Well after 2 weeks on the road and 4,000 miles we finally made it to Nashville.
We have alot of stories to tell and and I will tell them as I get time.
Heres another little video blog in the mean time.
Alistair Hay
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Day 5
Well I cant Beleive its day 5 already.
Its been an amazing trip so far.
On Saturday We got to hang out at LA guitar sales And play some tunes and show off the guitars. Ted has a great little store there and it was a great way to kick of the trip properly. Joel played some tunes and even got to serenade a Cockateel!
Saturday night we went and hung out with our friend Joe Bochar who builds JB guitars. We sat and jammed until 3 am in his little work shop.
Monday saw us climb Squaw Peak in Phoenix in 105 degree and we took along a few guitars for Fun.
Its been an amazing trip so far.
On Saturday We got to hang out at LA guitar sales And play some tunes and show off the guitars. Ted has a great little store there and it was a great way to kick of the trip properly. Joel played some tunes and even got to serenade a Cockateel!
Saturday night we went and hung out with our friend Joe Bochar who builds JB guitars. We sat and jammed until 3 am in his little work shop.
Monday saw us climb Squaw Peak in Phoenix in 105 degree and we took along a few guitars for Fun.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Road trip Day 2
I am here in California tired and jet lagged but Im happy to finally be in the USA again. Its been a few years!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Day 1
Well I guess this is officially the first day of my American road trip.
Its been a crazy few weeks getting ready for this and I have been working consistently from 6:30am to midnight but thats all behind me now.
Yesterday was the last crazy push trying to get a couple of guitars finished and it took me right into the late hours. I thought I had loads of time before getting my Bus to the airport but then discovered it was leaving a couple of hours earlier than I thought so the panic set in. I got packed in double time with the help of my amazing wife and got to the bus with 2 minutes to spare. It wouldnt be good to fail at the first hurdle.
Now I am in the airport waiting for departure to Newark and then get a connection to LA. From there I pick up a hire car and head up the Pacific coast to Santa Barbara.
Its going to be a long day and I will probably be awake for 40 hours straight but somehow I am still really excited.
This trip marks a new start for Emerald guitars as we move back into the American market. I cant beleive its 5 years since I last exhibited at the NAMM show.
Anyway, I have some great things ahead over the next couple of weeks.
Stay tuned.
Its been a crazy few weeks getting ready for this and I have been working consistently from 6:30am to midnight but thats all behind me now.
Yesterday was the last crazy push trying to get a couple of guitars finished and it took me right into the late hours. I thought I had loads of time before getting my Bus to the airport but then discovered it was leaving a couple of hours earlier than I thought so the panic set in. I got packed in double time with the help of my amazing wife and got to the bus with 2 minutes to spare. It wouldnt be good to fail at the first hurdle.
Now I am in the airport waiting for departure to Newark and then get a connection to LA. From there I pick up a hire car and head up the Pacific coast to Santa Barbara.
Its going to be a long day and I will probably be awake for 40 hours straight but somehow I am still really excited.
This trip marks a new start for Emerald guitars as we move back into the American market. I cant beleive its 5 years since I last exhibited at the NAMM show.
Anyway, I have some great things ahead over the next couple of weeks.
Stay tuned.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
American road trip 2010
I am currently working frantically making the final preperations for our big USA road trip.
Starting on June 3rd myself and a very talented guitar player by the name of Joel Moreli will be hitting the road with a bunch of guitars and making our way in a crooked 3,500 mile line from California to Nashville where we will be exhibiting at the summer NAMM show.
This is a trip I have wanted to do for a long time and now seems to be the right time. Along the way we will be meeting our friends and dealers and having as much fun as possible along the way.
We have some amazing people who have agreed to put on some little parties for us along the way and everyone is invited. We will have barbecues, jam sessions and mini concerts along the way so lots of people will get a chance to get their hands on our latest guitars.
I will be doing my very best to put little video clips and reports up here daily to keep you up to date and let you be part of this.
Heres the itinerary
June 4th Santa Barbara CA
June 5th LA guitar sales, Sunset Blvd, LA
June 7th Phoenix ,
June 9th Las Vegas, NV
June 11th Salt Lake city, UT
June 14th St.Louis, MO
June 15th Springfield, MO
June 18th to 20th summer NAMM Nashville TN
Hope to see you on the road
Starting on June 3rd myself and a very talented guitar player by the name of Joel Moreli will be hitting the road with a bunch of guitars and making our way in a crooked 3,500 mile line from California to Nashville where we will be exhibiting at the summer NAMM show.
