This post was not supposed to happen, but after I broke my Seagull S6 guitar tonight on the way home from an open mic in Kuala Lumpur, I had to say a formal goodbye to it. This guitar has been with me around the world twice. It went to 17 countries and nearly 30 cities and all continents except Africa and Antarctica in 2009, and last year it visited just about the same number of places and some other places, like South Korea.
Brad Spurgeon with his S6 Seagull Guitar in 2009 (Olivier Rodriguez photo)
Tonight after I did a cool open mic in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur, it slipped from my hand as I entered a car. It hit the pavement with a massive explosion. When I got back to the hotel, I saw that the soundboard, or top, of the guitar was splintered and wood stuck out in odd crappy directions.
This guitar has been complimented by people around the world for its beautiful sound. It was a relatively cheap Seagull S6, but I got lucky with it. Somehow it just sounded better than most of the other S6s I’ve ever heard. And it has a history. It has been played by Johnny Borrell of Razorlight, by Dan Haggis of The Wombats, by one of The Cribs, Viking Moses and Stephen “Danger” Prescott, by just about every new young band guitarist and other in Paris – Brooklyn, Neimo, The Parisians, Miggles, Burnin’ Jacks – by unknown but great musicians in England, China, all over the world.
And tonight it burst, split a gut. The only good part to this story is that I could push the bits of splintered wood back in place and the guitar will be usable for the rest of my gigs in Kuala Lumpur and China next week. No doubt with the electric pick-up the sound will not have suffered that much. But it is dead, officially. Dead. Just one drop on the pavement – and thanks to a crap case, full of video and recording equipment.
Now what do I buy next, another Seagull S6? I’m not sure I will be so lucky. I can only think of the time I saw Harry Chapin drop his Ovation in the dressing room in a TV station in Ottawa just moments before going on TV, and laughing about it. Guitars we build.
Tomorrow I will give a complete report of the open mic in the Kuala Lumpur suburb. I had a great time, and there were some interesting musicians – from New Zealand and Kuala Lumpur….
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