Benefit Concert for the Family of Lance McCollum

Short notice, but friends and associates are putting on a benefit concert, with the proceeds going to Lance McCollum's widow and family. The list of performers is long and distinguished.

All this is happening in Colfax, CA. Sunday, March 1st, starting at 3pm. The $20 ticket price is a bargain.

More information is here.

Be there. Lance would have been.

In fond memory: Lance McCollum, Luthier

Lance McCollum, one of the absolute best independent luthiers, passed away unexpectedly this past Sunday. A zest for life, a loving father, and an eye for quality, Lance crafted some of the finest acoustic guitars ever made.

I first met Lance over 10 years ago, at a gathering of the RMMGA usenet group. He was showing off one of his Brazilian-Rosewood Dreadnought guitars that... well, he was bragging that he had finally built a guitar for himself. With such fine appointments and inlay work that he boasted "This guitar is for me, I'll always have it because... nobody can afford what I'd have to charge for it." That was about a week before someone with good taste, foresight, and deep pockets met his asking price.

Lance was always a big advocate of the Dovetail-joint 'set neck' design for acoustic guitars. Whether that's the best design is still open to opinion, but one thing is for sure: it is the hardest design to build, and absolutely the hardest design to build perfectly. And Lance always built his guitars to ... perfection.

In his final year, Lance was a key part of the Voyage-air success story, hand-fitting necks on prototype guitars, and doing meticulous quality-control work on the very first folding travel instruments offered by Voyage-air. In fact, I last saw Lance at the Voyage-air booth at the Winter NAMM 2009 show in Anaheim, just weeks before his passing. I introduced him to my fiancee, and pointed out to her that Lance was doing what he always did best: making sure everything was perfect.

You will be missed, Lance McCollum. Yes sir, you will.

Update:
With Lance's passing, the outpouring from the guitar community has been amazing. Hundreds have stepped up, as I have to offer their sentiments about a true gentleman, artist, artisan, craftsman, musician and true proponent of the art of the acoustic guitar. Here's a few links:

Voyage-air has a touching story written by one of Lance's friends, Harvey Leach. Worth a read.

Acoustic Guitar Magazine has a cool article here.

Luthier's Mercantile, supplier of woods and accessories to guitar builders, posted some touching comments.

Voyage-air in Mayapur, India (Dharma Forest)

Wow. When we said 'Travel" - we meant it! Here a pilgrim takes a Voyage-air to the United Religion Initiatives Global Assembly in Mayapur, India. Ideally suited for take-anywhere travel, the OM-cutaway model was a hit.