This is a trip I have wanted to do for a long time and now seems to be the right time. Along the way we will be meeting our friends and dealers and having as much fun as possible along the way.
We have some amazing people who have agreed to put on some little parties for us along the way and everyone is invited. We will have barbecues, jam sessions and mini concerts along the way so lots of people will get a chance to get their hands on our latest guitars.
I will be doing my very best to put little video clips and reports up here daily to keep you up to date and let you be part of this.
Heres the itinerary
June 4th Santa Barbara CA
June 5th LA guitar sales, Sunset Blvd, LA
June 7th Phoenix ,
June 9th Las Vegas, NV
June 11th Salt Lake city, UT
June 14th St.Louis, MO
June 15th Springfield, MO
June 18th to 20th summer NAMM Nashville TN
Hope to see you on the road
Saturday, March 20, 2010
A personal insight
I watched the film "Once" tonight!
Its an independent film starring Glen Hansard from "The Frames" and "Swell season"
I have been a big admirer of Glen for a long time now and for some reason I never watched Once until now. I guess I was waiting for the right time.
Its an amazing film and it started me thinking about the past couple of years and my road back into full time guitar building.
You see a couple of years ago I had to shut down Emerald guitars due to circumstances beyond my control. It was gut wrenching to step away from something I had put my life and passion into for 10 years. I thought I could walk away but I guess it had too strong a hold on me. I found myself working on my other business by day while still making guitars by night but it was tough. We weren't making money and the hours were taking a toll on my family life. With a wife and 4 kids its not just about working hard.
Things were getting to a head and I found myself at a cross roads. I had been listening to a song by Glen that had the line "when you want something so much it starts causing trouble in your life" thats exactly where I was with the guitar business.
I decided to go off on a sales trip for my other business which was making fibreglass tanks and just get some head time. I found myself on the west coast of Ireland and booked into a little hotel in a tiny town called Doolin which just happen to be beside the famous cliffs of Moher. I checked in and then took a walk up to the cliffs. It was late in the evening and all the tourists had gone except for a few french people who thought it would be cool to hit golf balls of the top of the cliffs.
Its an amazing place. These are some of the highest cliffs in Europe reaching 700ft from the Atlantic Ocean. I found a quiet place on the edge of the cliffs and with my feet dangling over the edge started to contemplate my future. I watched the sun set as the waves rolled in.
It was a magical place on a magical night.
I found myself crying out to God asking what I should do. My heart said I am a guitar builder but my mind said I need to stick to the more practical business. Its a dilemma that so many have gone through before me. The need to be creative versus the need to provide for the family that are my inspiration.
I left the cliffs that night without answers but with a certain contentment that the answers would come.
I slept well that night and the next day I drove to my first appointment in Listowel in county Kerry. It was a long drive but a beautiful one and on the way down I heard on the radio that Glen Hansard had been nominated for an Oscar for the song Falling slowly from the film Once. I was so happy. Glen had visited my factory just before we closed down and it was an amazing experience to have him and the band sit in my office playing guitars. I have admired Glen so much for his dedication to his music and has always chosen the integrity of his music over commercial success. It was great to hear that success had sought him out.
I was early for my meeting so I pulled into a petrol station to get a breakfast roll. I was sitting in my big white rusty van eating my unhealthy breakfast of two sausages a slice of bacon and a fried egg all bunged into a soft white bread roll when I noticed a familiar figure walking out of the shop. It was Glen!!!!
I jumped out of the van and called to him and he said "Alistair what are you doing here", he kind of stole my question. He was the last person I expected to see after hearing of his success and in such an unlikely and remote place. It was a short conversation but he said "I was just talking about you the other day, your guitars, you have something there, stick with it" That was about all he said before he wandered off with his coffee.
I dont know if you believe in devine appointments or perhaps you call it fate or even luck but there was no one else that I could have met that morning that could have had such a profound effect on me. It was the right words at the right time.
I think right then I knew who I was. I am a guitar builder, its something that is beyond my control, its who I am and I have to pursue it.
Many twists and turns have occurred in the 2 years since then that I could write a book about but that was the moment that kept me motivated that kept me swimming against the tide. My other business failed during the recession and possibly because my heart wasnt in it. It was costly but has brought that adversity that breeds inspiration. I am now 100% focused on rebuilding Emerald guitars and we have already made huge steps. This past month has been the best sales in 5 years and I know I am building and designing the best guitars of my life!
