The Pick-Fondle-Grin Lu`au
September 9, 2006

We're lucky to have some guests who come year after year. Here are two we can count on. Matt Sarad, on the left, became one of my favorite players the first moment I heard him several years ago. He just keeps getting better.

Brian Kolner, on the right, has a tremendous driving style that pays tribute to Leo Kottke. Brian is quite a connoisseur of Boz(h)o guitars, and I sometimes think they're even louder than my McCollum GA he's taking for a spin in this pic.

Sharon is joining us for the first time. Is that thousand yard stare the result of spending too much time with Matt?

Seriously, Matt's lucky to have found a lady so charming who'll not only put up with him but even say nice things about him behind his back. More than I'll do, that's for sure.

Brandt Williams, on the left, and his "Real Placebos" duo introduced me to a thriving local acoustic guitar scene.

Now we play at the same coffee shop here in Walnut Creek on occasion. Marshall Newman on the right has joined us for several parties and never fails to bring along some spiffy instruments.

Looks like a Wingert-fest. Steve Cyr has my E cutaway. I'm probably raving to Brian about Jayne's E12 cutaway. Jayne is holding either the Picasso Parlor or her own 00.

And Sharon is not sure what all these lunatics are raving about ...

Dave Hilyard busy with another cool guitar. Remember to check Dave's pictures of the party, and while your there eyeball some of his cool collection.

In this shot he's trying John How's cutaway, and that looks like a McCollum GA waiting its turn next to him.

I usually stay out of the pictures, I'm not sure who caught me in this pose. Way in the background you can see my table tennis buddy, Adam. Then John How looks like he's waiting for the punchline.

Meanwhile, I'm talking Tony Yamamoto's ear off, no doubt.

Yeah, John is still waiting for the punch line. When Lance and Bart get started the tales are thick and sometimes even believable.

The picker on the right trying to ignore the tall tales is Ace Batacan, a smoooth player fer sure. He was featured at this past Chet Atkins Appreciation Society meeting in Nashville.

I'm pretty sure this is a Tony Yamamoto model he calls the OM-Y.

I really enjoyed this guitar for its stringy, sweet voice and nice playability.

Here's Charlie Hunt, one of Brian's collegues at UC Davis. He hosts a music series in Davis on the side.

His Lowden got passed around and admired a lot.

Alan Porton posts as Surreal McCoy on the Acoustic Players Magazine forum. We were honored that he made the long drive to join us.

Alan is checking Ace's gorgeous Collings.

Brian Kolner's Boz(h)o collection gets mentioned occasionally but rarely photographed. Here's a snap of one of his beauties.

The combination of Brian, his picks, and this Boz(h)o is one powerful sound machine.

How about a shot with no guitar content?

Adam (my table tennis coach) and Rusty. They're both waiting for the lu`au banquet to be served.