phatduckk
Well-known member
So i got to SLO at about 4:00 friday - checked in, had a beer at the hotel across the street, had a couple cigarettes and then it was time.
Walked back to my hotel to see 2 white vans ready to pick us all up. I get a call from Beej and his white van's en route as well. I was super excited "holy sh*t after waiting for months its all going down NOW!".
Soon we arrive at the SLO country club. First person I see is Steve Barr. Then about 15 seconds later some old school, black Lincoln rolls up and out pops Big Poppa and Luke. I'm excited, had a couple drinks in me already, Poppa gives me a big hug - "Phatty!!!!"; Luke introduces himself, again, big hug, "lets get this hang goin". We walk thru the door - "Slinkys or Super Slinkys?", "tshirt, medium or large?". A bag full of swag, Luke's ready to party, my friends are ready to party; got our drink tickets in hand; and with that - "F*%k me! its on". This was my first 3 minutes of Open House!!!! there's 2 days left.
The first night was amazing.
About 3 minutes later I'm outside w/ my drink tickets in hand. I'm having the stiffest Long Island Iced Tea known to man, looking out towards a pretty as hell golf course, having a smoke with Luke - then Luke points to his right ... "Hey dude, this is Dudley, he's the man!" So, now I think its me Beej and Luke talking to Dudley ... and don't worry folks - i spent about 10 minutes thanking him for the truss rod wheel. He got the point - we think he's a genious! he's a great and nice man to boot!
Honestly I can only really vividly remember the first 45 minutes or so, the rest is a blur. Not cuz i was drunk, well, i was drunk but also because soooo much happened. The sun was still out when my phone rang - "hey arin its Jon, where are you?". So i rush in w/ Beej to meet Jon - also met his lovely wife. Had a few hugs n words. Great guy, but u all know that.
I met sooooo many people, so many! All these little avatars, jokes and personalities came to life. Gav does not look like Al Bundy, Jon doenst look like a crazy dog with a needle in his mouth. LoL. Norm's pretty tall and smokes some crazy cigarettes that get delivered to his door, Blaire's pretty little (and nice as hell), and yes, Beth's pretty tall (not too nice at all tho). LoL. Jack looks like Jack and Koogs is the f'in man! I could list all your names here! meeting everyone was a pleasure!
When the house was full BP and Dudley grabbed the mic's to say "hello", welcome us, and share some history. Some time after that there was food involved ... a bunch of good eats and who can forget that horseradish? If you had any of it then you know what im talking about!
So im outside again and walk back in and hear some kick ass guitar being played. its kbaim! he rules! The knucklehead jam has begun - or it started a while ago and I was outside meeting all these great people and missed the beginning.
Lots of mingling and drinking and having a great time. The first night was great!
I get to the hotel at something:something AM PST - i have no idea when. I cant sleep. I was like a 10 year old trying to get to sleep on xmas eve. "How the hell do i sleep knowing that in 4 hours santa's gonna be here?". well maybe that sounds dumb but thats how i felt. i was sooo excited .... buzz buzz - alarm, wake up - 7:45am im at a f'in guitar factory! kid in a candy store my ass! id found wanka's golden ticket and now im here. WOW.
So we had breakfast then they busted out all sorts of gear for us to try out. have u seen a rosewood neck Sterling in person? i have, ive played it - about 80 of us played it! Remember the pics of the 2 pup Stingray on the boards? "Control plate or no?" ... well, when you've got your grubby hands on both of em, playing with the 5 way switch - being knocked on your ass by the sound ... the control plate's not the first thing on your mind anymore. want a 1 pup Stingray instead? well, they were there too ... grab that one, go nuts. Norm got his hands on a y2d, the dude licked a few "you cant even order this" model bongos. it was pretty much heaven.
Factory tour was up next. It was amazing. I'll leave the details of that out of this post b/c i have a million pictures (as do many others) and the pics will do more justice than my words can.
