Why I Like Martins

I began playing guitar aboard ship in the Navy, borrowing a nylon-string classical from a shipmate while we were at sea and learning to fret a few chords. When I was later assigned to Key West for shore duty, I bartered an apartment lease for another nylon-strung guitar in a nice case. I mostly just carried it around for a year while learning to play a few folk songs. I finally started making some actual music with my first new guitar, a Yamaha 12-string. I was also building my fretting hand's strength on that guitar's wider steel-strung  neck  for a few months until my improving skill level began to outpace the entry-level instrument.

By the mid to late ‘60s, the implications of the vast US military presence in Vietnam and its influences on the entire world were becoming quite obvious to me. I was also being strongly influenced by the music of Peter, Paul and Mary, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, John Prine, Kristofferson and so many, many other singer-songwriters creating, mentoring and performing the deadly serious soundtrack of tthat era; strongly influencing the social consciousness of us all. if I was to become a part of that, I needed an equally-serious guitar. My first professional instrument, a new Martin D-28 , was purchased with money the Navy gave me to pay for lodging while attending a manufacturer's tech school. I bunked in my van for my six weeks of schooling but that first Martin was stolen shortly after. I immediately doubled-down and financed another new Martin D-28 the next day, the brand and model I’ve mostly been playing ever since. I've come to deeply respect the nearly 200 years of history and workmanship built into their best guitars; Martin can truly craft stuff That works.

After receiving my honorable discharge from the Navy about a year later, I spent the next 20 years playing coffee houses, festivals, honky-tonks and bars until I quit drinking almost 40 years ago and shortly after, stopped promoting alcohol sales with my public performances. I haven't played out much since then but recent world political events again catalyzed my need to get my chops back and be playing serious music once more. Our local pro music store had only one new Martin in stock, an HD 12-28 which I bought and began practicing with that day. To my great amazement, my picking and singing were still quite good when I played regularly. Within a year I'd traded the 12 in on the exceptional new HD-28 6-string I’m now playing and bought the new sound gear I needed to perform professionally once again. The following spring, I added a more-sophisticated mixer amp and better main speakers to properly play larger venues.

With my greatly-increased creative writing output in recent years, it’s often been difficult to find the time to spend with my guitar every day. However, by keeping my voice articulate and fingers limber, I continue to maintain an additional layer of communication. Music now adds another serious arrow to my quiver!