Occupation: Owner of Camp Music, Escondido, California
Job Description: Luthier, Record Producer, Recording Engineer,
Studio Musician, Author, Educator, Song Writer,
Designer & Emotional Musical Councilor
Education: Bachelor of Arts New York State University
13 years of service in Nashville, Tennessee: staff
member at Randy Wood's Old Time Pickin' Parlor,
Band leader, studio musician, touring musician,
guitar maker, record producer, indie label owner.
I began guitar making and instrument repair almost immediately upon graduation from
college in 1975. One day out of the blue I had a very strong and sudden urge to build a banjo or
a guitar…. I started in my parents basement with very little to go by, as there wasn't the wealth
of information available today, and managed to construction an acoustic guitar made of Indian
Rosewood, with a Mahogany Neck, and a clumsy tree-of-life inlay on the fretboard…My dad kept
asking me, how in the world did you know how to do this?
Even then, it just seemed natural, challenging and fun! And, of course I loved music and was
already deeply involved with different styles of music, both acoustic and electric, and had been
instructed in piano, by my mom when I was 7 years old, and had been a functioning member of
the Yonkers Kilty Pipe Band from the age of 9, (yes, for some weird reason I wanted to play the
bagpipes, and they found me a teacher and a band to play in)….. I'd learned to play guitar
watching my dad strumming his favorite World War II songs on an inexpensive guitar one of his
buddies brought back from South America, and I played electric bass, 5-string banjo, and a little
sax & harmonica, so,…I got started early and was in deep by the winter of 1976.
A friend of mine whom I had worked with in college had relocated to Nashville and called to
invite me down for a visit as I was instructed that I needed to check out,"the Old Time Pickin'
Parlor", the obvious natural place for me to go and get my first job as a freshman Luthier.
By some miracle, the owner, world renound mandolin and guitar maker, Randy Wood and I
hit it off and I was hired for fifty dollars a week to keep the place clean and work my way up to
repairing and building through osmosis….Sometimes they would even set me off in the wrong
direction to see if I would notice or anticipate the upcoming disaster….
Within the first year I was building, repairing, cutting mother of pearl for everyone in town,
including the legendary "Shot Jackson, owner and founder of ShoBud steel guitars, as we had
the task of inlaying the bodies of his all wooden pedal steel bodies.
The Pickin' Parlor as it was fondly refered to was a real storybook location. A crossroads for
so many unique and talented people. Randy in his vision of the place had merged a musical
instrument shop with a very substantial repair and building facility, And, the place was also a
venue, you know a night club, one of the hottest spots in town, right around the corner of lower
Broadway on Second Ave…
Anybody who was anybody came to town and played several nights there. And, of course
during the day, they tended to hang out upstairs with us in the shop. Now all of a sudden, I'm
meeting, picking and repairing for guys like, Danny Gatton, Gatemouth Brown,Lenny Breau, Doc
Watson, Bluegrass wizards from all over the South, many of the guys who were touring on the
road with the Nashville acts of the day and of course this amazing talent pool of local legends,
such as the studio greats of the era like Buddy Spicher, Bucky Barrett, Harold Bradley, Charlie
Collins, Charlie Daniels, Chet Atkins, , They even flew me back to New York to work on guitars
for Aerosmith while they were in the studio recording one of their albums….Whew, was my head
spinnin'!!
Needless-to-say, within two years I'd been severely spanked into shape as a risk taking,
fretted instrument pit crew pion who was being exposed to the real thing at a frightening rate of
speed.
Also, bear in mind that the Grand Old Opry, the ExitInn, the Station Inn, and several other
local and legendary venues were very popular and we had a never ending stream of repair and
modification to do for all the guys and girls ( Marshall Chapman, Linda Hargrove, Marcia Ball,
Ronnie Stoneman, to name a few) who were playing around town.
During this time, watching and imitating I managed to build some nice guitars across a
range of styles and models. All kinds of acoustic flattops, solid body electrics, an archtop, and
even a thirty-six string Celtic Harp, all from raw materials with no plans or formal guidance. This
is really how I learned to hone my intuitive gift for working in wood with my hands, my head and
my heart….
The Pickin' Parlor experience lasted almost four years, sorta like an undergraduate degree,
a double major in music and life.
Randy closed up and moved to Savannah, Georgia where he continues his passions and the
"eighties" were on the way in and about to close the door on the last leg of the original glory
days of the Nashville music scene.
I retreated to a spare room in my house and I guess you could say that's when I first went out on
my own as an independent Luthier. I didn't know it at the time, but, I had received a priceless
education that I've been building on ( no pun intended) ever since.
For the next six or seven years I worked out my home, and continued to build guitars and
serve the needs of many interesting professionals whom I had admired.
One day I came home and there was a message for me on the machine from one of my all time
songwriting heros, the great John Stewart. He was down the street recording an album and
needed my help. I was thrilled to meet him, fix his guitar and I had the nerve to ask him if I
could keep a rough draft of one of his new songs, written on stationery from the Spence
Manner Hotel, a very popular hang at the time. Stewart was flattered that I wanted the lyric and
he indulged me…
At that time, the celebrity list kept growing and I was blessed with work from Jimmy Buffet,
Rodney Crowell, several of the Music Row songwriters, and all the local guys needing fretjobs,
neck resets and help getting their beloved pile of junk to play in tune.
By 1986, I was growing restless and wanted to fulfill my dream of living in California.
Nashville was not at it's most glorious and notable point and there was a general sense that the
scene had stalled without anyone really defining the new era with anything very new,
innovative or earthshaking…In other words, the scene was stinkin'. All the people who ran
Music Row were loosing their jobs or running around town with lame acts that lacked the
musical horsepower that Nashville had prided itself on and built it's reputation. So, many of us
were discouraged and bored and the excitement of the seventies had been replaced by
lawyers brokering deals for low talent bands and singers who weren't rooted to the tradition…
In the winter of 1988 I made the decision to get a glimpse of Nashville in my rear view mirror
and follow the Clampetts, and my instincts to California.
I arrived in Escondido, California, a suburb of San Diego on Christmas Eve, 1989, avoiding
insane Los Angeles, and eager to see what I could stir up with a fresh environment and a new
set of circumstances.
I've been located in Escondido for fourteen years now. I've had the pleasure and the
privilege of establishing a wonderful business with a diverse selection of musicians from all
different styles of music.
Shortly after establishing my shop, I called an old acquaintance of mine at the Martin Guitar
Co., Mr. Mike Longworth who was head of customer service at the time, and I asked him if he
would consider me as a C.F. Martin warranty station, as I loved their guitars, their history and
their family tradition. Mike recalled that I had cut my teeth on repair work at the Pickin' Parlor
with Randy and was excited that I had contacted him.
Within six months we were offered the Warranty Service Certification. I'm proud to include that
level of legitimacy and service for our customers and we have had the privilege of working on
literally hundreds of C.F. Martin guitars here in Southern California.
Although I don't have too much time for small repairs and adjustments these days, I do
enjoy helping people at any age or skill level become more familiar with their instrument so they
can get it working with them instead of against them.
Often these customers develop and we wind up helping them with pickup systems and better
gear or more substantial modifications as they become more sophisticated and their needs
advance.
Many of the restorations that we've done were instruments that belonged to the relatives of
our customers, such as a Grandparent or infamous Uncle. So, very often the jobs have what we
call, "member of the family status"…Healing a family member has been a very rewarding aspect
of our repair service and we know we've had the honor of contributing to the family memories
of loved ones and the music they made….
Hope to hear from you soon…and remember,
don't delay..sing & play, everyday….
Chris Camp