First became aware of Martin guitars during the great folk scare in the early 60's. My first stringed object was a five string banjo but couldn't find anyone who could teach me to play like Earl Scruggs. Sold it and bought a C-0 gibson classical. Had no idea that all these folkies were playing old Martin steel strings w/slot heads. Entered college and saw my first classical concert w/ Julian Bream and became hooked on that. The next summer I bought my first Martin, a 00-18C I hacked around with it for the next ten years but never got very far with it. In grad school in '76 I sold it and made a little profit on it ! Didn't pick up a guitar for about ten years after that. During college years my musical tastes changed from folk to Rock & Roll but never gave a thought about an electric. In about '88 I was walking past a music shop and saw a classical in the window and said to myself, thats what I want for Christmas ! When my folks asked me what I wanted for Christmas I was ready with an answer, so I purchased a Garcia classical and set off to learn to play some Bach. Five years later Icould slog my way thru the prelude from the 3rd cello suite and the prelude from "Prelude, Fugue and Allegro" About '95 I went to my first vintage show. Always wanted a steel string Martin and found a very nice D-35 and started to listen to some old blues, got hooked on Lightning Hopkins and Robert Johnson. My GF at the time said she would pop for lessons and I was on my way to start playing insted of hacking ! After two months of classical one week, blues the next, back and forth, it had to be one or the other. Steel string won out ! Got exposed to alot of great music , Blind Blake, Big Bill, saw Jorma. discovered ragtime. And started to hang around guitar shops too much ! Having played classicals all along and sitting in a classical position my dred and I didn't really get on well. Ran across a used OM and thought that was it! played it for awhile but was getting into some Rev gary Davis stuff and the fret board was just to wide for my small paws. i couldn't reach and play clean wraparound chords. Then I found the Mutt ! Someone who was an art dealer wanted to buy one of the first Brazillian Clapton 000-42 reissues. Well my local dealer didn't happen to have one so this guy orders a custom shop that was sorta close, but not really. A month after he got delivery the shop got a Clapton in and the guy traded some fancy Taylor, a fancy Larrivee and this Martin that had never been out of the case for it. I walked into the shop the day it was hung up on the wall, picked it up and played it and had to have it except it was UGLY ! Well not really ugly but just kind of thrown together with no inkling of taste ! It was a 000-28 in Indian w/ an Engelman top, style 28 trim, but with a torch inlay on the head stock, ebony tunning buttons with maltese crosses, and the bridge had the art Nouveau inlay ! Nothing went together! I said i would buy it if we could do some thing to make it look like it had some thought put into it. So we designed a slotted square/diamond pattern using the style 28 dots and used ebony filler to fill the holes. Popped the bridge off and replaced it with a new blank belly bridge and placed a slotted square on each wing. Had to live with the style 28 binding and sound hole trim and put a tortise OM style pick guard on. I got the neck profile of the D-35, the body size of an OM and the added benifit of a short scale which at the time I never knew about. And that is the story of the 000-28 Mutt ! (the OM later got traded for a National Style "O" and the D-35 covered most of the 000-28)

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Besides guitar playing, I am renovating a building. I also cycle and snow ski.