Just got back from LONG trip to Austin. Bill himself spent nearly 5
hours showing us around the place, an incredible tour. If we wouldn't
have left, we'd probably still be there!

Highlights:

1) for years, I've thought my Clarence White was serial number 646 which
would've meant that there were two 646's out there. I showed it to Bruce,
the wood guy, and the first thing he said was "That's Lyle-wood!" The
guitar's 10 years old and he immediately recognized the wood!! Evidently
there were 4 guitars built with that chunk of wood- 1 for Lyle Lovett, 1
for Bruce himself, mine, and another. So, we looked at the serial number,
and you know what? Normally I look at the number from the bass side, but
this time Bruce was holding the guitar looking from the bass side and I was
looking from the treble. The light was just right and we both said, right
at the same time "That's a '3'! It's 643!". Steve McCreary taps at the
computer...nothing. So, he then pulls a 3-ring notebook off the shelf,
leafs thru some hand written notes and finds 646....yup, Braz CW. Well, we
knew that. Turns the page back one and there's 643...Braz CW and the notes
say "Lylewood". Not "Brazilian", not "red Braz", but "Lylewood"! It's
just incredible that Bruce recognized that piece of wood- I mean, the guy
goes thru STACKS of wood DAILY. "Lylewood"....The inside joke is that we
can now discuss the sonic attributes of "Lylewood" as opposed to "Brazilian
Rosewood". This also may help explain why I've had so much trouble
controlling my hair for the past several years.

Plus, I'm gonna have to change my screenname....

2) Bill Collings is a genius when it comes to details and repeatability.

3) Played 2 Collings F's, a Gilchrist F, several brand-new D1A's and 1
mahogany CW (I was test-running that one while Steve was talking to Kim
Sherman on the phone! Whoever gets that guitar is gonna get a hoss!! It
was _excellent_). Saw several guitars in mid-repair and talked to the guys
a lot about what was being done, how, and why.

4) Fun jam at the Nutty Brown. Loud parrots, though.

More later. I'm beat right now. It was a 670 mile 1-way drive. Left at
6:30 am, arrived home at 7 pm. Bleah.

Bryan Kimsey
http://www.bryankimsey.com

Bryan,

It was great to meet you in Austin. Yeah, Bill spent a lot of time with us. You could tell how much he gets into making his instruments. I loved his energy and excitement as he showed us what goes on.

I can relate to hating the drive, but I'm glad you did it. You should have stayed just a little later. The Grazmatics were great, as was the BBQ.

Keith, I got a chance to listen to your cd this afternoon. Man, you guys are good. A thoroughly enjoyable cd. It will soon be ripped to minidisc so I can listen to it at work. You'll be in the rotation with Laurence Juber, man! For all of you who didn't get a copy of Keith's cd at the Gathering you are really missing something.

...I couldn't handle the brick walls and tile floor. That background noise just kills me and I already had a headache from the shop noise, so I just decided to check out. Plus, the wives were back at the house cooling their heels, and Chet and I just thought it politic to, you know, deliver cheescake and strawberries.

Fun trip, though. Glad I did it.

Bryan Kimsey
http://www.bryankimsey.com

Ditto on Keith's CD. It's a hit in our house!

Professionals built the Titanic....An amateur built the Ark.

Watch your head, Keith. Wiconsin George was concerned it would swell when you saw the video of Texas George's daughter dancing to it, and now all this praise!

I enjoyed your CD too, and admire the musical and technical skill it took to make it. I heard Santana, Frampton, and on "George", I was on the verge of breaking into several Beatles tunes before I was really aware of what the tunes were- something I imagine you were aiming for. A very nice tribute. My favorite cut is "...Dark Side" - I dig the groove on that one.

I can't wait till I've been playing for years. You and the entire gathering are good practice inspiration. Next time, I'll bring a song or two to perform. I know it's early, but next year's gathering in the Colorodo/New Mexico area? It shouldn't always be you guys making the long travel plans. I have a good friend in Boulder who owns a nice tavern, I'm sure he could be convinced to reserve some space for us...

I think it's unanimous....Rockerbob's CD is a hit on the Collings hit parade.


Hey David,

If your still looking for those Ultex picks, the only place I found them in Houston was at a guitar center, so I'm guessing it will be the same for San Antonio. I remember you had mentioned that you might order them off the net so maybe this will save you some $ and time.

Thanks much for the nice reviews of my CD. I really love playing and the CDs are my main outlet. I'm glad you found something you liked.