On Practicing Guitar

July 27 – On Monday, we took the Gibson Factory tour, which was sold out. The hollow and semi-hollow body guitars are made at the Memphis factory, and we got to see the luthiers putting together these sought-after instruments. Understandably, we weren’t allowed to get too close or take pictures.

It was the first time I ever set foot in a factory of any kind, and it gave my already strong ‘buy American’ sympathies a new twist. The smell of chemicals was in the air as were copious sawdust and other foreign agents. My immediate thought was that with the strangle hold that the American medical insurance business has on our country, it must be almost impossible to turn out high quality products that are affordable to performers. It may be more complicated than that, but it is perhaps worth noting that a trolley tour guide in Nashville, where the solid bodies are made, told us that Music City grosses ten billion in music revenue, and get this – thirty billion for the medical industry!

The overall effect of the Gibson Factory tour however was that it made me want to go home and play my Les Paul, and for good measure, I should get my tools out and finish those lingering home repair projects that I’ve been dreaming up, like painting the inner door of the loo silver ala Andy Warhol’s factory. And speaking of painting, the finishing section of the tour was one of the most exciting parts. The guitars look fairly unimpressive in their raw wood stage – the wood looks well, raw and of undetermined quality. A full week of painting and lacquering to the rescue!

In the showroom (pictured above), I was most impressed by a 1964 reissue ESC-TD (picture). Mind you, it was the sound – like Blind Faith-era Clapton, and that’s unplugged – and incredible playability that I was struck by. Unfortunately, there was the $4,500 price tag to consider, so I bought some much needed Dunlop fingerpicks instead.

That evening, we went to the well recommended Lafayette’s Music Room, in the beautiful Overton Square neighborhood. The legendary Ardent Studios is down the block, where Alex Chilton and Big Star recorded Radio City, and Led Zeppelin IV played respectably from outdoor speakers situated in the eaves of the tidy one and two story buildings. The speakers? Bose. Memphis is a town where rock and roll lives, 24/7.

The band at Lafayette that night was Deering & Down, fronted by Lahna Deering on vocals and rhythm guitar and Rev Neil Down on lead guitar and vocals. The sound in the cavernous, two tiered restaurant was warm and detailed, and benefited the atmospheric guitars by Down and breathy vocals of Deering, who also played tight rhythm guitar. But I couldn’t help thinking that it was a sound that had been done before, in the ‘90s, by groups like Mazzy Star, The Sundays, and many more, and that these talented musicians were involved in a labor of love.

One aspect of the Memphis and Nashville scenes that I noticed and that was demonstrated here was the musicians stridently asking for tips. We do it in New York as well, but usually not repeatedly. However, I totally sympathize. The food was terrific at this place, the ambience added to it, and the music was top notch. There was a very good crowd on hand and no cover charge. But I was one of the only people that ventured up to the stage and put something in the tip jar. It makes you wonder if money is a bit tighter than usual in Memphis. The music doesn’t suffer for it, though.