche risks losing the only asset he has for retirement, leaving him without a home or a way to earn a living,” the GoFundMe campaign says.
It’s not easy, but Danche isn’t one to give up. He’s going to pursue his musical passion, not because he wants to per se, but because he must.
“I don’t like to retire,” he said. “I can die if retired. I just enjoy work.
“What can I do all day long?”
If you would like to contribute to the Danche Guitar Co. GoFundMe campaign, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-danche-save-his-home-guitar-shop