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A Spree Grows in Brooklyn: Bi-Annual Guitar Show Takes Root

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What It Is…
On Sunday April 7, 2013 Brooklyn Bowl hosts what has become a seasonal tradition for all things with strings, The Third Annual Brooklyn Springtime Guitar Show. Event promoters Lisa Sharken of Vintage Guitar Magazine and DJ Uncle Mike (who also runs the Collect-i-Bowl Record Fairs) have packed the house with a variety of vendors eager to show you their unique wares.

I first reported on the show back in spring of 2011 (read it here) and have made it my business to be on hand every time since then. It’s a great chance to test drive the handiwork of a diverse group of custom luthiers, boutique amp alchemists, and stomp box builders. There are of course plenty of high quality vintage instruments to encounter as well. The gathering has a fun, local swap-meet feel. You can bring a guitar, amp or old EFX box you’d like to sell or trade.

SkeletonPete Says…
If you love being surrounded by a bounty of beautiful instruments, and appreciate the warm glow of rectifier tubes, you must not miss this event. Doors open at 11:00 AM, and the show runs until 5PM. Admission is FREE! The Brooklyn Bowl is located at 61 Wythe Street, between N.11 & N.12. The venue has plenty of great local brews on-tap (I’m partial to Kelso of Brooklyn’s Nut Brown Lager) and Blue Ribbon, the in-house restaurant, has a menu of tasty vittles a step above the usual pub fare.

Dangerous Curves: 2011 Brooklyn Guitar Show @ Brooklyn Bowl

BrooklynGuitarShow_6 — Heaven = Bowling, Beer and Guitars

So Many Strings, So Little Time
I’ve been carrying a camera for about two thirds of my life, but also slinging a guitar for around the same amount of time. These are two very dangerous vocations when it comes to what is known in tech/hardware obsessed circles as G.A.S. or Gear Acquisition Syndrome. Therefore, walking onto what is normally the concert floor of Williamsburg’s Brooklyn Bowl on Sunday, September 18 was not for the faint of heart guitar fan or the “G.A.S.sy”. Being surrounded by row after row of gorgeous Gibsons, Fenders, Gretsches and a unique selection of boutique six strings and basses was overwhelming. Where do you look first? How do you take it all in? Don’t you NEED one of each?

The 2011 Autumn Guitar Show offered free access to peruse the wears of vintage shops as well as new guitar, effects and amp builders. It was exciting to see so many young luthiers with their diverse visions of the perfect instrument. See the links below to their websites. During the course of the afternoon I spied Steely Dan’s Walter Becker casually chatting with the vendors, metal stalwart Kenny Pierce representing his PiercingMetal webzine, his coverage of the show can be read here. Good friend Tommy F. was heralding the soon to be available on the East Coast Lang Amplifier line. Guitar Wear designer Jodi Head was there with her delicious array of beautifully rendered straps and accessories. The black leather with conchos and the briar rose pattern (pictured below) were two of my favorites.

SkeletonPete Says…
Congratulations to promoters/coordinators Lisa Sharken (Vintage Guitar Magazine) and DJ Uncle Mike on a great show. It was fun to mingle and chew the fat with like minded folks in a nice relaxed atmosphere that reminded me of the earliest days of Comic Cons (1969-70). A total SkeletonPete hat trick. Family bowling on the lanes, Kelso Nut Brown Lager on the taps, and a sea of curvaceous six strings. I hope guitar goddess Lisa and the gang do this again soon.

Pertinent Links:
Cobra Guitars
Hahn Guitars
Jodi Head Guitar Wear
Lang Amps
Mas Hino NYC
NiceRack Effects Systems
Pigtronix Effects
Sheridan Guitars and Basses
Vigier Guitars and Basses