Music Store Rat

So the Pursuers lasted for most of 7th grade. That summer Robert and i discovered Sherman-Clay Music. I it was basically a piano store but it had a good sized combo department. The guy who worked there, JW was(and still is) a classical guitar player and teacher. He kind of talked like a beatnik, very hip. He called his guitar his "horn" which I thought was the coolest thing ever.

JW took a liking to Robert because it was becoming obvious that he was piano prodigy. At one point JW lent us a bass(St. George with the pistol grip cutout) a guitar(a Kapa I think) and a bass amp right out of the store.

I think we had them all summer. I remember playing at the teen center with Paul and a bass player not Robert. I guess I had custody of the gear. These were my first gigs, we would split the KoolAid money, maybe $3 between us. I think I may have commandeered my brothers amp for these shows when he was out on a Kerouacian road trip or went surfing somewhere.

Paul and I spent that summer hanging at the Teen Center, playing music in garages mostly and hanging out in music stores. There were a bunch of music stores in town then, more than now, but no big box stores like Guitar Center. We would hang a Sherman Clay, then go to Jacks House of Music across the street and gaze at the beautiful Gretch guitars. Some days we would take the bus downtown and make ourselves nuisances at Melody Land(I think that was it's name), C and H Music and the Sherman and Clay main store. I just loved being around all the guitars and just the music store smell. I would read catalogs and play when they would let me.

to be continued........