Hi everyone, and thanks for checking out our new home!
With everyone’s MobileMe account expiring at the end of June (thank you, Apple), it became necessary to find a new, permanent home for this blog. So with a little help from WordPress, here we are!
There has been SO MUCH going on behind the scenes at Alembic in the six months since my last post. The guitar would have been done and in my hands by now, had it not been for a very special addition to the guitar. I have asked them to do something they’ve never done before, and it has required them to get some new tools as well as come up with a method for implementing my idea. To do this, Alembic had to build a crude mock-up of the medallion to represent the materials of the real thing – including the many layers of finish, which takes time to create. Then, they work on the test piece to find a way to bring my idea to reality without damaging the surrounding materials… like a master thief obsessively running through his plan, leaving no stone unturned in an effort to not compromise the real job.
This has taken a long time, but we are about a week away from “getting it done,” so I thought this was a good time to move the blog over. This step has been the biggest exercise in patience yet, but I have been assured that it is the last bump in the road. After this is done and the medallion is safely in the guitar, everything else will progress quickly. I even have assurances that I will have the guitar in time for some upcoming projects!
What keeps me sane is the knowledge that the entire team at Alembic has only my best interests in mind as they have methodically figured out new ways of doing things – all the time keeping the medallion safe from the many attempts of project execution that would have caused irreversible damage.
I anticipate having new pictures in the very near future, so please check back regularly!
CJ, This is soooo beautiful! I am so proud of all the work and love that has gone into this project. I am so sure that Dad is bursting and so happy that you have honored him so……. I love you, Mom
Wow!! Can’t wait to see it!! Have thought about having a news show (like News12, or local WPIX or channels 2, 4, 5, 7) do a story on this? Could be an easy sell.
Scotty
CJ – I’ve been following the progress of this project since the start and I’m completely floored by how amazing it is turning out. It is truly inspirational and touching. While I read the updates, I think back to those times spent with you listening to all of the great music (and stories behind it from Jack) – I see those headphones as clearly now as I did back then. What other 8, 9 and 10 year old kids we’re listening to the likes of EVERY LED ZEPPELIN NOTE EVER RECORDED, Meddle, Ummagumma, Atom Heart Mother, John Barleycorn Must Die, Hendrix, Clapton, The Grateful Dead, The Who, The Moody Blues, Cream, CSN, Yes, (the list goes on and on) Although I don’t play an instrument and can carry a tune pretty well, there is no doubt that Jack had a tremendous influence on my passion for music today. I’ll never forget the day you got your first guitar, picked it up and played Smoke On The Water. Just watching a true “natural” do his thing was so incredible.
How about having the most comprehensive tape collection of every one of Jack’s tapes (and CD’s when they were invented) – even though I didn’t necessarily know every band or record, it was just something that had to be part of my collection. This was around the time we played on one of the first Apple Mac II E that was in the country. If only you and I had invented digital music at that time, huh?
To this day, Melissa and I never miss a Pearl Jam or Eddie Vedder concert. My kids play with our ipad and iphones and when they come across a song “that Daddy likes” they make sure to point it out to me that they are listening. My current music collection is loaded with songs from back then, and I think about those times with great joy (and melancholy). Music is such a big part of my life today and it’s undoubtedly because of those years.
I too, cannot wait to see and hear you play it.
What Mom Said!!! Love you too!!!