The 2007 Dallas International Guitar Festival was proof positive that things are indeed bigger in Texas. Held at the Dallas Market Hall April 20-22, exhibitors came prepared to buy and sell vintage guitars at one of the nation’s top shows. Dealers seemed serious about doing business this year, and prices reflected this. Many dealers we spoke to seemed to be there for specific pieces, and judging by the amount of cases exchanging hands, few were disappointed. Great weather, great music, and – most importantly – great guitars, stretched as far as the eye could see.
Greeting visitors to the right of the entrance was the Holy Grail Guitar Exhibition, sponsored by PRS Guitars. With security in full force at the entrance, festival attendees knew they were in for something special, and the exhibit didn’t disappoint. Highlights included the first electric guitar made by Lloyd Loar – an electric harp guitar, no less – on loan from Skip Maggiora’s collection. Other great pieces from Skip’s collection included a gaggle of Les Paul Goldtops, V-front Fender Pro and Super amps, and some amazing early Strat examples. Guitar Center’s Hollywood Vintage Room supplied the holiest of grails in the yes-it-is-the-original Blackie, flanked by Stevie Ray Vaughan’s celebrated Lenny and Clapton’s Cream-era cherry ES-335 all sitting in a display case together. Having three of rock’s most iconic guitars together in one place was almost too much to digest, and it really did take a moment to fully absorb and comprehend what you were seeing. Other rarities included a split headstock Explorer, Tiny Moore’s Bigsby electric mandolin, and several guitars from Paul Reed Smith. For even the passing fan of vintage and rare guitars, it was truly spectacular.
Exiting the Holy Grail Guitar Exhibition brought attendees to the main floor of the Dallas Market Hall, where all of the dealers, manufacturers and massage therapists were set up, with the latter being greatly appreciated by the time day two rolled around, owing to the size and scope of the show. Amazing guitars and amps were everywhere, with the Vermont Collection, Olivia’s Guitars, Fuller’s Vintage Guitars, Dave’s Guitar Shop, and, of course, Jimmy Wallace Guitars, all having their breathtaking wares on display. Fuller’s, Dave’s and Jimmy Wallace all vied for the “hugest booth” award, having what amounted to goodsized stores within the hall. The breadth of exhibitions was such that if you couldn’t find what you were looking for, you weren’t looking hard enough. Gibson was also there in full force, demo-trailers in tow, offering patrons a respite from all of the commotion of the hall and a welcome chance to chill with a nice Gibson and a Line 6 POD. The performance stages were located around the perimeter of the hall, both inside and out, with music scheduled all day, every day. Highlights included Bugs Henderson and Bernie Marsden, formerly of Whitesnake, tearing it up Friday night on the Jimi Hendrix Liquid Experience stage. Bugs egged Bernie on, with Bernie returning the favor, resulting in one of the tastiest and most electrifying Texas blues jams in recent memory, each solo surpassing the next. Saturday afternoon saw Johnny A. take the Samuel Adams stage, located inside the Dallas Market Hall. The dark lighting in the room lent itself perfectly to that thing that Johnny A. does so well, which is a unique combination of beautiful textures and smoldering chops. His ability to effortlessly switch between the two in compositions also showcased his band’s great command of genre-hopping chops and wide dynamic sensibilities. Rick Derringer played both Friday night and Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, we missed his Friday performance, but his Sunday afternoon show demonstrated that Rick hasn’t given anything up since his early days with the McCoys. Playing in a three-piece format, Rick fired off one tight, explosive riff after another, with his voice sounding as strong and clear as ever. His band didn’t miss a beat and kept the energy level building throughout the set. It was great to see him so happy and successfully conveying his joy through his music and performance.
Chris Fleming from Fender’s Custom Shop gave daily demonstrations on relicing guitars. I’ll spare the details and ensuing grief that a partial and brief explanation would cause in relicing efforts, but I definitely suggest checking out Fender’s relic clinics if the opportunity presents itself. It was extremely interesting, and there are certainly some new tricks to be learned for people interested in doing their own relics. Also interesting was Chris’ response to a question of where he learned his relicing techniques. It seems this relicing business is anything but new and has been used for quite some time in stringed instrument repair to match repairs on vintage violins and cellos to the instruments’ original weathered and aged finish. Cool stuff, indeed. 
We also met Texas’ own Ace Pepper from Thunder Tweak amplifiers. Keep an ear out for this guy’s amps, and if you get a chance to play one, don’t miss out – they will amaze you. Teye Guitars was also in attendance, with Teye eager to get people playing his amazingly crafted guitars. St. Blues Guitars was in full force and had some great new guitars to show, as well as about the coolest vibe of any booth. Keep checking their website as new developments are on the way. We ran into the good people from Godlyke Distributing who were there with some new Tokai models bound for the U.S. market, which were fantastic. They also had the new Guyatone Optical Hybrid effects on display, which sounded incredible. A couple of the more notable non-industry exhibitors included Samuel Adams brewery (go with the Boston Lager) and the Invisible Children Movement, who provided a screening of their documentary film, Invisible Children on Sunday. There were almost too many standout vintage guitars to list, but some notable ones were a nice selection of Wandres, a couple of custom color Esquire Customs, many slab-bodied Les Paul Juniors and Specials, several SG-shaped variants of the same, and lots of nice SG Standards and Customs, including a couple of ebony-block Standards. The selection was truly amazing, and if you could think of a guitar you wanted, odds were there were at least two or three to choose from, which is one of the many benefits to attending this show. Another benefit is that if and when you couldn’t see straight from all of the eye-candy, a good band and nice cold beverage were waiting just outside the hall, providing a great way to rejuvenate.
