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Topic: Hawaiian Guitar Lessons in 1960's California |
Dom Franco
From:
Beaverton, OR, 97007
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Posted 1 Jun 2005 10:33 pm |
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Hello fellow steelers;
I was just reminded of my early childhood introduction to the Steel guitar and I wondered if any of you were living in orange County California in the early 1960's. Do you remember a place in santa Ana called "The House of Guitars?" if so let's talk...
One evening in the fall of 1961, I was working on my 5th grade history project; and the doorbell rang. I could see out front through the dining room window that it was two men in suits and ties. I yelled out: “Mom….it’s some salesmen!” She came through the kitchen door drying her hands on her apron. The men opened up the case they were carrying and took out a guitar. I stood there watching intently as they told my mom about their new music store and the lessons that they offered. Mom was just about ready to send them away with her usual line; “thank you, we’re not interested,” when I ran to the door…. “Mom” I said, “can I take lessons”…. by this time my dad had also come to the door, and in a few minutes the men were sitting on the couch explaining the details to my parents. I was so excited I didn’t even notice they were talking about “Hawaiian music” and “The Steel Guitar.”
The salesmen were quick to pick up on my interest, and one of them placed the instrument on my lap. They had me pick a few notes and look over the sheet music.“This ain’t the right way to hold it!” They came back with some technical information that satisfied my folks, and they signed on the dotted line. The next morning at school, I had something new to brag to my friends about! I was taking guitar lessons, and I was going to be a rock and roll star soon!
The music school was formerly an old house in downtown Santa Ana. “Oh! that’s why they call it the House of Guitars.” I thought to myself. Old man Shultz had converted the bedrooms into classrooms, with egg cartons on the walls to absorb the sound. There were seven other kids in the class, and we were each given a student guitar. Then they handed out finger picks and steel bar. I was a little confused; I had messed around with guitars before and never used all this junk! The strings were strung over ¼ inch off the fret-board, due to a simple device that covered the nut. The teacher told us to lay the guitar flat on our laps, and explained how to hold the bar and place it on the strings. We were soon making all kinds of noise sliding the bars up and down. “Hey, this ain’t the way that Elvis holds the guitar!” I said. Now I finally understood what the “Hawaiian guitar” was. This is not really what I wanted; “I might as well have taken up the Accordion,” I thought to myself.
A few years later I thanked the Good Lord that I had learned to play the Steel. I could always find a gig, being one of a very few Steel players in Orange County California at that time.
Dom Franco
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C. Brattain
From:
Balch Springs, Texas, usa
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Posted 2 Jun 2005 3:25 pm
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Dom, I also learned to play at the Santa Ana House of Music, in the 1940's when they were downtown Santa Ana. Great People, Karl Schultz was sure a nice guy and a GREAT salesman. I taught for them from 1948 to 1958 and arranged many of their Natural Method lesson sheets. That is where I first met Leo Fender when he was just getting started. When you were taking lessons in the 1960's I had the Costa Mesa Guitar Center in Costa Mesa.
If you have any of the old Natural Method lesson sheets left I would sure like to buy them from you.
We Get To Soon Old
and To Late Smart.
Chuck |
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Dom Franco
From:
Beaverton, OR, 97007
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Posted 2 Jun 2005 9:28 pm
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Chuck;
It's great to hear from you. I think the store WAS called "House of Music" you are correct I'm sure. My teacher was Leo Shultz, and as late as 1972 The house of music was still there in Santa Ana, on 17th Street I believe? I wish I had kept all my old steel guitar music! My mom may have some tucked away somewhere. I do have an old Photo of one of our recitals, With Leo playing an old Fender Jaguar through a Tweed Showman, and several of us kids playing our Fender Champs. We did Red River Valley and I was asked to sing a verse so I was set up right next to the mike. I later moved up to a 2 neck 8 string Stringmaster, and eventually bought a Fender 1000 pedal steel in 1971. Lord knows I wish I still had those steels now!
Dom Franco |
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