Daddy’s Blog

Only 2 weeks left to get your FREE pass to get into Daddy’s Boston and meet legendary guitarist JOE SATRIANI at Daddy’s Boston on Monday, Oct. 13th from 4pm - 6pm - plus, you will automatically be entered to win a pair of FRONT ROW SEATS (courtesy of our pals over at Live Nation New England) to see Joe LIVE! Click here for all the details!

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See…here at Daddy’s we like bring the legends to you and if Joe Satriani isn’t enough, how about a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer? Yup - we’ve got one of those too coming to Daddy’s! The legendary Bob Heil - Bob Heil pioneered the live sound industry with his invention of the first ever “Talk Box”, the first modular console (The Mavis) and custom quadraphonic mixer (for the Quadraphenia tour). And now Daddy’s Boston is proud to be carrying Heil Microphones. Bob will be at Daddy’s Boston on Thursday, Oct. 23 @ 6:30pm for an evening of road stories (Bob has worked with them all - from the Grateful Dead, to The Who, to Frampton - the list is endless) and also discussing which mics work best for specific situations…. This event is FREE. Click here for more details

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Oh…and did I mention that the LOOOOONG wait for the return of legendary drummer DENNIS CHAMBERS is OVER! That’s right - Dennis is back at Daddy’s! Here’s a little hint - if you are not currently signed up for the Daddy’s email newsletter - I suggest you do so NOW! www.daddys.com And I mean NOW - we have an email news blast going out in the next 48 hours and that is where the details of the Dennis Chambers clinic will be released along with giving our email newsletter folks first crack at getting their clinic tickets BEFORE ANYONE ELSE!

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And, you have one more day to register to win one of the many GAS/GROCERY cards we are giving away! Winners will be announced on Friday! Stop by ANY of your local Daddy’s and one of the salespeople will be more than happy to register you! Check it out here
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We have a bunch of other stuff we are cooking up for the fall for you guys including FREE guitar set ups (Courtesy of our friends at Martin) by the legendary (there’s that word again) Rich Starkey - guitar setup artist and company historian and clinician. He has worked on guitars for Clapton, Dylan, Dave Matthews, Crosby, Stills and Grahm Nash, John Mayer, Willie Nelson, Marty Stuart the list goes on and on. He got the tag,” Guitar setup artist to the stars”. I mean come on…when are you ever gonna get that chance again - the hands that touched Clapton’s guitars are gonna work on yours! Details coming soon….
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Anyone out there fans of rock band HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS ? Yeah - well they are coming to Daddy’s too for a FREE in-store acoustic performance and meet & greet! Details coming soon….

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And lastly, but certainly not least - the 2009 Daddy’s calendars are here and ready to get into your hot little hands! 12 months of Cool Artists, Hot Gear and TONS of money saving coupons all for only $9.99! Stop by ANY Daddy’s location or you can purchase them online here! www.daddys.com There is a VERY limited run of these calendars - so once they are gone….they are gone!

I think that’s about it for now…

When you are summoned to the Mecca of acoustic guitardom, you don’t ask questions, you just go. Daddy’s Junky Music was fortunate enough to receive that call when C.F. Martin & Co. decided to celebrate their 175th year in business by inviting their dealers to the headquarters in Nazareth, PA to tour the factory and Martin museum. Here’s the story of our visit. Daddy’s is currently carrying the complete line of Martin guitars in our Boston, Salem (NH), Portsmouth and Williston stores and we had decided this would be a great opportunity to get under the hood and see what makes this company tick. We certainly got an eyeful!

Why Nazareth, PA? Well, back in 1833, when California was still mostly desert, Christian Frederich Martin, already an accomplished guitar and violin maker while still in his thirties, left his native Germany for New York City. Martin felt the long established guild system in his homeland would limit his future potential. Upon arriving in New York, he quickly established a small retail and manufacturing shop on Hudson Street in the Lower West Side. Business grew slowly but when Martin’s wife visited friends in Nazareth, she was impressed by the contrast of the bucolic Pennsylvania countryside to the hustle and bustle of the city and how much it reminded her of her old home in Germany. What negotiations then ensued between Mr. and Mrs. Martin we can only guess at but in 1838, Martin sold his shop in NYC and bought 8 acres in Nazareth. By the time of his death 35 years later, that one-man shop had grown into the North Street factory (built in 1859), employing a dozen full-time guitar craftsmen.

