Hi Folks!
We want to share our latest news with you as well as tell you a few stories from the past. It’s been great to remember these times and look through some old pictures. We hope you enjoy this story about Michael’s guitar.
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Exciting News
Santa Cruz Guitar Company has made Michael an endorsee! It is an honor to be on the list with the likes of Tony Rice, David Grier and Brad Paisley! Click below to visit the Santa Cruz website:
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Famous to Me
Sometimes musicians play an instrument that becomes their companion during the most important times in life. My guitar may not be as famous as Bill Monroe’s F-5 mandolin, B.B. King’s Lucille, or Sonny Osborne’s Granada, but to me it is. I am aware of where it is almost all the time.
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Brand New
I remember like it was yesterday, opening the shipping box with my custom 1986 Santa Cruz (Brazilian) Tony Rice model guitar. It looked to me like a beautiful piece of art, felt like perfectly smooth surfaces, and smelled like wood and a fresh finish. I was in heaven! My dad had been glad to let me play his Martin’s but this was the first time I had my own guitar. Here is a pic of my guitar when it was about a week old.
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McLain Family Band
From that time on, I used it on the road with the McLain Family Band from Alaska to Brazil (and it seemed like everywhere in between)! When we were on the road, I was always looking for a room to practice. I sometimes would practice in the van while we went down the road! My Dad always said that he loved to hear it. Wow! Really?!? Here is a pic of me (I’m on the left, with hair!) playing guitar at our festival in Big Hill, Kentucky in about 1987.
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Takamine pick - up
When I moved to Nashville in 1988, I went to work for Ricky Skaggs as his Guitar Tech and Stage Manager. This was just after Ricky had a string of number 1 hits on the country charts with Uncle Pen, Country Boy, etc. Here is a pic by the bus with Keith Little (played everything and sang harmony!) and Mike Kennedy (drums) in the Canadian Rockies. (me on the left)
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Ricky’s acoustic guitar was a key part of his sound and I was fortunate enough to take care of it. I changed strings every show and made sure the set up was clean. One thing I learned was how the smallest change in attack on the strings could be heard in the back of an arena with the right pick-up. When playing live, Ricky used the first generation (3 slider) Takamine pick up on his 1948 Martin D-28.
During this time, I asked Nashville luthier, Joe Glaser (who built some of Ricky’s trademark instruments), to install the same Takamine set up on my Santa Cruz. Every time I use my Tak pick-up, I think of the years I worked with Ricky. Here is a photo of my “office” on the road with Ricky.
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College Audition
To learn and grow, I figured I needed to either study audio electronics or really get serious about playing music. I was so inspired to be around Ricky, his band members, and other world-class artists.
I decided to audition for the School of Music at Belmont University in Nashville. I had already left my job with Ricky so it had to work! I practiced for a few weeks to prepare for the audition (with several all-nighter’s). I remember very well, going into the small audition room with several faculty members to play the pieces they requested, answer questions about music theory and sight-read a piece of music and chord chart. I was extremely reassured to have my Santa Cruz that I knew so well.
For the next four years, I studied hard, learned a lot, and spent a lot of time with my hands on my guitar! I graduated in 1994 from Belmont with a Bachelor of Commercial Music degree, Composition and Arranging emphasis.
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Meeting Jennifer
The music building on the Belmont Campus is where I met Jennifer. She heard me playing across the hall and came to see who it was. My guitar was with me when I met her!
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Full time lead guitarist in a band
After we married, Jennifer and I had a band with my brother, Raymond, called “the McLain’s”. All three of us were banjo players, so we had to pick who would play banjo! Ha! Well, all three of us played banjo at one time or another but mostly it was Raymond.
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Here is a pic of me warming up for a show.
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This is a pic of us setting up for a TV spot on the CMT show, Crook & Chase.
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Teaching full time at Belmont University
I was asked to join the faculty at Belmont University as adjunct faculty in 2001. I taught there for 13 years. I had the Santa Cruz in my hands most of every day.
In the ensemble rehearsal room…
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Occasionally, some up and coming pickers…
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So, what's going on now?
Well, Jennifer and I are working together to grow our band and reach people by playing some great music. Our dream is to play at the Ryman! If we do, I’ll know there will be that moment before we play when I am with my guitar, waiting to go on.
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What's ahead
Maybe someday I’ll get another guitar, but I know that I will never sell this one. If it gets damaged, I’ll get it fixed. It will always be part of the family.
I think I will always hear my Santa Cruz guitar in my imagination when thinking about music, envisioning the fingerboard and imagining how it would sound when played in different ways.
If I see you at a show, feel free to ask me about it. I will probably have it with me!
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