Then we ate lunch and had a Q&A w/ Pops and Dudley. Awesome info, awesome questions; they answered anything we could throw at 'em w/ total honesty. Then we got some eye candy ... prototypes galore. the first Silo ever, the first sr5; anything you can think of ... pick an EB model, then imagine it with a wood that isnt an offered option ... they showed those to us. awesome.
BP was whining that it was cold. LoL Then eventually the dust storm blew us inside. Artist showed up! woot ... Q&A was awesome. great guys all round. Now here came a critical point for me. So what was even cooler than seeing all this talent in one room was seeing their interaction and also their interaction w/ BP. BP made a huge point; if nothing else, this one point should have been your "take away" from the whole weekend: All these guys, all the people at EB - its one big family. now this wasnt some BS - if you were there you saw it - if you stuck around you frickin felt it!
Then saturday night!!!! ... here's the short version; free beer, food, great people, smoke machine, 4 marshalls, 4 messas, the ampeg fridge, drums, salad, steak, garlic bread bla bla ... then, get blown away! and by that i mean, knocked on your ass by too much talent.
The concert ended and many of us lingered and had a blast. it was amazing. i honestly cant describe it. just great!
I made a million friends this weekend that I know ill have for life! you know who you are! Thanks to everyone that shared a laugh, a cigarette, a hug, a drink or a handshake with me.
________________________________________________
so here's my editorial comments on the whole Open House. Ineed the name was/is fitting ... the doors the the EBMM family's home were open and we were welcomed in. Whether its unheard of surprises, great hospitality, great times, amazing people, new friends, 100% trust, 100% honesty, 100% friendship ... whatever you wanna call it; it was all heart. bottom line, plain and simple.
Q: Ya know what's cooler than playing a Sterling that isn't available to buy anywhere ever?
A: Learning that Luke's not just a talented musician or a the guy that will say what many dont have the balls to say! He's the humblest guy EVER. those who hung out w/ him know that this is a fact.
Q: you know what's cooler than having a drink with BP?
A: meeting Casey Lee Ball, seeing that he's got a jacket adorned with punk rock patches (Bad Religion, Dropkick etc) and talking "punk rock" with him.
Q: what's cooler than knowing Jon can fix any guitar issue you have?
A: meeting Jon in person and having no doubt in my mind that I will shares many more drinks, meals and laughs w/ him in person.
Q: what could be cooler than seeing the first Silo guitar ever made?
A: seeing Beth go out of her way to shuttle forum members to their hotels b/c they missed the vans (she made 2 trips in her own car!!!!!!!). Thanks "The Tall"! You rule babe!
So this weekend was NOT about free food and a tour and some music. hell, it wasnt even about guitars and basses! Sure that stuff was all there and, i swear, it was amazing - no detail was missing, not one. it was perfect. But even more than that this weekend was about being a guest of the EBMM family; from the "new guy" to the artists! They opened their doors, trusted us, showed us a great time and also made us ALL feel like a part of all that. They opened their doors and their arms to us - its up to you whether or not you stepped in. I hope you did - and if so, then im sure you feel the way I do.
See the thing is that its all about heart. EBMM is all about heart. BP is all about heart. Its not about wood and plastic and wires and magnets coming together - these intruments are all a product of "heart". You can't kick ass if you don't got heart ... and if you've bothered reading this forum or have even picker up a Bongo (Silo, Axis, whatever) then know EBMM kicks ass.
BP is all f!*ckin' heart!!!!! If you don't get that - then you just don't wanna see it. im not kissing his ass - i'm just articulating what i learned and how i felt.
so, BP - im not gonna thank you for instruments, or food, a tour, or drinks or a concert. in a couple months i probably wont rember what Morse played last night, i wont remember how many drinks you payed for and all that other stuff. But I will always remember getting a huge hug from Koogs, ill always remember laughing hysterically with Beth, i wont forget seeing Psycho in a tux w/ red boots and dozens of laughs and handshakes and hugs!!!!
So thank you for opening the doors to your home, the doors to your world and inviting us to meet and be a part of your family. Thanks for seeding many, many friendships and above all for having heart! you're the man - and i know you've got my back pops! and you know ive got yours!
