Growing up in a farming town breeds strange fruit. My childhood friend, Richard Hoover, and I struggled to express ourselves in the midst of limited possibilities. Now, he is one of the foremost luthiers in America with his 30 year old company, Santa Cruz Guitars and I am grateful to sit on my porch and play the wonderful guitar he made for me so long ago.
I spent the formative part of my life touring as a guitarist with country artists like George Strait and others and writing songs for Willie Nelson until finally settling into a recording studio life in Nashville, TN. My wife, Nancy, and I took our winnings and plunked them into remodeling old houses or buying land in far flung places and building shelter. I was blessed with friends and clients who enjoyed my houses enough to ask me to create spaces for them, and so I moved into a different artistic expression.
But I digress... Hoover was busy in Santa Cruz, CA creating truly fine, acoustic instruments where there was no immediate market, save for a small group of admiring players. He couldn't believe that Eric Clapton and rock icons had heard the good news and were ordering too. Today, he is able to fend off mega corporations who want to buy up the artistic competition, as he believes he has something very unique to say. He is featured in the last issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine, so please check out the entire article.
He and his beloved, artist compatriot, Beth, also cook up a mean fish gumbo on their hillside tick ranch overlooking the wide Pacific. I guess nobody ever informs us as to how long it will take or what the prize is. RP
