It’s crazy how busy life can get especially around the time of the holidays. As most of you know, I don’t bother wasting my time with anything on Jackaboutguitars unless I consider it fun, at least somewhat worthwhile, feel it’s way cool, or even all three. After all, the tagline for the site is “just a fun little guitar site”. I guess that’s my disclaimer too – (fun for me.)
I’m now going to make mention of a pretty cool evening I spent several weeks back at the local guitar shop that had all three of the above mentioned qualifications.
I walked in one Saturday afternoon and was greeted warmly (as is the usual scenario) when I walked into the way cool guitar shop, Five Star Guitars.
My agenda that day was to inquire about placing some 4×6 cards up on their bulletin board concerning The Wrecking Crew Film Article and Interview with Filmmaker Denny Tedesco which at the time was the latest Feature Post on Jackaboutguitars.com.
Filmmaker Denny Tedesco, (son of the late, great, guitarist, Tommy Tedesco – who was one of the members of The Wrecking Crew), had just got the Kickstarter going to raise the final $250,000 needed to get The Wrecking Crew Film up onto the big screen…and it was a HUGE success when the Kickstarter ended at $313,157 with 4,245 backers!
Jeep Simonet, one of the three owners of Five Star Guitars, said sure (that it was okay to post the cards) and asked me if I knew about the event happening at the store that evening, to which I replied a simple no. After Jeep told me, I did remember a short simple post that I had done some months before concerning the Special Guest of the Evening (See:http://www.jackaboutguitars.com/namm-danelectro)
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT FIVE STAR GUITARS
Let me tell you about Five Star Guitars…Five Star Guitars is a really way cool guitar store that has been in business since 1998.
It’s located at 2303 N.W. 185th Ave. in Tanasbourne (officially Hillsboro, Oregon 97124 – 503.439.9500). If you aren’t familiar with where Tanabourne is, it’s right at the point where far, far, north, and even farther west than north, N.W. Portland meets N.E. Hillsboro meets N.W. Beaverton where N.E. Aloha creeps in. Talk about being centrally located to all of these different areas!
Five Star Guitars has everything in their store that a guitar player could want in a local guitar shop. Even if you have seen an item elsewhere at a price that’s even lower than the great and competitive prices that they already offer, Five Star will match that price! They will even match internet pricing too. You can even check out Five Star Guitars Inventory online.
Ummm…..Gretschs!
GUITAR PLAYER MAGAZINE named FIVE STAR GUITARS one of the TOP INDEPENDENT GUITAR STORES in the COUNTRY.
THAT says PLENTY. Geoff Metts, Jeremie Murfin, and Jeep Simonet are the store’s owners. These guys really have it together. Cool guys….Cool store….Cool stuff. Free estimates. Warranties. Music lessons and repairs available 7 days per week.
With regard to music lessons: “Private instruction is offered on several instruments and taught on-site by professional musicians that are active in the local music scenes.”
Geoff Metts stated that “Currently there are 18 active employees and instructors, many of whom have been here 10 years or more. We’re a locally owned and independent music store that has garnered national attention because of our commitment to our customers, employees and our community.”
And the cool stuff? Not only six string electrics. They provide it all – for the beginner to the professional musician!
There’s also an acoustic guitar section, basses, amps, banjos, mandolins, drums, percussion, cymbals, cases, huge brand name gear as well as stuff from local vendors, effects pedals, cables, harmonicas, straps, strings, ukuleles, pickups, slides, picks, keyboards, synths, and midi, speakers, recording software, pro audio, speaker cabinets, mics, wireless, p.a. and sound systems, parts, tuners, tubes, books, DVD’s, lessons, modifications, repairs, and set ups, and one of my favorites – VINTAGE and used instruments!
Yes, VINTAGE and used instruments, tee-shirts (I’ve bought my last 3 cool tee-shirts here in the past couple months), and even so much more that there isn’t the time and the space to mention everything they carry. So check out their site, or better yet, get yourself into the shop. You won’t be disappointed.
If they don’t have something in stock, they will certainly order it for you too. They have all the stuff the big stores have in 3100 square feet of space. Need I say anymore?
Here’s a little something borrowed from Angie’s List:
“Five Star Guitars was featured as one of America’s top independent guitar stores in the July 2012 issue of Guitar Player Magazine. The four page article, “America’s Top Indie Guitar Shops” by Bridget Oates, describes 38 of the top shops by region. Five Star Guitars was one of only three Oregon stores included and the only one from the Portland Metro Area.”
“This is a real honor for us, we’re very excited,” stated co-owner Geoff Metts. “We’ve gotten calls and e-mails from customers and product reps from all over the country to congratulate us,” explained Metts. “We would sincerely like to thank our staff and our customers for all their support; without them none of this would be possible.”
Five Star Guitars’s Owners Jeep Simonet, Geoff Metts, & Jeremie Murfin
Don’t forget to get over to Facebook and give them a like. Every week they have a contest on their Facebook Page where they give away all kinds of great stuff! So if you live anywhere in or near the Portland Metro Area and like guitars, you really have to get in to Five Star Guitars and check it out…and if you’re not in the market to purchase something, get in there anyway, even if only for a great time!
NOW… HERE’SSSSSS………..DEKE…
A GREAT EVENING WITH DEKE DICKERSON AT FIVE STAR GUITARS
Now back to the rest of the story. The event that was taking place that evening at Five Star Guitars was “AN EVENING WITH DEKE DICKERSON”.
If you’ve never heard of Deke Dickerson, Deke is a “GUITAR GEEK of ROYAL APPOINTMENT” (kind of like The Three Musketeers, except that Deke doesn’t need the other two Musketeers).
Photo by Joel Paterson
The term GUITARCHEOLOGY, it’s a term that describes who Deke is and what Deke does best (well, besides his cool guitar playing and singing). Think of BLOODHOUNDS on the HUNT for the FOX, COPS on a MANHUNT for a DANGEROUS AND ARMED WANTED FELON, or even the MONSTROUS DRAGON of SIZABLE PROPORTIONS ready to SWOOP UP the FAIR PRINCESS.
If there’s a rare guitar to be sought out and found, Deke has the prowess to sniff it out, lay his hands on it, and somehow manage to acquire it, no matter what the consequences. A true GUITARCHEOLOGIST of a most noble order (like a Steve Soest, who is The King of GUITARCHEOLOGISTS).
You see, Deke was born a Coal Miner’s Daught…wait a minute, that’s another story. Strike that. What I meant to say before the confusion began to set in is that this Gentleman, Deke Dickerson, is a Guitar Man’s GUITAR MAN. (My apologies for the confusion, Deke. It’s late and I’m plenty tired.)
Here’s something better – a tiny slice taken from Deke’s Bio:
“It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it,” claims journeyman musician/singer/entertainer Deke Dickerson. As usual, Dickerson interjects dry wit into a serious proclamation of his career intent: keeping America’s roots music alive while interjecting new creativity—a blood transfusion, if you will—into genres of music that flourished decades previous.”
For more on Deke see: Deke Dickerson’s Bio 2013
This particular evening that Deke was appearing at Five Star Guitars, (a stone’s throw across the street from about as far North and West NW Portland where I currently reside), and he was there to talk