When I first put together this pine bodied Tele, I told myself that I wasn’t going to modify it. That lasted about  three years. I stuck a Bigsby B-16  on it a few months ago. Last week I went all out and cut down the B-16 and stuck two of my new pickups on it. I couldn’t be happier with the results. (for now) I just can’t seem to leave well enough alone!  It almost makes me feel like playing some gigs.

I was recently talking to a friend about guitar playing and motivation to practice (it seemed like he had a hard time staying motivated).  I’ve always liked to practice, and have been easily motivated to play my guitar for hours. I told him that when I heard a solo  that really moved me, I had a hard time not picking up my guitar. He asked which solos ‘’moved me’’?  Then I started thinking about all the solos that I’ve found over the years that I have been really influenced by, that really got into my head and then can’t stop thinking about for days.

So once a month I’m going to post a song with a solo that makes me want to run for my guitar and practice for hours. Hopefully they’ll have the same effect on you.

The first one that comes to mind for me is Chester B. Atkins 1953 solo on Sweet Georgia Brown. I usually prefer solos that sound ‘’spur of the moment’’, as if they could possibly fall apart at any time, but don’t. Chet’s solo on this song sounds composed, but it’s composed perfectly from beginning to end. I can’t remember who turned me on to the ‘’Jazz from the Hills’’ by the Country All Stars, but even after years of listening to this, I still have to fight the urge to run for my guitar.

Sweet Georgia Brown

After many months of testing, I finally have a limited quantity, small batch of Pickups available for sale. The Blade Pickup is $340. USD plus shipping, and the adjustable Pole Piece Pickup is $325. USD plus shipping.  I’m really happy with the way they sound. The Blade Pickup sounds very similar to a Charlie Christian and is excellent for jazz chords and single note playing. The Adjustable Pole Piece Pickup  also sounds like a Charlie Christian but has a slightly brighter sound.

I’m positive that if you play swing, bop or country jazz, you’ll be happy with either one of these pickups. We guarantee it!

If interested, Contact us.

Pickups, Pickguards, Custom Inlay, Set Up, Modifications, Neck Shims, More to Come….

Gallery

I am finally taking the time to share the story of how I found my grandfather’s 53 Buick Riviera at a swap meet. Even twelve years later, it’s still hard for me to believe. The Buick is not just a car to me, its part of my family history, so I’ll begin by sharing a bit of background about my grandfather.

Denny Sermersheim was part of “the greatest generation”. He was given the nickname “Summertime” by his C.O. during World War II. His love of engines started at an early age. Denny attended Carter Carburetor School in St. Louis, MO, and was working at Allison Engineering in Indianapolis, IN when he enlisted in the Navy. After attending Packard Marine Engine School, he was the engineering officer of the Ron 9 PT Boat Squadron. Based in the South Pacific, Denny’s squadron was the team that rescued John F. Kennedy when he was stranded on an island behind enemy lines. That story was depicted in the 1963 film “PT 109” staring Cliff Robertson and Robert Blake. I’ve shared a great photo that I have of Denny, with a smile on his face, making a still out of scraps in the jungle to make the time at war a bit more bearable.

After the war, not wanting to live with humidity ever again, Denny moved his family from Indiana to Inglewood, CA. He never lost his enthusiasm for perfecting the performance of an engine so he went to work for Harry Mann Chevrolet and then on to Simpson Buick. In 1953, wanting to own his own business, Denny bought a piece of land in Twentynine Palms, CA, about two hours outside of L.A. He went back to Jasper, Indiana, where he had grown up, to enlist the help of his father, Heamer, to build a home, and Denny’s new business, “Summertime’s Carburetor and Electric Service”. The Business slogan from day one was: “Engines Tuned Like A Fine Violin”. Like myself, my great-grandfather Heamer was a cabinet maker and musician.

While back in Indiana to pick up Heamer, Denny purchased a brand new 1953 Buick 2 Door Riviera 56R for $3500. Before he left the lot, he had a plaque installed on the glove box door that read: Built Expressly for Denny Sermersheim. They drove the new Buick from Jasper to Twentynine Palms to get started building the new house and business. From the photos they took along the way, it looks like they had the time of their lives, sightseeing and goofing off along Route 66. Over the years, the Buick made that trip with family several more times.