All in all, it was a perfect way for guitar fans, or music fans in general, to spend a weekend. Our thanks go out to all of the exhibitors, attendees and especially Mark Pollock and Jimmy Wallace for making this year’s Dallas International Guitar Festival so special.
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Dallas Intrntl Guitar Festival 30th Anniversary
» Visitwww.guitarshow.com
Most of us have been to a guitar show or two; look through the local papers, and odds are you’ll be able to find a swap show down at the local Marriott. You’ll find guitar shows all across the country – all across the world, to be more accurate, with more than 2,000 guitar shows and festivals staged each year. Some are one-day events, designed to help dealers trade their valuable guitars, while some are multi-day festivals, celebrating all aspects of the instrument. And while these guitar shows are fun, educational and great way to spend a Saturday afternoon looking at vintage Les Paul Bursts, there are a few shows which remain in a league of their own. The Dallas International Guitar Festival, scheduled this year for the weekend of April 20th, is arguably the biggest players in the industry, and has been breaking its own records for years. With the approach of this year’s show, it’s clear that 2007 will certainly be no different.
THE ROOTS
In true Texas fashion, this show’s roots are much more humble. Charley Wirz, a Dallas guitar shop owner, had the bright idea of organizing a vintage guitar show, in the same vein as the collectible and trade shows that visited the area regularly. With the help of partners John Brinkmann and Danny Thorpe, he would promote the shows, sign up dealers and collectors and lease display space. He would encourage like-minded guitar nuts to attend, and the result was the Greater Southwest Vintage Guitar Show.
The first year of its existence, 1978, found the Bee Gees and Paul McCartney atop the charts, while a small group of diehard guitar fanatics gathered in a small hotel meeting room in Dallas. Trading guitars and stories, there wasn’t the glitz and glam of modern shows – just nice instruments and a few willing buyers.
The first shows were admittedly undistinguished – with only a few exhibitors leasing space to sell their axes. However, Charley’s idea to take the guitar culture from a small, inclusive club to a public stage was arguably ahead of its time. The vintage show would attract more dealers and collectors each year, and would open the door for the rapid rise of interest – from both players and collectors – in vintage guitars.
In 1985, Charley passed away suddenly, and the show ended up in the hands of his close friend and lifelong guitarist, Mark Pollock. Under Mark’s ownership, the show continued to grow and he instituted some key changes that would dramatically increase the show’s visibility. In 1989, Mark would bring Jimmy Wallace – one of the original exhibitors from the 1978 show – on board to assist in the planning and vision of the festival.
THE CHANGES
As the years have progressed, the show has increased in size and popularity. More and more people are coming to learn about guitars, whether it is experienced players, young children picking up their first guitar or savvy investors coming to the market. The show has grown at an incredible rate, and can now claim to be the world’s foremost celebration of the guitar.
One of the biggest changes to the festival since its inception has been the inclusion of live music. When Mark took ownership of the festival, he realized that music was an integral part of the guitar, and should be part of the show. In 1985, he started the Saturday Night Jam – a small party at a local nightclub featuring “really good players,” according to Mark. It has since featured accomplished musicians like Rick Derringer, Andy Timmons and James Burton – all playing together, for a once-ina- lifetime experience.
Building upon the appeal of the Saturday Night Jam, 1997 saw the inclusion of Musicfest into the show, bringing even more of the public into the guitar world. Spanning multiple indoor and outdoor stages, Musicfest featured the best local, regional and national acts throughout the weekend. “The Musicfest is starting to rival the guitars,” Mark has said. “People want to hear the music as much as they want to see the guitars.” This year’s acts will include Paul Reed Smith, Junior Brown, Phil Keaggy and George Lynch, just to name a select few.
Along with the addition of live music, the Dallas Guitar Festival has moved venues several times in its journey to becoming the world’s oldest and largest guitar show. In 1985, to support increasing crowds, Mark made the decision to move to a much larger venue. His first thought was to move into Dallas Market Hall, the site of Dallas’ largest shows and the world’s largest privately owned exhibition hall. “When Charley Wirz died in February of 1985, the first place I went to was Dallas Market Hall … I was told the months of February to May were booked for virtually 20 years.”
In 2004, after stints at the Dallas Convention Center and Fair Park, Mark was finally able to move into the Dallas Market Hall. This has provided various benefits for both vendors and attendees, including free parking and close accommodations, and has added to the Dallas show’s reputation as the world’s premier guitar show.
THE 2007 SHOW
As the 2007 Dallas International Guitar Festival opens, the promoters will be pulling out all the stops to celebrate the festival’s 30th anniversary, with over 800 booths, exhibitions and clinics. Attendees can expect a variety of great music and thousands of cool guitars. This year’s show will feature the neverbefore- seen Holy Grail Guitar Exhibition, sponsored by PRS Guitars. The museumquality offering will showcase Eric Clapton’s “Blackie,” a custom Fender Stratocaster, played by Clapton and auctioned at Christie’s in 2004 for $959,500 – making it the most expensive guitar of its kind to ever be auctioned. It will be displayed with his 1956 Fender Stratocaster “Brownie,” as well as the 1964 Gibson ES-335 that he played extensively with Cream. Also included in the exhibit will be guitars owned by Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana, as well as some of Leo Fender’s original designs and the first Marshall amplifiers ever produced.
With more than 18,000 attendees and more than $3 million of instruments and memorabilia trading hands in 2006, it’s safe to say that attendees of the original Greater Southwest Vintage Guitar Show might have never dreamed the show would reach such heights. With this year’s additions, and the continued strength of the vintage market, the 2007 show will surely be the best yet. We’ll see you there.
Dallas Intrntl Guitar Festival 30th Anniversary
» Visitwww.guitarshow.com