Over the following decades the leadership of Martin was passed on to Christian’s son and grandson. After surviving the economic uncertainties of the post Civil War era the demands of the newly arrived Italian immigrants for mandolins at the end of the 19th century, buoyed Martin’s business. As prosperity roared into the ‘20’s, ukulele fever swept through the United States. Ukulele production soon rivaled the number of guitars that Martin was making and the factory was expanded to handle the demand. The number of units of all Martin instruments quadrupled during the ‘20’s but the Great Depression of 1929 had a profound effect on the company. In order to stave off bankruptcy, the factory also began to produce violin parts and wooden jewelry. Desperate times call for desperate measures and Martin began to reevaluate the design and features of their guitars. This self-examination resulted in the development of the dreadnaught guitar and 14 fret neck. The addition of the 13th and 14th frets made the guitar more versatile and the larger bodies of the dreadnaughts answered the call for more bass response. Martin was now set for the guitar boom that would follow.

Post WWII prosperity and the new interest in country-western, bluegrass and folk music formed a perfect storm of interest in acoustic guitars. The demand for Martin guitars rose sharply and quickly outstripped the manufacturing capacity of the North Street factory so in 1964 the current modern facility was constructed on Sycamore Street in Nazareth.

Into the ‘70’s, however, with the increased interest in guitars came competition from around the world. By the time the ‘80’s rolled around, Martin’s market position was severely challenged by new domestic and foreign competitors. The old way of doing things had allowed Martin to become the dominant guitar brand for most of the 20th century but now the company was faltering and new, less expensive product started to flood the market. When C.F. Martin III passed away in 1986, his grand-son, Chris Martin, just 31 years of age, was installed as the CEO and Chairman of the Board and charged with leading Martin into the 21st century.

Since that time, the Martin company has become the dominant brand in domestic acoustic guitar sales (based on dollar sales), the factory has expanded to increase production and the limited edition signature series has been successful. Under Chris Martin’s leadership, the company has also taken a strong stand on “green” issues, in particular, they are committed to only using certified wood most efficiently to help preserve the world’s wood resources. Probably, the most important strategic program has been the development of the “X Series”, a complete reworking of manufacturing processes, materials and design features to present an affordable instrument without compromising sound or playability. X Series has been so successful that Martin is currently the leader manufacturer of guitars in the $500-$1000 price bracket, according to MISalesTrak, an industry research firm. It certainly appears that the company has answered the challenges of the new century.

The factory tour reveals the delicate balance that Martin is trying to maintain between the “old ways” and modern technology. Here are some pictures, showing the robot arms used for finish work

Yes, technology plays a big part in manufacturing Martin guitars but there is still plenty of “hands on” as applied by the skilled craftsmen, er, craftspeople as seen in these photos,

Ultimately, the most evident and closest link to Martin’s heritage is in the repair shop where in this age of disposable commodities, these treasures from years gone past wait to be lovingly restored to their former glory. You know that each one of these instruments contains thousands of notes and as many stories.

Our thanks to Chris Martin, Dick Boak, Scott Sasser, Ralph Creiman and the rest of the Martin staff for their hospitality. It was evident from our short visit that for these folks, Martin is not just a livelihood but an avocation, a way of life and a passion that is poured into every guitar. Take that trip to Nazareth and see for yourself, catch the Martin vibe.

Details coming VERY soon…

From www.msnbc.com

4 killed, 2 hurt as rock star’s jet crashes
NBC: Ex-Blink 182 drummer is critically injured as Learjet goes off runway

BREAKING NEWS
NBC News and news services
updated 25 minutes ago
COLUMBIA, S.C. - A Learjet has crashed while departing from a South Carolina airport, killing four people and critically injuring two others including a former member of rock band Blink 182.

NBC News reported that Travis Barker, an ex-drummer with the band who also starred in MTV reality show “Meet the Barkers”, was among those hurt. He was transported to a burn center in Augusta, Georgia, where he was listed in critical condition on Saturday morning.

Barker had performed Friday night at an event alongside Perry Farrell, the former Jane’s Addiction singer, as well as Gavin DeGraw and DJ AM.

