i wish they all could be california girls
A garden-variety, wtf? type of post:
Back before the Taylor Hicks spring tour started, Ted “alltheanswers” (tour guitar tech) commented on one of Hicks’ guitars in a thread at graycharles.com:
Taylor is playing a Gibson Les Paul 1959 custom shop reissue tobacco burst. This is a guitar that is not made anymore, but the wonderful people at Gibson made this guitar specially for him. Lucky @#!!.
He’s talking about the front guitar in the rack at the right. It’s similar to the one at the top of this post. (One difference you’ll notice now is that Hicks had his pick guard removed sometime during the spring tour).
But this post is really about the case these guitars came in. Play this and keep reading:
[audio=http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/6/3/1140363/mp3s/02%20California%20Girls.mp3]
The Les Paul Gibsons of that era regularly came in a well-crafted guitar case, 
like the one shown in the photo at the top. It was valued for its durability, but it was its distinctive styling of brown-leather lined in pink plush that led to its affectionate name, “the California girl” - tan on the outside, pink on the inside. Now Nike is paying homage to that classic case in the design of a new Dunk shoe, which you can read about at the Gibson site here.
Can’t decide if this shoe is freaky or what, but for some reason it makes me want ice cream. Could this be the new tour shoe in 2008?
Or, trying to regain some semblence of on-topicness, anyone know if Hicks’ Gibson came with the vintage case?
categories: Uncategorized
posted by what at 01:00 am
No idea what case currently holds Taylor’s guitar, but the shoe is funny! I’m fascinated by how the idea of a guitar case morphing into this shoe came to be. Who thinks of these things!! There is something about it that just doesn’t seem right on so many levels…
That’s pretty sweet that Gibson made a one-off for him. Les Paul Custom Shops are definitely nice guitars. Frankly, they’re about the only ‘new’ Les Paul that I would buy now. They’re quality standards are very high for the Custom Shop, and the sound/tone and playability is by far better than their standard lines by a mile.
Beautiful guitar, silly case. I don’t really get it. And about the Nike thing…isn’t this just another case of advertisers bastardizing something vintage in the name of cool, which translates to sales? Kind of like the Gap ads with Audrey Hepburn. Yuck.
But beautiful guitar!
By sheer coincidence I took all of my old Beach Boys records and CD’s out about 2 weeks ago and put as much as I could on my iPod. As much as I loved The BB back in the day, I love them even more today. Something about lost youth and days gone by when life “seemed” much easier and less complicated.
Time sure does fly.
About 15 years ago I wanted to make up for a really lousy Christmas the year before, so I got my boyfriend a Gibson Les Paul guitar. I am not enough of a guitar person to know anything else about it, except that it looks like the one Jimmy Paige plays (which is why I though he’d like it) and it came in this weird tan leather case with a screaming fuzzy pink plush interior. Now at least I know what to call the case, LOL.
This isn’t about Les Paul Guitar’s but I took a factory tour of Martin Guitar a few years ago. It was way cool. We got to walk through the shop and talk to the craftsmen.
I’m with Julie 100%.(.And about the Nike thing…isn’t this just another case of advertisers bastardizing something vintage in the name of cool, which translates to sales? Kind of like the Gap ads with Audrey Hepburn. Yuck.)
……..the bastardization for commerical purposes is rampant and I DON’T LIKE IT ONE BIT.
Not sure, Julie, but I’ll ponder it while I finish my Cherry Garcia ice cream. Seems kind of different than the Gap thing (or the Ben & Jerry’s) - more like transferring cool design elements (or not cool, depending on taste) from one arena to another. Like if they made a toaster inspired by the Airstream camper trailer.
But what I’m really hoping is that Les Paul Freak will come back by and tell us what he really likes about this guitar. After going on so much about the T5 awhile back, it only seems fair. (and I guess I need to figure out what that middle guitar is)
Not sure about the Les Paul guitar case. But a friend of
mine just gave her husband a 1971 Martin D 12-20. Such a
rich sound from that guitar. The case wasn’t much to speak of.
No pink fuzz.
Does anybody have a complete listing of all of Taylor’s guitars - and perhaps any history on when, where, how he obtained them? I just think it would be very interesting to know.
I’ve not ever gotten too riled about pimping art, but a line has been crossed: I just heard Pride and Joy being used to sell Nissans. Oh, Stevie.