Rick Toone | Luthier

Rush on Colbert Report

My favorite self-educated, libertarian-leaning, notoriously press-shy rock band from just north of the border stopped by Colbert's show to get the word out. This has to be the quote of the year:

Colbert: "What are your fans called...'Rush-ans'? Do you guys have special names for your fans?"

Geddy: "Not really. No."

Neil: "They all have their own names."

Despite the years and the mileage, these guys still inspire me to play.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Viacom required the above clip to be removed due to copyright issues. So, for now, we'll just watch Rush tackle Guitar Hero backstage, pre-show. We have a new quote: "I can't play to that."

Starfish Guitar Photos

Goran sent me a link to his photostream on flickr. He's got some beautiful shots of Starfish, for all you visual junkies. It brings me great joy when a musician is appreciating one of these creations.

:)

Goran has obviously kept the guitar in pristine condition. Side note to clients — don't ever hesitate to contact me with technical or maintenance questions.

Rick Toone

Have you ever met your double?

Most movie stars have a double. I was an extra (colonial militia) on the set of Mel Gibson's The Patriot, the only feature film I have been involved with, and watched in fascination as Roland Emmerich primarily used Mel's body double when setting up camera and lighting. Saves wear and tear on the main actor during grueling filming days. The two individuals were nearly identical in build, and had very similar facial features. Both men were also quite affable.

Touring Colonial Williamsburg in 1990, I entered the wheelwright's shop and did a complete double take as I nearly bumped into myself wearing 18th century clothing, and about 15 years older. Mannerisms, looks, build, etc.

Really eerie.

Alright, now what about on the web?

I tend to think of myself as "Rick Toone" because that's the label I've had since 1967. But there are other Rick Toones in the world. Google me and you'll see. And it's quite likely each one of them thinks of himself (herself?) as Rick Toone.

The web is akin to a rainforest clearing. At some future point the forest will reach homeostasis, with stratified layers of vegetation, but right now it's a free-for-all as competing saplings grapple for Google's sunlight. And every day, new people around the globe join our electronic community. And most parents — excluding Frank Zappa — are lacking creativity.

So that means there's another YOU in the world.

Is this a problem? It all depends.

• What if you live in the same region?
• What if you are of similar age?
• What if you are in similar fields of employment?

Now...what if your double calls your business contacts and attempts to pass himself (herself) off as you?

Changes things, doesn't it?

I don't have a solution.

I have no way to prove I'm me. You could always check the barcode tattooed inside my skull. But that's a relatively invasive procedure. I could auction my identity and start over. Tempting.

So what do you plan to do?

Ah, well. It could be worse. You could be Seth or Satch. I have long suspected one is the other's alter ego. Has anyone seen them both in the same place, at the same time?

Non-Replication Proclamation

Dasha Karandasheva, bassist for ZEN-ZEN-ZEN (Moscow, Russia) wrote me a very kind email today:

"Hi, Rick!

I have visited your site — this is really 'something different'.

My name is Dasha. I'm from Russia, Moscow.
I wold like to translate some information from your site into russian language — about you and your project, and then put it into russian bassplayer community.

Don't you mind?

And please, say — what do you realise, think, feel after all these years of making such a project?

I would like to know — what is inspiring you to make all this work — making design and build every instrument by hand?"

Hers is actually a very interesting question. Deceptively simple. I thought about what she wrote, while out splashing around in the mud on my mountain bike this afternoon, and realized the answer is complex.

It begins with labels.

(I'll plug myself into the equation. Feel free to substitute yourself.)

Human social institutions seek to quantify us: "Rick Toone is American. Agnostic. Libertarian. Married." Science seeks to qualify us: "Homo sapiens. Male. Caucasian. 6' 2" 185 lbs. Auburn hair. Blue eyes." We seek to identify ourselves: "I'm a luthier. Philosopher. Conservationist." As you read, an image of me forms in your brain, based on these "statistics."

A label.

And while labels are useful abstractions for representing categories of people, they are poor substitutes for recognizing individual human experience. The sights, smells, sounds...thoughts...feelings...during my bike ride today were unique and unrepeatable. Non-transferable. Even if you had been with me today, your experience would have been different. I cannot share my consciousness with you.

Which brings us to art.

Art is the most sophisticated tool we have for attempting to communicate consciousness. Using art we can communicate across both space and time. We can communicate across cultures. And music — alone among the arts — is so adept we can communicate between species...

Although Ludwig van Beethoven wrote Symphony No. 5 almost two hundred years ago, on a different continent, speaking a different language from me, as I listened today to Leonard Bernstein conduct the New York Philharmonic in 1961, I could feel Beethoven's consciousness. His sense of life.

And when I later "meowed" the melodies to my one eyed cat, I had his unblinking attention. He was quite literally mesmerized. When I switched to Radiohead, he lost interest and rubbed against my legs. Beethoven communicated to him. Why?

So how does this relate to lutherie?

My premise is the musician's instrument directly translates your musical thought — feeling, emotion — into physical sound waves. This is where imagination meets communication. The tool should be an extension of the musician, of your body. Your lifetime of skills intersects with my lifetime of skills. A collaboration between us, as artists. As unique and unrepeatable as your experience, your life.

Distinctiveness and replication are antitheses.

A one-off hand built instrument is by definition non-replicable. Guernica stands alone.

Scarcity has value.