Saturday, May 21st was a bit of a milestone for us at MPLS HQ. At Indeed's Art-a-whirl party, The Blind Shake played two MPLS guitars followed by Bloodnstuff playing their multi-output MPLS.
It was significant because these two bands were on a literal list I had made. A list of bands I had envisioned building guitars for when Tony and I had started the Sisyphean effort that is bootstrapping manufacturing company. Bands that I felt embodied the sound, energy and spirit of what we wanted the guitars and the company to have.
Credit: Shinano Katagiri Emanuele http://somesortofescapade.com/
I've put just about every ounce of my creative effort into this company which means I don't get to make the music like I want to. Tony and I essentially treat MPLS Guitars as if it is a band, not a company, because that's what we came from and that's what we love. For now, getting out of the shop and out seeing our guitars being played by these bands that are significant to me at a brewery who makes one of my favorite beers during one of the best weekends in Minneapolis made me feel some of the same feels that I used to get when making records and playing shows. It felt fuggin good. It felt like I was contributing again instead of just being a troll in a garage cursing at tools, *forever* searching for a caliper.
Credit: Shinano Katagiri Emanuele http://somesortofescapade.com/
Mike Blaha playing a Screamin' Eagle Baritone. Credit: Shinano Katagiri Emanuele http://somesortofescapade.com/
If you're still reading this and you're slogging on a creative project, keep truckin. Be open to and consider critiques but don't treat them as gospel. Just keep making art/music/dance whatever. I say this not as a successful artist, or entrepreneur, because I'm not those things. I'm just a dude who loves to build, shape and discover and rediscover the world around him, and on Saturday, we got to feel some good vibes from those efforts, literally. Besides, what else are you going to do? More Netflix? Fuck that. Go build that thing you've got clankin' around in your head.
Cheers, Jake