Hospital officials later confirmed that DJ AM, whose real name is Adam Michael Goldstein, had also been admitted to the burn unit in critical condition.

It was not clear whether Farrell and DeGraw were also traveling with Barker.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the plane carrying six people was departing shortly before midnight Friday from Columbia when air traffic controllers reporting seeing sparks. She said the plane went off the runway and crashed on a nearby road.

Bergen said the Lear 60 was headed to Van Nuys, California. She was unable to confirm the names of who was on board.

Not more than 2 hours ago I posted that I will have a HUGE clinic announcement next week, and now…I will have 2 GIGANTIC clinic announcements next week! Holy smokes - the fall clinic season just keeps getting better and better. What a day…..Stay tuned….

A GIGANTIC, HUGE, ENORMOUS clinic announcement coming next week….so excited! I just booked it and it WILL be the BIGGEST clinic of the year!
Did I mention how excited I am!?!?

Stay tuned!

Before we get into next week’s craziness, hopefully you made it out to our Roland drums clinics that Daddy’s Manchester and Daddy’s Boston both hosted this week. Roland product specialist Mike Snyder was on hand to demonstrate and answer any questions one may have had regarding the latest in Roland electronic drum technology - these drums essentially do everything but cook you dinner!

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Next week we have 5 events in 4 days! HUH? The week kicks off with Black Label Society bassist JD DeServio hitting 3 Daddy’s locations - Daddy’s Portland, ME on Monday the 15th, Daddy’s Portsmouth, NH on Tuesday the 16th and Daddy’s Boston on Wednesday the 17th! Each clinic starts at 6:30pm and did I mention that these clinics are FREE! Some come on out - if you are a bass player or just a Black Label fan, we look forward to a killer performance by JD! Plus, we have lots of give aways at each clinic including t-shirts, pedals and Hartke, the sponsor of this run - will be registering people all week to win an entire new Hartke bass rig! HELLO! Click here for more details

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Then of course we have our ol’ pal Sal DiFusco returning to the “6 O’Clock Hang” at Daddy’s Boston on Tuesday, Sep. 16th @ 6pm for a FREE performance with his band and FREE coffee provided by our friends at Dunkin Donuts! Click here for more details!
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And we haven’t forgotten about you drummers - Friday, Sept. 19th at Daddy’s Boston is the return of Zildjian Day! Hundreds of Zildjian cymbals for sale at ONE DAY ONLY prices including direct from the Zildjian sound lab one of a kind, never before seen proto-types! Zildjian reps will be on hand to answer any of your questions including Zildjian R&D Quality Manager Paul Francis! There will be give aways throughout the day and of course, trade-ins are welcome! Click here for more details
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That’s it for clinics next week - hopefully I will see you on the road Oh, by the way, if you haven’t already seen them in the stores, our NEW t-shirts have arrived and they are COOL! Check em out!

And we have a version for you ladies!

These shirts are available in EVERY Daddy’s location! Get em’ while they’re HOT!

Unfortunately, we just got word that the 9/18 JOHN 5 clinic at Daddy’s Boston (in fact all of his clinics) have been postponed due to an arm injury. We apologize and will certainly keep you posted as to when we hear about the rescheduled dates from Fender.

Don’t forget, we are less than 2 weeks away from the Hartke clinics featuring Black Label Society bassist JD DeServio! JD is known for his aggressive, versatile style of playing. He will be demonstrating his innovative techniques on the revolutionary new Hartke HyDrive bass cabinets powered by the new Hartke LH bass amplifiers. Hartke will give away a FREE Bass Attack Pedal at every performance!

Visit www.daddys.com for complete details on dates, locations and to get your $5 tickets online now! Tickets are also available now at ALL Daddy’s locations - and don’t forget, for those of you who are “Expanded Benefits” customers - your clinic tickets are ALWAYS half off!

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We have a TON of other events going on in September from Roland Drum Clinics ZILDJIAN DAY! You can check them ALL out here www.daddys.com/events
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You only have 3 more weeks to register to win a $500 gas or grocery card! Visit ANY Daddy’s location now through the end of September and ask your salesperson to register you to win! Click here for more details www.daddys.com/events/groc.php
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