John Garrity Interview......

Hey have folks had a chance to see the Mel Bay Mandolin Sessions Webzine interview with the Cafe's own John Garrity? Nice interview w/some great photo's and interesting background info from one of today's finest builders. It also has a sound bite of today's Cafe homepage highlighted Member Wayne Fugate playing one of John's mandos. Very nice article. Cool...



Dennis Benjamin
Heritage Music

www.mandolinsessions.com this helps!

[WJF]

Soundbyte notwithstanding, it's a pretty cool interview with a very, very talented luthier!! I'm on-line for one my own now and can't wait ... the pics I've seen of it in contruction so far have me ready to strap on a drool bucket! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Hey just curious...do any of you good folks know how to place a link to this interview inside a post here on the cafe so members can just click and take a peak without having to "travel" to see these great pix of the mandos presented in the interview? *^*...Help?

[Billy Mack]

You can get the Interview (http://www.mandolinsessions.com/apr04/interview.html) here.

Billy....thanks a bunch for the help.

Hey Wayne...how did you discover Mr. Garrity and what attracted you to purchase one of his mandolins? It looks like what with your instructional materials and professional playing status that you must have seen and played a bunch of great mandolins....i'm always interested to hear what draws good players to the instruments they choose. Thanks.

[WJF]

Well ... lets see. I think I "discovered" John right here at the Cafe. He had posted a few pictures of a recently completed mandolin and I was captivated. The wood he used on this instrument was off the charts gorgeous and the body style very reminiscient of the Monteleone Grand Artist, a design that I've always loved.

I wrote to John inquiring about price, etc and we kinda struck up this instant friendship ... he's a really great guy to talk to and we had a bunch of stuff in common. Same tastes in music, instrument design, knew a bunch of the same people, etc.

So to make a long story short I got home from work one day and John had sent an e-mail asking if I wanted to play host to one of his instruments for a week or so. That offer required little thought on my part http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif and a few days later I had temporary custody of this really nice looking "blonde" mandolin that sounded every bit as good as looked. The hook was set. A few months later, I got to check out a black top mandolin that he had recently finished and it just kinda blew me away so that was it ... I got on line and am now salivating over the pictures he's sent me of mine at various phases of it's construction. This is going to be one outrageous mandolin!! I'll post pics as soon as I get it and you'll see whay I was so taken with John's work. Figured wood that is off the charts, almost freakishly clean workmanship, gorgeous wood bindings, and of course sound to match!

Wayne...thanks for the background info.. but now you have me interested in taking a peek at the construction pix...any chance you could post a couple? I met John in Colorado a few years ago and i'm in agreement with you on all counts and you are dead on with your comment regarding the freakishly clean work....amazing....John's attention to detail. i've wanted one of John's mandos for the entire time since i was fortunate enough to meet him. When is yours expected to be completed and what "look" did you go with...sunburst, blonde or what? I don't mean to bother you for the info just like John's mandos...thanks.

[WJF]

Hi Dennis,

No Problem at all ... Let's see ... I went with a black top, amber rims / back color scheme. John is using some off the charts maple for it and Ziricote as the veneer on the peghead. and the bindings. He's outlined the profile of the fingerboard with another beautiful wood whose name escapes me at the moment (senior moment):;): It's hard to describe this fingerboard outline in a way that makes sense but I've got pictures of it and it is gorgeous ... which really comes as no surprise since pretty much everything I've ever seen of John's is museum quality in the aesthetics department!!

I do have some pictures and would gladly post them if I could ever figure out how to get it to work ... all my past attempts have failed. I'm heading out for a few days but when I get back, I'll try to steal some time to put a page up on my band's site that will show these pictures and what I've seen so far ... then I won't be the the only salivating over this instrument! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

WJF....thanks for the visual. Everytime i've been into John's shop I have been amazed by his pace of work and attention to detail. Very much a picture of perfection w/his fit and finish. Its not my place to drop names but i know of at least one of the very best of the best mando players on the planet who is a huge fan of John's work. This guy plays a Loar but wouldn't surprise me to see a Garrity on the stage sometime in the future.

[pakhan]

Hi guys,

I'm trying to get in touch with John Garrity and was wondering if anyone had a phone number or postcode for him?

Warmest regards,
Terence

[WJF]

Hi Terence,

Sadly John Garrity had a run of bad luck and abruptly stopped building mandolins. He virtually disappeared from the radar screen and severed contacts with those who (myself included) considered him a friend. I never did get the one he was building for me but miss the conversations I used to have with him more than the instrument.

I've heard from a few others here that had tried to get get in touch with him right around the time he went "stealth" ... I don't think any of us were successful in tracking him down. Last I heard was a rumor that he was on his feet again working in a shop in or around Boulder, CO that specializes in making some insanely high-end rocking chairs ...

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif

[Mandoborg]

This thread really got my attention because of the name. Many times i've wondered what ever happened to John, i still have tons of pictures of his mandolins here and thought he was definetly on to something. When i decided to ditch the traditional Gibson clone mandolin and go with the much better looking grand Artist, John was kind enough to send me his pattern because i was struggling to draw one of my own ( G.A. aren't very common around these parts and people tend to look at you funny when you ask if you can trace there instrument )
Sometimes life gets in the way ,but i'm very happy to hear he's still around in some capacity, you tend to think the worst when people just disapear...... I wish nothing but the best for John as he was a really, really nice guy .

Jim Combra

[pakhan]

Thanks for the info guys. I hear his mandos are well built and have a strong sound- I remember hearing one a few years ago and always wondered what happened to him.

Warmest regards,
Terence

[Joe Mendel]

I did the interview with John, I have always wondered what happened to him. His intruments are certainly beautiful, I wish I had taken him up on his offer to send one to me to try out. Making a living as a mandolin builder is a tough way to go, I wish him all the best and if he wants to build in the future I hope he is able to do so.