Carmel Magazine

104-107 Rumbleseat Music_152-161 Garcia story 4/26/13 3:52 PM Page 2 Eliot Michael recently opened his third Rumble Seat Music store in Carmel. He holds a 1959 Gibson Les Paul, considered the Holy Grail of collectible guitars. Behind Michael is "The Wall," featuring the crème de la crème of the shop's instruments. The Gibson Explorer above his right shoulder was formerly owned and played by Eric Clapton. A few pounds of mahogany, maple and rosewood; some That's where Rumble Seat Music comes in. Founded in Ithaca, New York metal and plastic bits; a handful of simple electronic in 1993 by veteran musician and guitar collector Eliot Michael, that shop— parts; a couple of ounces of nitrocellulose finish; several and a sister store in Albuquerque, New Mexico—is one of the world's feet of steel wire. There are quite a few gizmos a clever, capable craftsman premier dealers in collectible guitars. In partnership with noted Carmel could bring to life with these basic materials. In the late 1950s, two groups resident, film composer and avid guitar collector Mark Mancina, Michael of particularly accomplished artisans—one at Fender Musical Instruments opened the doors of his Carmel-by-the-Sea shop. "I had been doing some in Fullerton, California; the other at the Gibson Company in Kalamazoo, trading through Rumble Seat," Mancina says. "I didn't know Eliot personal- Michigan—handcrafted those components into the sensual, lusted-after ly, but we'd spoken on the phone a few times." objects of many a young man's fancy, then and now: Electric guitars. There's a brisk trade among collectors for guitars built in those years. Even C ARMEL MAGAZINE•SPRING/SUMMER 2013 105

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