When “Summertimes” opened, it had the newest equipment available, a great sign out front and floors that were always so clean, you could eat off of them. Over time, Denny made various changes to the Buick. We have the receipt and photos from when he upgraded the engine and drive train. Some of the things he did were to add an Edmunds intake manifold, two Carter carburetors and a Judson Electronic Magneto. He also had the valve covers, exhaust manifold and other items chrome plated. The chrome still looks great today. In the early 60’s the car was repainted from the original green to gold and around the same time, Denny took the Buick to Tijuana, Mexico for new leather tuck-n-roll upholstery.

My parents met while in high school in Twentynine Palms. After college and career choices, they settled in suburban Los Angeles. Growing up, I have great memories of spending time with Denny and my grandmother, Silver, in Twentynine Palms, and when they would drive the Buick into the city to visit us. One memory for example, is that I would be out in the garage, and Denny, liking to partake in a little nip now and then, would pull a bottle out of some hiding place, look at me, put his finger up to his mouth and whisper Shhhhhh, he’d take a drink, and put the bottle back into hiding. I thought it was a funny secret. To me, he always seemed happy and he never met a stranger no matter where he was.

Denny passed away in 1976 and although I wanted that Buick so bad, I was not old enough to drive yet. Silver sold the house/business in Twentynine Palms to move closer to my family. With limited space at her new home, she needed to sell the car as well. She sold it to a “friend” of the family for $3000. with the stipulation that when I was old enough, he would sell it back to her. When I was ready to drive and wanted the car, he had a change of heart and refused to sell it back. We never knew what happened to the Buick after that.

In 1999 I acquired a 56 Ford pickup truck from my dad’s brother. It needed a lot of work so on a Sunday morning; I dragged my wife Jill down to the Long Beach car swap meet to look for parts. I didn’t find anything I wanted so I said, “lets go home”.  Her response after getting up really early and walking around looking at car parts all morning, was to at least let her walk the rows of vintage cars for sale. I was ready to leave, but thought I should probably walk a few rows since she had been so patient. Getting towards the end of the first row, I couldn’t believe what I saw. I said to Jill: “that looks like my grandfather’s Buick”! We got a little closer and out comes: “that IS my grandfathers Buick”!! The hood was up and right before me were his two chrome air cleaners with his silver “Summertime’s” sticker on the front one.

The older gentleman standing by the car asked: “who is your grandfather?” I told him, Denny Sermersheim as I pulled out his business card, which I have always carried in my wallet. He looked almost as shocked as I was and asked me to wait a minute while he collected all of the original paperwork out of the car. He had the original purchase agreement from 1953, every registration from when Denny and Silver owned the car and the receipts from the various work, including the engine upgrade. I think we were all stunned to say the least.

It turned out that this guy took ownership from the “friend” my grandmother had sold the car to through a bad debt. Being a vintage motorcycle collector with numerous vintage cars on top of it, his wife wanted him to thin out his collection and get his money back out of the Buick. He had the Buick at the swap meet the previous month and had been offered close to his asking price. Luckily, he didn’t accept it. Although he had a really high price on the car, after hearing my story and realizing that my grandfather really was the original owner, he lowered the price substantially to get it back in my hands. Even at the lower price, I didn’t have the cash, but with the help of my mom, Dana, we knew we had to make the deal happen.

A few days later, Jill and I drove down to Orange County to pick up Denny’s Buick. The car was in the EXACT same condition as he had left it in 1976. His mail was still under the seat, my grandmother’s cigarette butts still in the ashtray and that plaque that reads, “Built Expressly for Denny Sermersheim”, was still on the glove box. It turned out that the Buick had sat under a car cover in the Nevada desert all those years, and was never driven. The car didn’t have any rust or damage from being exposed to moisture so even the chrome was still in great condition.

I immediately had to drive it to my parent’s house since everyone in the family was so excited to see the Buick again. As we all stood in the driveway looking over the car in disbelief, Jill pulled the original Bill of Sale from the glove box to show my mom. She looked at it and said: “Can you believe this? The original payment was made on June 24, 1953 and today is June 24, 1999, exactly forty-six years to the day; the Buick is finally back home where it should be!