Walked back to my hotel to see 2 white vans ready to pick us all up. I get a call from Beej and his white van's en route as well. I was super excited "holy sh*t after waiting for months its all going down NOW!".
Soon we arrive at the SLO country club. First person I see is Steve Barr. Then about 15 seconds later some old school, black Lincoln rolls up and out pops Big Poppa and Luke. I'm excited, had a couple drinks in me already, Poppa gives me a big hug - "Phatty!!!!"; Luke introduces himself, again, big hug, "lets get this hang goin". We walk thru the door - "Slinkys or Super Slinkys?", "tshirt, medium or large?". A bag full of swag, Luke's ready to party, my friends are ready to party; got our drink tickets in hand; and with that - "F*%k me! its on". This was my first 3 minutes of Open House!!!! there's 2 days left.
The first night was amazing.
About 3 minutes later I'm outside w/ my drink tickets in hand. I'm having the stiffest Long Island Iced Tea known to man, looking out towards a pretty as hell golf course, having a smoke with Luke - then Luke points to his right ... "Hey dude, this is Dudley, he's the man!" So, now I think its me Beej and Luke talking to Dudley ... and don't worry folks - i spent about 10 minutes thanking him for the truss rod wheel. He got the point - we think he's a genious! he's a great and nice man to boot!
Honestly I can only really vividly remember the first 45 minutes or so, the rest is a blur. Not cuz i was drunk, well, i was drunk but also because soooo much happened. The sun was still out when my phone rang - "hey arin its Jon, where are you?". So i rush in w/ Beej to meet Jon - also met his lovely wife. Had a few hugs n words. Great guy, but u all know that.
I met sooooo many people, so many! All these little avatars, jokes and personalities came to life. Gav does not look like Al Bundy, Jon doenst look like a crazy dog with a needle in his mouth. LoL. Norm's pretty tall and smokes some crazy cigarettes that get delivered to his door, Blaire's pretty little (and nice as hell), and yes, Beth's pretty tall (not too nice at all tho). LoL. Jack looks like Jack and Koogs is the f'in man! I could list all your names here! meeting everyone was a pleasure!
When the house was full BP and Dudley grabbed the mic's to say "hello", welcome us, and share some history. Some time after that there was food involved ... a bunch of good eats and who can forget that horseradish? If you had any of it then you know what im talking about!
So im outside again and walk back in and hear some kick ass guitar being played. its kbaim! he rules! The knucklehead jam has begun - or it started a while ago and I was outside meeting all these great people and missed the beginning.
Lots of mingling and drinking and having a great time. The first night was great!
I get to the hotel at something:something AM PST - i have no idea when. I cant sleep. I was like a 10 year old trying to get to sleep on xmas eve. "How the hell do i sleep knowing that in 4 hours santa's gonna be here?". well maybe that sounds dumb but thats how i felt. i was sooo excited .... buzz buzz - alarm, wake up - 7:45am im at a f'in guitar factory! kid in a candy store my ass! id found wanka's golden ticket and now im here. WOW.
So we had breakfast then they busted out all sorts of gear for us to try out. have u seen a rosewood neck Sterling in person? i have, ive played it - about 80 of us played it! Remember the pics of the 2 pup Stingray on the boards? "Control plate or no?" ... well, when you've got your grubby hands on both of em, playing with the 5 way switch - being knocked on your ass by the sound ... the control plate's not the first thing on your mind anymore. want a 1 pup Stingray instead? well, they were there too ... grab that one, go nuts. Norm got his hands on a y2d, the dude licked a few "you cant even order this" model bongos. it was pretty much heaven.
Factory tour was up next. It was amazing. I'll leave the details of that out of this post b/c i have a million pictures (as do many others) and the pics will do more justice than my words can.
Then we ate lunch and had a Q&A w/ Pops and Dudley. Awesome info, awesome questions; they answered anything we could throw at 'em w/ total honesty. Then we got some eye candy ... prototypes galore. the first Silo ever, the first sr5; anything you can think of ... pick an EB model, then imagine it with a wood that isnt an offered option ... they showed those to us. awesome.
