I was happy to come across this article, “Revealed: The Real Guitar Heroes,” which features a new book, Instrument, by photographer Pat Graham.
(Check out Graham’s awesome blog, here.)
In the article, various musicians discuss their favorite instruments. I particularly liked Peter Buck’s description of his beloved guitar, because it so closely matched what I’d already written in my upcoming Young Adult debut, Before You Go (July, 2012).
Before we get to Buck and his guitar, here’s a brief section from my book, written over a year ago. To set the scene: Jude and Becka are hanging out together for the first time after work; they’ve walked the Jones Beach boardwalk on a cloudy day and are now playing putt-putt golf. Becka tells Jude that she’s saving up for her dream guitar:
This could be what Becka’s dream guitar looks like.
“What kind of guitar do you want to buy?”
“Rickenbacker 330,” Becka answered.
“You like that jangle sound, huh?”
“John Lennon, Johnny Marr, Peter Buck, they all played Rickenbackers,” Becka said. “You know Guitar World in Massapequa? That’s where I’m going to buy it. I’ve got mine all picked out.”
“Tell me,” Jude said, tapping the ball into the hole. He didn’t bother to fill in the scorecard. Jude hated those ultracompetitive guys who took things like P.E. way too seriously. He and Becka randomly cut over from the third to the eleventh hole. Nobody was around, nobody cared, and this one has a fake pirate ship in the middle of it to enhance the awesomeness.
“You should see it, gorgeous guitar,” Becka enthused. “Semi-hollow maple body, fireglo finish, rosewood fretboard with dot inlays, single-coil pickups –”
“Wow, you know your stuff,” Jude said. “That’s not a cheap guitar.”
“Almost two thousand balloons,” Becka said. “My parents are willing to go halfsies.”
“Halfsies?” Jude laughed.
“You know what I mean,” Becka protested, a hint of color rising to her cheeks. “I’ve been staring at that guitar for the past year. It’s my goal for this summer. I need that guitar.”
Jude knew exactly how she felt. He was always coveting a new guitar, or conside
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