For those who don’t know me, I suppose I’d be classified as an old timer from the old GbL. Not as old as some (like GDub), but old enough. Actually, Gary and I are the same age . . . we’re Stratogenarians. So the first question of the week is the easiest. What year were GDub and I born?
I’ve owned a pile of G&L’s, mostly BBE Era gear with a few Leo Era guitars thrown in the mix. I was a die hard single coil fan with a strong preference for the S-500. As our set list changed I made a move to humbuckers and have pretty much stayed in that camp. Due to that change most of my G&L’s are gone, with the exception of my ASAT Special Semi-Hollow. They were all great guitars.
Enough reminiscing . . . on to lunch!
LUNCH:
I’ve been on a diet for a little over a year, so lunches are almost predictable enough for me to write them out a week in advance. I’m writing this last Friday. I’m guessing I’ll have chicken on multi-grain bread with light mayo and an apple. Let’s see if that holds true.
G&L TOPIC:
I thought I’d start with something new that I just saw on the GbL . . . the 2012 Special Collection. Here’s something I would have liked to have seen several years ago - a thin finish on a G&L! I’m not sure if I’ll ever get to see one in-person as there are very few G&L dealers in my area, but I’m glad to see they’ve developed a finish that will attract the “thin-skin” buyer. The thick poly finish is one thing I didn’t really care for on my G&L’s. You could gig the snot out of ‘em and they still looked brand new. Most people like that, but I wanted those guitars to show how much I loved playing them!
Craig threw this up for discussion but didn’t get too many responses. I’d like to throw this back out there to see what you guys think. I’m wondering if this finish can be applied in any color or does it have to be a stained finish? Is it limited strictly to Honey Ale? Would you like to see a thin finish become the standard finish if you could get it in any color? Any other thoughts on the matter?
NON-G&L TOPIC:
Well, this really is a G&L topic, kind of. Back in the early GbL days, Brian Gagnon started the Just-A-Jam in conjunction with one of the large guitar shows in Texas. Quite a few GbL’ers from the south and west attended, including Dave McLaren, Will Ray, Tim Page, and a bunch of other guys. There are pictures in the Gallery. Take a look if you haven’t done that yet.
Anyway, it looked like so much fun we started one in Michigan 8 years ago. Emmitt (front right) took charge and put this thing together. The first Michigan Jam had attendees from as far away as NY, PA, SC, OH, and of course, MI. Subsequent years brought in guys from Florida to Wisconsin, and as far away as England. The group ended up donating guitars and amps to a few deserving people, including a blind guy who was mentally handicapped. He taught himself to play sitting down with the guitar in his lap like Jeff Healey. Quite a feel good moment for us and he was thrilled to get a new guitar and amp. Anyway, we’ve had a lot of fun, and a lot of the guys from the old group still get together every fall. While it’s not G&L centered anymore, it’s still a good time and great to see everyone. Here’s a shot of the first MI Jam. My oldest son said we should start a band and call it the Creepy Internet Stalkers. Nice kid . . .
I’m curious if you’ve ever met with other “creepy internet stalkers” to hold a jam or just get together to talk about guitars and gear? Would you be interested in doing something like that? Did you form any long term friendships, or were you just beat senseless in an alley and robbed of all your possessions?
That’s it for day 1. I’ll check in tonight to read the responses. I’ll be taking applications for LR duties as the week progresses, so let me know if you'd like to take over next week.
Ches