The whole experience of being reunited with the Buick has been a once in a lifetime event. The entire process felt like something “bigger” was at play than just a stroke of luck. Denny is still such a big part of my family’s life, so many years after he passed away. My parents, now in retirement, live in the house that Denny and Heamer built in 1953, where “Summertime’s Carburetor and Electric” was in business until 1976. My dad purchased the house in foreclosure a number of years ago and we remodeled it to suit their needs today.

We have so many photos throughout the time the Buick has been in our family so I wanted to share a few here. I also had some T-Shirts made in honor of Denny and the spirit of “Summertime’s”.

I recently picked up a copy of Ashley Kingman‘s new EP, Guitar Blasters Vol. 1. It had a great photo of a well used amp cabinet that I built 20+ years ago. I originally made two cabinets, one for myself and the other for Lee Jeffriess. Lee didn’t end up using it so it landed in Ashley’s hands. He put a Vox AC30 in it and it’s been his main amp ever since. I like the way his looks now, after being on the road for twenty years!

In mine I used a modified Showman head. For detail, I used my late grandfathers belt. He had a carburetor business called “Summertimes” which was hand tooled on his belt. We have a great story about my grandfather Denny and his “53″ Buick that we’ll share soon.

Its nice to see that both cabinets have withstood the test of time!

I remember the first time I heard the George Barnes Octet recordings. It made me feel like I needed to spend allot more time practicing. Twenty years later, I still feel the same.

I can’t imagine any well-known-so-called-guitar-hero today trying to follow George Barnes on stage or in a recording studio. It would be a joke! If you’re serious about becoming a better guitarist, do yourself a favor and get the full Octet recordings here.

For the past three plus years, TK has been custom fabricating various projects for artist Andrea Zittel at A-Z West. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the work that we don’t take the time to get good photos. AZ recently gave us some great photos taken by photographer Jessica Eckert for the Andrea Rosen Gallery. All furniture designed by Andrea Zittel, built by TK Smith.

Electronic Guitar pickups coming soon

The Winder

Even though we’ve posted allot of info about guitars and guitar equipment recently, we still make our living from design and fabrication. TK and I never loose interest in architecture, design and the builders/craftspeople who make it happen. We had the opportunity last week to tour The Elrod House by architect John Lautner. Privately owned, the house has never been open to the public. In conjunction with the Los Angeles Conservancy and MAK Center for Art and Architecture, the current owner opened it up for the public to tour. Built in 1969, we jumped at the chance to get inside this iconic house that we had only seen in the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds are Forever.

Many people know the Southridge area of Palm Springs from looking up at the home of Bob Hope, another project that Lautner was hired to design, but according to a local Broker who spoke at the beginning of the tour, walked away from mid way through the project. Story has it that Lautner and the Hope’s just couldn’t see eye to eye. Arthur Elrod, who was a prominent interior designer, purchased the first two lots in the development. He said to Lautner, “Give me what you think I should have on this lot.” Elrod gave up complete creative control and before construction began, then entire site was excavated eight feet to expose the bedrock that forms the ridge. You would never be allowed to do that in today’s world. As you can see in the video from the film, and the photos, the rock formations are integrated into the house, coming in through the windows and up through the floors. At 8901 square feet, even with the soaring concrete ceiling of the main living area and the amazing views of Palm Springs below, the house still feels really grounded.

The current owner was at the house when the tour began and had great stories to tell about the history. My favorite was about the complete simpatico between client, architect and builder. That probably rarely happens. The builder had worked with Frank Lloyd Write and came out of retirement in his 80′s to work on The Elrod House. The house being made mostly of formed concrete, when one of the roofs was being poured, the angle was too steep and they lost the entire load of concrete down the hill. Oops! I would imagine that if you hike in the hills around the house today, that the layer of concrete still lives on that hillside?

There are so many interesting facts about everything involved with the history and building of this amazing property. If in the Palm Springs area, there is an exhibit of Leland Lee photographs at the Michael H. Lord Gallery through March 12, that were the first taken of The Elrod House. Lee, who was an apprentice with Julius Shulman, became another great architectural photographer. He is in his 90′s and still living. The photographs were displayed around the house the day of the tour and are definitely worth seeing.