Dad’s Day 2014

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Mark Clementi and sons, William (left) and Cole. The family’s guitars are (from left) a Fender Squier Min held by William, Cole’s blueburst Rogue, a Gibson SC Southern Jumbo, Fender Lone Star American Stratocaster, a ’39 Gibson Jumbo 55, and Mark with his ’88 Martin HD28. Propped on the sofa are a ’79 Guild D-25, a Martin X series 000, and a ’68 Giannini 2/a.
(LEFT) Spencer Stewart (a.k.a. Halifax Slim) and his father, album designer/photographer Michael G. Stewart, feel the love with their Gibson and Guild jumbos. (RIGHT) The Colberg family returns for “Dad’s Day” with this cool shot. Dale tells us, “This is my son Reece (left), me, my daughter, Kalin, and my Epiphone Les Paul Custom.”
Roland Nipp sent this shot of him and his 11-year-old daughter, Emma, playing guitar. “I began teaching her when she was six, and since January, we’ve been performing around Vancouver,” he said. “Most people who see Emma carry in and set up our equipment think she’s just ‘helping Dad carry stuff.’ But, when they watch her play – and see that she does many of the difficult parts – they’re usually awe-stricken. I’m really proud of her. In this day of iPhones, Instagram, and instant gratification, she has learned to practice and develop a talent that takes time and dedication.”

