4/23: Taylor Guitars Factory Tour and TRIP Gig in Los Angeles
After waking up to a beautiful morning at my buddy’s place in La Jolla, I sent Jesse home to SF so he could catch another gig/commitment that night and then headed out to breakfast burritos at this awesome little spot just outside of town. I mean, these things were GOOD.
Cool little garden outside of my buddy's place in La Jolla, CA. You wake up down there and you stop to smell the flowers.
After we stuffed ourselves with those burritos, we headed out to El Cajon, CA to the Taylor Guitars Factory to go on a factory tour and meet the artist relations team. When we got to the Taylor Guitars campus, we were warmly welcomed and introduced around before heading out on the factory tour, led by Wood & Steel editor Jim Kirlin.
Our guide discussing the finer point of laser cut tops.
I took so many photos, I can’t possibly post them all on this site, so be sure to check out my Facebook Fan Page for the full album that has over 90 photos from the tour! It was so cool to see the entire production process from wood selection to pairing to design, to carving/cutting the raw materials, to assembly, buffing, and finally assembly. If you ever have a chance to get out to El Cajon, CA, you should definitely check out the Taylor Guitars Tour. And, if you’re a guitar player, you have no excuse… just do it!
After the tour, I met with the artist relations team who has been kind enough to help support my career. We talked a little shop and, just as importantly, learned about a few good Mexican restaurants nearby. Unfortunately, after we wrapped up our conversation and I picked up a new case for my old 1999 814ce, we ran out of time to take a break to grab a burrito before heading back to La Jolla.
The neck inlay station inside the Taylor Guitars factory. Purdy...
After packing up and saying my goodbyes to my high school buddy and host, Stuart, I cruised out of town, but forced myself to stop for some fish tacos. And thank goodness I did, because just as I was finishing up, Stuart called my cell to let me know that I had left some key items (like a warm jacket) at his place. I rushed back to pick those up (it was COLD in SoCal on this trip) and then busted my tail out to I-5, only to sit in traffic behind schedule en route to my gig at TRIP in Santa Monica later that night.
A misleading stretch of I-5 where I thought I was going to be ahead of the traffic... NOT.
Well, after hitting MASSIVE traffic (silly, foolish boy thinks he can cruise up to LA from San Diego on I-5 in just a few hours on a Friday afternoon), I BARELY made it to my gig at TRIP in Santa Monica with about five minutes to set up, tune, warm up, and then RAWK. Turns out that it all worked out (somebody must have been looking out for me that afternoon) and I had a great gig. It was actually kind of fun to have a completely solo acoustic set after playing with a percussionist for all of the other sets. I definitely dig the percussion, but it was sort of nice to mix things up for one night. In any case, friend and fan Onnie made it out with a bunch of her friends and made the evening a blast. (Thanks, girls!)
Later that night, I met up with my buddy Hanley for dinner in Santa Monica and had some of the best fried chicken and mashed potatoes I’ve had in ages. Wow… Afterwards, I noticed that I was right next to the legendary Bicknell Hill that the Z-Boys skated so many years ago so, naturally, I had to take a look-see. Too bad I didn’t have my skateboard with me to take a run… would have been fun! Next time, for sure.
If I close my eyes, I can almost see Jay-Boy and Stacy Peralta shredding this hill way back when. Cool...
After taking this shot, I met up with friend and super fan Onnie and one of her friends for some Chai Tea. We had a great time talking music and catching up until I realized that it was midnight and I had to get to San Gregorio, CA for an 11:00am gig the next day (San Gregorio was about 7 hours away, according to Google Maps… Um, oooops!). Let’s just say that the next several hours were pretty darn painful and a little scary (waking up and finding yourself going 90mph with your hands on your lap is not the best feeling in the world… then again, it’s better than waking up in a ditch!). So, it was off to San Gregorio for the final performance of the tour to meet up with percussionist Jesse Weber for one last show…