This shot is featured on the cover of my forth CD, It only Hurts when I Laugh!    I bought a used Fender Jaguar from a pawn shop when I was 20, and I haven't learned how to play it yet.    But I'd rather have a guitar strap around my neck, than a neck tie, so I keep fiddling with it.

     My guitar ended up with Gibson Humbugger pick-ups, Grover machine-heads, and the electronics reduced to two switches and two knobs. ..all covered with two layers of leather.    I had just finished painting the guitar's body, long ago, when it got clobbered in the night, by a room mate, who was unaware of its where abouts.    The resulting gash, in the back, was so deep as to render sanding it out, impossible. Hence, the leather.    I wanted an indestructible finish, as I liked to drink whiskey, at the time, and I forsaw a hazardous future, in store.

     It was a time of Renaissance and Music, and a gypsy friend of mine, Hal Harrower, put the first layer on it, down in Laguna Beach, California.    But the tuning head lacked pizzazz, the way I'd asked for, and I found that I kept, inadvertently, deadening strings with the heal of my pick hand. ..so I built a little string guard for me to rest my hand upon, and continued to add a second layer of leather to the body and tuning head.    The resulting "finish" has lasted beautifully for 35 years, without any scratches--although the stitching needs to be replaced in spots.    The deer antler volume/tone knobs came courtesy of an excellent knife maker down in Mississippi, Ken Petty.    I get by, with a little help from my friends.