(LEFT) Here are Vincent Motel and his son, Andrew, jamming onstage. Vince is playing a Wilson Brothers VM75 while Andrew has a Vigier Excalibur. (RIGHT) Lee Helperin, with a 2003 Gibson Custom Shop reissue Les Paul with Brazilian fretboard, enjoys quality music time with sons Max (playing a 2013 LsL Topanga model) and Alex (playing a 2013 Eastwood Sidejack Baritone DLX). The picture was taken by Lee’s wife (and the boys’ mom), Judy, on a Mother’s Day in Ontario.
Here are Christy and David Hays with their father, Steve, and a few of the family’s guitars – a ’63 Gibson J-45, ’66 Martin D-28, and and early-’70s Martin HD-28.
“Dad has been [very] influential touting the coolness of music and old guitars in our lives,” Christy told us. “We grew up with a basement full of vintage guitars and amps, and some of my earliest memories are of the smell of the inside of a Les Paul case. When I was 14, dad gave me his ’62 Gibson B-25; I am now a professional songwriter and it’s still my preferred axe. My brother is an avid flatpicker and received his first Martin as a gift from my father when he graduated high school.
“Mom and dad have fostered creativity, self-expression, and a deep appreciation for the joy music brings to our lives. I’d come home from school, dad would return from work shortly after and, with his Marshall stack in the basement, rattle the leaded glass three floors up! 
“Dad is a working man. He worked as a welder and slowly amassed his collection throughout life. He is not a wealthy man who collects because of nostalgia; his collection is built on a foundation of deep admiration and love of the instrument and all of its incarnations. And, the stacks upon stacks of Vintage Guitar magazines that have been coming to my parents house for 20-plus years are a testament to his love of the vintage-guitar culture.
“Dad is also a luthier, and last Christmas gifted my brother and I with his custom Hays Handcrafted Thin Lines. He cut down the maple and walnut trees.”
(LEFT) D.L. Peterson and his daughter, Scout, are avid readers (or, in Scout’s case, avid picture viewer) of VG. Here they are with D.L.’s “other baby,” his all-original ’53 Gibson Les Paul. (RIGHT) Ryan McCaffrey’s four-year-old son, Beckett, with his first “real” guitar, “Rocking out some Clapton,” his dad says with a chuckle.
(LEFT) Ed Hawley, Sr, and Jr. are guitar builders – and players. The guitar with “Carribean burst” finish to Ed, Sr.’s left is his own design. (RIGHT) Here’s Brandon Palmeri (left) with dad, Pete. You can all but see Brandon’s thought… “Dad, show me everything you know!”
(LEFT) Todd Rooker sent this shot of his dad, Dale, when he was 16 and obviously proud of his new ’61 Gibson ES-125TC. “He still has it, and it’s in amazingly good condition,” Todd said. “He has spawned two more generations of Rooker guitar players, as both my 14-year-old son, Nicholas, and I have picked up playing and building guitars. Dad lives 1,800 miles away, but we still get together a couple times a year and play as a family.” (RIGHT) The McLaughlin family sent this shot, starring Erin (left) with her Fender Telecaster in Pink Paisley, dad (Andy) with a Fender Custom Shop ’55 Telecaster, and Ian with his Gibson Les Paul.
(LEFT) George Stanford and his son, Geoff, are Fender fans. Here’s George (left) with his ’64 Jaguar, while Geoff holds his Custom Shop ’68 Tele reissue.  Between them is an American Standard Precision Bass. (RIGHT) Jim McMillan sent this shot of the family’s Fender Telecasters belonging to him and his son. “His is with him in New York, but on top is my mostly-’68 and the bottom is his ’97 Nashville Tele. I bought his along with an ’81 Deluxe Reverb amp on Mother’s Day in 2002. He asked me if the amp was his, too… Guess I’m a bad dad!”
(LEFT) Sam T. Floyd sent this picture of him and my dad, Sam Floyd, Sr. at a Christmas gathering in the late ’90s. “I’m playing a ’96 PRS Custom 24 and Pop is playing his ’61 Gibson ES-335 that he ordered the day I was born. Dad taught guitar for over 50 years and passed away in 2006.” (RIGHT) Jim Patterson sent this picture of his father’s band, taken in 1963. “My father, George, is on the far right with his ’61 Gretsch 6118 in Smoke Green,” he said. “I’m the 16-year-old in the back, on my Rogers drum kit. Just three years later, he passed. I still play his guitar and his Gretsch Chet Atkins amp.”
Here are Dominic Harris and his son, Keith Richard Harris, who is named for his dad’s favorite Rolling Stone… even if Keith’s favorite band is currently The Beatles.
“My daughters don’t play guitar, but my youngest, Evelyn, who is 12, is a great piano player,” Chris Elswick tells us. “Here I am on my early-’80s Sigma, trying to keep up. Her sister, Olivia, age 21, is a writer and a painter; she painted a portrait of my 2004 Telecaster and my ’06 Alvarez.”
(LEFT) Here are Dusty Murphy and his eight-year-old son, Poncho, with their acoustics. (RIGHT) Karl Maurer sent this pic and says, “In spite of many medical challenges, my 11-year-old son, Dom, loves to play blues and rock guitar with a bit of his dad’s help.” Karl keeps the top neck on his Epiphone ES-1275 tuned to open G. “Being Dom’s dad rocks!” he adds.
“Here’s a shot of my dad with his then-new 1934 Gibson Super 400,” Terry Collins tells us. “And that’s me on the right, 80 years later, holding the very same guitar.”
Art Martinez (center) enjoys sharing the love of music with his twin boys, Blake (left, with Taylor 410ce) and Taylor (right, with Taylor 655ce). Art, who has a Taylor K10ce here, also loves playing his Fender and Epiphone guitars, mandolins, and basses. His wife, Donna, and their boys are also members of their church worship team.
(LEFT) The Riech family – brothers David (left), Craig, and Michael, with their father (center, at mic) a few years ago when they visited the Fender factory/service center in California. “Craig and I would play there every Sunday, and dad and David would both come to watch and occasionally sit in,” Michael said. “Dad is holding Craig’s Taylor. He also had an early-’60s ES-330, which I still have. Dad and David have since passed, and I have fond memories of our Sunday jams.” (RIGHT) The McLaughlin family sent this shot, starring Erin (left) with her Fender Telecaster in Pink Paisley, dad (Andy) with a Fender Custom Shop ’55 Telecaster, and Ian with his Gibson Les Paul.
(LEFT) Doc and Daniel Simons‘ collection includes (from left) a Blueridge BR-343 Gospel Trinity, a “partscaster,” a ’68 “drip-edge” Super Reverb, Squier Mustang bass, ’66 Vibrolux Reverb in Red Sparkle Mojotone Cab, Epiphone ES-339 PRO, ’90s Gibson Nighthawk Standard with factory Floyd Rose, Gibson Western Classic 200 reissue, ’54 Guild X-350, ’94 Nighthawk Custom, a Deluxe 5E3 clone, Fender FM-61SE electric mandolin, two Strad-O-Lin mandos,a ’65 Deluxe Reverb, a parts Tele, a guitar they call the “Frankencaster” (with P-90s), and Epiphone resonator they call The Biscuit, and a Blueridge BR-160. (RIGHT) Shawn Cyr and his son, Connor, enjoy rockin’ together. Here’s Shawn with his ’62 Fender Esquire and ’54 Deluxe, while Connor employs the family’s ’72 Gibson Les Paul Custom and ’72 Deluxe Reverb.
Don Newman sent this shot of him with his youngest son, Jeff, and some guitars they assembled for their own “Les Paul Day.” “Among others, there are a ’53 goldtop, ’55 all-gold, ’57, and a bunch of newer ones,” Don said. “There’s also a ’59 dot ES-335 and a ’66 ES-335. And, that’s an early JMP on a Marshall 4×12 with the original creambacks.”
(LEFT) Stan Adamczyk sent this shot of himself and his sons. That’s Ivan “The Butcher” on a redburst Hagstrom, Adam “Catfish Crazy” on six-string Carvin bass, with “Guitar Man” Stan on black Les Paul. (RIGHT) Todd Burrell sent this shot of his dad (Lefty), mom, and Uncle Skinny – The Family Band – jamming.
(LEFT) Chris Gojdics and and his kids, Sophia and Nicholas, love their Fender Strats! Here, Chris has his 1960 hardtail while six-year-old Nicholas plays a ’54 reissue Masterbuilt and three-year-old Sophia strums a mini replica. (RIGHT) Ed Amos playing his Gibson L-5 (with attached pickup) circa 1948 during his graduation from the University of Virginia. “Dad later traded that guitar for a green-and-gold-sparkle Mosrite bass, which he played in a country-and-western band,” said his son, Cam. “Dig the beer stein!”

This article originally appeared in VG August 2014 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

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