Why We Sell Guitars and Basses

Gaining Perspective

When you call Adirondack Guitar you'll probably never hear my voice answering. If you drop in to try out a guitar, bass or banjo – you'll probably not see me there. Every time you look at the site though, I'm the one that's trying to make the experience awesome (hopefully it's working :) ). Usually, you'll see John or Paul writing our blog posts since they are musicians and touch what you buy every day. Today, though, I just got back from an awesome trip and wanted to let loose some of my thoughts...

I've been pretty burnt out lately and was looking for a place to re-find my place in the world. Luckily, my wife and I made an awesome compromise that we'd be rafting the Yampa River in Utah. Five days in the desert hitting nice class 2 and 3 rapids (with a pretty beastly class 4) at high water and hiking through desert cliffs when not in a raft or kayak. I wasn't too sure what to expect, but did figure that I'd see relaxing nights, campfires, good jokes and building relationships. On the bus ride back to Vernal, Utah I contemplated my favorite moments of the trip and the question of if I found what I was looking for. The answer is yes and here's what got me thinking so much.

My Epiphany

After four days of rafting, we unloading our gear – 16 of us – and set up camp. Standard tents and camp chairs. When the sun finally set, my Joshua Tree moment happened. While enjoying the campfire with the other guests, one of our guides cracked out her Ukelele. Her stories about being a Camp Counselor (Camp Chingachgook – where my older brother went as a kid) bled true and the sing-a-long commenced. As I sat around a fire with the sounds of the river in the background, I started to get the purpose of why I do what I do (and the point of this blog post). Looking around at the other folks, aged 21 – 71 years old, everyone knew the songs. We sang some old songs and some new songs and then finally our guide rang out something I'd never heard before. With a bit of country twang she rang Vigilante Hearts by New Order and it was like the entire world stopped. In all reality, I wouldn't put the original on any of my favorites lists (watch the YouTube video... love the flute keyboard), but it didn't matter, it was like the entire world froze and the only thing that existed was the river, the fire and the music.

At that point, I took a breath and started to think about life a bit. I realized that in the grand scheme of things it's the small points in life that really matter. While careers and jobs are important, it's our ability to sit back and enjoy a moment in life like this one that helps us get through our day-to-day stresses. Everyone has a different way of letting loose a bit, but for me sitting in the middle of an isolated desert listening to that ukelele did the trick. It helped me to realize that the purpose of what we do at Adirondack Guitar is to help folks create those moments where they can smile, relax, have fun and really enjoy life.

Why We Sell Guitars and Basses

Long story made short - everyone has different passions, goals, plans in life but what's important is the moments we make. It's amazing that a river guide cracking out a Ukelele can open up the world to people and not just be happy for that instant, but also help people to reset and figure out where they're going in life. What rejuvenated me is what keeps us going at Adirondack Guitar. Whether you're shredding on a Schecter in front of a crowd of metal heads or strumming on a Stagg banjo in your garage, we are here to help you make those moments. Dennis started this business years ago to help out lefty guitarists who couldn't find an instrument and hopefully we're going to continue to expand on that passion to help out professional and hobbyist alike.  So give us a call or stop in if you want to find the right instrument for you or if you just want to chat. Coming back from vacation feels good knowing that if I work hard enough, I can help many more people enjoy that feeling of bliss that only good music can create.

A good vacation gives great perspective...