Went down to the Ibanez factory in Bensalem, PA after having not been there since August 2014 (!!) Brought my Universe to have simple things fixed up (more on that later) and got to engage in a great but fun conversation about promoting and such.
Met up with Matt and Jay, sat in the conference room surrounded by an awesome collection of rare Ibanez guitars. Yes I am a geek! Then we got down to brass tacks about promoting musicians that seem to get skirted to the side. They understood my concerns about how other guitarists could use a nice bump in exposure, whether it's a Facebook post, or even better, make videos promoting gear. We lobbied ideas back and forth, exchanged email addresses, and then onto getting my Universe looked at.
I only needed a couple of small things fixed. Matt said, "Mike (the tech) is a perfectionist so it may be a while." Oh he was right!! Mike took the guitar apart, and while my heart sank, I knew he was going to do a killer job. Matt took me out for pizza...WOW! If anyone is in the Bensalem area, go directly to Stefano II Pizzeria!!! (You're welcome in advance.) Got back and Mike was still working on my guitar, never saw anyone work on gear with such precision and agility. He kept saying "Your guitar is angry" HAHA but I think he made it happy again. After many hours, he handed the guitar to me and I said "This feels like the first day I got this guitar back in 2003!" I think Pinkie (the RG7420MC) needs to be ripped apart next...but not for a while.
Emails are fine but face-to-face is most important if you want anything done. I hope everyone can be on the same page now, as it had been a while since I had done clinics for Ibanez. When my pic was updated on the Ibanez website, I thought "This is a step in the right direction." Validation is important in this business for any artist. The big guns definitely get the top perks, understandably so. But people like myself and a few others could use a nice boost too. I personally will never be on the same level as my heroes...
...but it sure is fun trying!
Comentarios