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Originally Posted by esimms86
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Thanks, I was going to mention that in a reply. I met Emmett three times, twice in Interlochen Michigan and at a bar a block from the NAMM 2015 show. Also exchanged many emails with him and his wife Yuta over the years since 2004 when I bought my first one, an 8 String NS Stick. That instrument was a collaboration between Emmett and Ned Steinberger.
The Stick community was my gateway to acoustic guitar via Stickist Steve Osburn who owns Oz’s Music in Ann Arbor. I took lessons with Oz and then took guitar lessons with him. In tandem I discovered another guy named Glenn Poorman who ironically went to the same high school as me. He was an Interlochen Alumni and from going to the Stick Seminars I discovered the Fingerstyle Acoustic guitar seminars. After being let in initially with an electric, I got into buying acoustic guitars.
In 2010 I reconnected with relatives I had not seen since I was a kid when I attended a Stick seminar in Melbourne Australia. I took the same Stick that I used in this video with me. I own three Sticks as of today.
Through Oz and Interlochen I started playing live again. Had to move up to Northern Michigan when my employer relocated our facility. By chance I met someone I knew from a seminar, and met more musicians where I’ve been playing live at open mics.
Most Stickists play other instruments as well, even Emmett was a really good guitar player, and was really good at accordion and piano as well. Despite being a stringed instrument, the Stick has more in common with a piano than a guitar in the manner of how it’s played.
I’m 55, played band instruments as a kid, been playing electric bass since 16, but it wasn’t until 2004 when I took up Stick that I’ve met an amazing number of professional musicians ranging from bassist/Stickist Tony Levin to Laurence Juber at various events and seminars. If it wasn’t for Emmett, I’d pretty much still be mostly a bedroom musician working out of a DAW.
Never expected to receive so much from taking up an instrument very few people have ever seen.