A Guitar Shop's Guide To...

This week, Jeremie shares his experience with the NovoTHOR light therapy bed. Sometime last November, Jeremie noticed a pain developing in his arm that lead him to put the guitar down for a few months. Not only did that NOT lead to healing, it just about drove him crazy! A suggestion from his wife sparked his interest in NovoTHOR and light therapy, and like a mosquito to a bug zapper he was irreversibly drawn in. A month later, he can play guitar pain free. Jeremie starts today by giving you 3-4 hand stretches that can help reduce pain or risk of injury from playing guitar, then takes a guess at how his injury developed, and finally shares some experience with using the NovoTHOR bed. Note: he's still not very tan... Check out: NovoTHOR: https://www.novothor.com/ Performance Bodywork: http://performancebodywork.com/

A bit out of the ordinary for us, today's conversation is less gear-centric or business-oriented and more of a conversation on genre. Nate is largely unfamiliar with the genre of CCM but has seen a consistent flow of customers who say, "I play in church." Jeremie has played guitar in church or CCM-related endeavors for 20 years. So Nate had questions and Jeremie pretended to have answers. This is also our first show that begins with a bit of a disclaimer - namely, Jeremie is worried that expressing an opinion that CCM is anything other than butterflies and rainbows will hurt feelings, and he really doesn't like to hurt feelings. On an unrelated note, Nate's dad loves Sugar Ray. No, not the boxer. We're wondering what it would take to convince him to get a tattoo of Mark McGrath...

NAMM 2019, the Reckoning. Back from NAMM and ready for the year, Nate finally got Jeremie to sit down for a few minutes and talk about what he experienced at NAMM. Lots of cool new gear for guitarists this year from BOSS, Fender, Taylor, and others. Also, what does Hall C sound like when 400 drummers are auditioning simultaneously for endorsement deals? Turn your earbuds up to 11 and....wait for it....

Ah yes, it's that time of year. Winter NAMM. For those of you who have never attended the show in Anaheim, we offer two perspectives on what the show offers and why we attend every year. First, Jeremie and Geoff give an owner's point of view on manufacturer-dealer relationships and what kind of business gets done "behind the scenes." Then Nate joins in and talks NAMM rumors of new gear and exciting products. What new releases are you most excited to see this year? Hit us up on the social medias - @fivestarguitars, or email us at podcast@fivestarguitars.com. Also, did you hear how Geoff suddenly came to life when Jeremie asked him to plug his band's gig during the NAMM show? I think we discovered the real reason he'll be in Anaheim this year...

Our show begins with Nate and Geoff (in the background) telling Jeremie that his guitar playing career is over because he's never emulated Keith Richards's Tele guitar tone. Once Geoff leaves for an epic lunch, Nate and Jeremie get down to business and take the new Fender Performer series through the paces. Nate plays a blonde Tele with a humbucker in the neck, Jeremie plays an HSS Strat, and then Nate strums the Jazzmaster. Listen to each and pick your favorite! Which one did the guys like the best? We won't spoil the surprise, but Jeremie got to keep his job for one more day....

What does it mean to "be successful?" Jeremie provides listeners with three leading questions that help clarify and define success within any endeavor. Nate provides insight within the context of playing guitar in his band. 1. What's the context? Are we talking broadly like a career path or raising children, or are we talking specifics like learning a song or training for a race? 2. What are appropriate goals within that context? If it's sports, it might simply be winning the championship. But if it's your career, are you achievement-oriented looking to advance up the company ladder or looking to be happy in your current position? 3. What's your metric (measuring stick) to judge the success of your efforts? If your goal is to play more gigs but you spend all your time in your living room writing songs, you might save yourself a lot of frustration if you realign your energy into activities that will make a measurable difference toward your goals. There's a lot of goodness in there. But first, the guys treat you to an extra long preamble related to TV-watching habits and cartoons for kids. Who is your favorite Paw Patrol pup?

What is the difference between a guitar made in the USA and one made overseas? Nate and Jeremie sat down to chat about what they think the main differences are and whether or not the American made instruments are worth the made in America price tag.

We had PRS artist Clint Lowery in the shop to talk Sevendust, his career in music and growing up in a musical family. It was a great chat with a super down to earth guy. Thanks again to Paul Reed Smith for setting this up, and thanks to everyone who came. It was a blast! We helped Clint write his next hit, learned about Sevendust's new record label, Rise (less than a mile from our shop!), and then shared some photo and autograph time! Thanks again Clint and Sevendust for the hang!

When Tom Bedell, owner, and CEO of Two Old Hippies (Breedlove Guitars, Weber Mandolins, and Bedell Guitars) stopped by, Nate had a great conversation with him about growing up in Iowa, his love for the outdoors and music, and his journey from music to politics...to the fishing tackle industry and back again.

Episode 3 - A Guitar Shop's Guide To…The Gibson Bankruptcy. Nate and Jeremie are joined by Geoff Metts, co-owner of Five Star Guitars, to talk about Gibson's rise and fall and a recent Music Trades interview with Gibson's former CEO hero-turned-villain Henry Juszkiewicz. After some reminiscing on favorite Gibsons, Jeremie and Geoff realize their dream guitars are vintage Gibsons but Nate goes rogue and picks a Tele. Seriously, on a Gibson episode, he picked a Tele. To pull back the curtain on the inner workings of Five Star Guitars, it's revealed that the process for removing the G-Force tuners from 2015 models was internally referred to as the "Gibson Robotomy." Ouch!

Episode 2 - A Guitar Shop's Guide To...Your First Guitar. How do you choose your first guitar? What questions should you ask while trying out new instruments? How do you determine an appropriate amount of money to spend? Nate and Jeremie arm you with the tools to get started on your search to find the right guitar for you. Nate suggests some great models for beginners, and they guys role play a customer/salesperson conversation on finding the right guitar for a young player. What did WE learn? That they have a lot of great advice for parents and first time shoppers, and that they care more about making a musician than making a sale. Also, they suck at fixing cars.

Episode 1: A Guitar Shop's Guide To...Transitions. Nate and Jeremie introduce themselves and kick off the inaugural episode with a talk about what first attracted them to the guitar and what playing music has meant to them over time. How have their musical interests, goals as players, and relationships with the guitar evolved? Jeremie admits he started playing as a selfish endeavor and then goes deep on parenting and spirituality, and Nate opens up about how music has helped him to overcome insecurity. At some point, the guys finally realize that they're both just failed horn players.