Glen went on to win the oscar and funnily enough right now I am building some model glider parts for his bass player (a long story) and another interesting fact is that shortly after that Benny the Busker bought one of my guitars to play on the cliffs of Moher where he busks every day. Some kind of strange alignment there.
Anyway tonight I just wanted to commit these thoughts to words and give you guys an insight into why Emerald guitars has risen from the ashes.
Alistair
Its an independent film starring Glen Hansard from "The Frames" and "Swell season"
I have been a big admirer of Glen for a long time now and for some reason I never watched Once until now. I guess I was waiting for the right time.
Its an amazing film and it started me thinking about the past couple of years and my road back into full time guitar building.
You see a couple of years ago I had to shut down Emerald guitars due to circumstances beyond my control. It was gut wrenching to step away from something I had put my life and passion into for 10 years. I thought I could walk away but I guess it had too strong a hold on me. I found myself working on my other business by day while still making guitars by night but it was tough. We weren't making money and the hours were taking a toll on my family life. With a wife and 4 kids its not just about working hard.
Things were getting to a head and I found myself at a cross roads. I had been listening to a song by Glen that had the line "when you want something so much it starts causing trouble in your life" thats exactly where I was with the guitar business.
I decided to go off on a sales trip for my other business which was making fibreglass tanks and just get some head time. I found myself on the west coast of Ireland and booked into a little hotel in a tiny town called Doolin which just happen to be beside the famous cliffs of Moher. I checked in and then took a walk up to the cliffs. It was late in the evening and all the tourists had gone except for a few french people who thought it would be cool to hit golf balls of the top of the cliffs.
Its an amazing place. These are some of the highest cliffs in Europe reaching 700ft from the Atlantic Ocean. I found a quiet place on the edge of the cliffs and with my feet dangling over the edge started to contemplate my future. I watched the sun set as the waves rolled in.
It was a magical place on a magical night.
I found myself crying out to God asking what I should do. My heart said I am a guitar builder but my mind said I need to stick to the more practical business. Its a dilemma that so many have gone through before me. The need to be creative versus the need to provide for the family that are my inspiration.
I left the cliffs that night without answers but with a certain contentment that the answers would come.
I slept well that night and the next day I drove to my first appointment in Listowel in county Kerry. It was a long drive but a beautiful one and on the way down I heard on the radio that Glen Hansard had been nominated for an Oscar for the song Falling slowly from the film Once. I was so happy. Glen had visited my factory just before we closed down and it was an amazing experience to have him and the band sit in my office playing guitars. I have admired Glen so much for his dedication to his music and has always chosen the integrity of his music over commercial success. It was great to hear that success had sought him out.
I was early for my meeting so I pulled into a petrol station to get a breakfast roll. I was sitting in my big white rusty van eating my unhealthy breakfast of two sausages a slice of bacon and a fried egg all bunged into a soft white bread roll when I noticed a familiar figure walking out of the shop. It was Glen!!!!
I jumped out of the van and called to him and he said "Alistair what are you doing here", he kind of stole my question. He was the last person I expected to see after hearing of his success and in such an unlikely and remote place. It was a short conversation but he said "I was just talking about you the other day, your guitars, you have something there, stick with it" That was about all he said before he wandered off with his coffee.
I dont know if you believe in devine appointments or perhaps you call it fate or even luck but there was no one else that I could have met that morning that could have had such a profound effect on me. It was the right words at the right time.
I think right then I knew who I was. I am a guitar builder, its something that is beyond my control, its who I am and I have to pursue it.
Many twists and turns have occurred in the 2 years since then that I could write a book about but that was the moment that kept me motivated that kept me swimming against the tide. My other business failed during the recession and possibly because my heart wasnt in it. It was costly but has brought that adversity that breeds inspiration. I am now 100% focused on rebuilding Emerald guitars and we have already made huge steps. This past month has been the best sales in 5 years and I know I am building and designing the best guitars of my life!
Glen went on to win the oscar and funnily enough right now I am building some model glider parts for his bass player (a long story) and another interesting fact is that shortly after that Benny the Busker bought one of my guitars to play on the cliffs of Moher where he busks every day. Some kind of strange alignment there.
Anyway tonight I just wanted to commit these thoughts to words and give you guys an insight into why Emerald guitars has risen from the ashes.
Alistair
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