BP was whining that it was cold. LoL Then eventually the dust storm blew us inside. Artist showed up! woot ... Q&A was awesome. great guys all round. Now here came a critical point for me. So what was even cooler than seeing all this talent in one room was seeing their interaction and also their interaction w/ BP. BP made a huge point; if nothing else, this one point should have been your "take away" from the whole weekend: All these guys, all the people at EB - its one big family. now this wasnt some BS - if you were there you saw it - if you stuck around you frickin felt it!
Then saturday night!!!! ... here's the short version; free beer, food, great people, smoke machine, 4 marshalls, 4 messas, the ampeg fridge, drums, salad, steak, garlic bread bla bla ... then, get blown away! and by that i mean, knocked on your ass by too much talent.
The concert ended and many of us lingered and had a blast. it was amazing. i honestly cant describe it. just great!
I made a million friends this weekend that I know ill have for life! you know who you are! Thanks to everyone that shared a laugh, a cigarette, a hug, a drink or a handshake with me.
________________________________________________
so here's my editorial comments on the whole Open House. Ineed the name was/is fitting ... the doors the the EBMM family's home were open and we were welcomed in. Whether its unheard of surprises, great hospitality, great times, amazing people, new friends, 100% trust, 100% honesty, 100% friendship ... whatever you wanna call it; it was all heart. bottom line, plain and simple.
Q: Ya know what's cooler than playing a Sterling that isn't available to buy anywhere ever?
A: Learning that Luke's not just a talented musician or a the guy that will say what many dont have the balls to say! He's the humblest guy EVER. those who hung out w/ him know that this is a fact.
Q: you know what's cooler than having a drink with BP?
A: meeting Casey Lee Ball, seeing that he's got a jacket adorned with punk rock patches (Bad Religion, Dropkick etc) and talking "punk rock" with him.
Q: what's cooler than knowing Jon can fix any guitar issue you have?
A: meeting Jon in person and having no doubt in my mind that I will shares many more drinks, meals and laughs w/ him in person.
Q: what could be cooler than seeing the first Silo guitar ever made?
A: seeing Beth go out of her way to shuttle forum members to their hotels b/c they missed the vans (she made 2 trips in her own car!!!!!!!). Thanks "The Tall"! You rule babe!
So this weekend was NOT about free food and a tour and some music. hell, it wasnt even about guitars and basses! Sure that stuff was all there and, i swear, it was amazing - no detail was missing, not one. it was perfect. But even more than that this weekend was about being a guest of the EBMM family; from the "new guy" to the artists! They opened their doors, trusted us, showed us a great time and also made us ALL feel like a part of all that. They opened their doors and their arms to us - its up to you whether or not you stepped in. I hope you did - and if so, then im sure you feel the way I do.
See the thing is that its all about heart. EBMM is all about heart. BP is all about heart. Its not about wood and plastic and wires and magnets coming together - these intruments are all a product of "heart". You can't kick ass if you don't got heart ... and if you've bothered reading this forum or have even picker up a Bongo (Silo, Axis, whatever) then know EBMM kicks ass.
BP is all f!*ckin' heart!!!!! If you don't get that - then you just don't wanna see it. im not kissing his ass - i'm just articulating what i learned and how i felt.
so, BP - im not gonna thank you for instruments, or food, a tour, or drinks or a concert. in a couple months i probably wont rember what Morse played last night, i wont remember how many drinks you payed for and all that other stuff. But I will always remember getting a huge hug from Koogs, ill always remember laughing hysterically with Beth, i wont forget seeing Psycho in a tux w/ red boots and dozens of laughs and handshakes and hugs!!!!
So thank you for opening the doors to your home, the doors to your world and inviting us to meet and be a part of your family. Thanks for seeding many, many friendships and above all for having heart! you're the man - and i know you've got my back pops! and you know ive got yours!
