Steve Morse
February 20 1993, Fifth Annual Guitar Show, Thoroughbred Music, Tampa, FL, USA
This show will string you along
MICHAEL CANNING
(ran TP edition)
This should make area pickers grin: an exhibition of the latest guitars; a return of many classic
models; state-of-the-art effects and accessories; a host of guitar celebrities and factory
representatives to show how all the stuff works; live performances; and lots of giveaways.
And it's free.
Thoroughbred Music's Fifth Annual Florida Guitar Show will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, at
2204 E Hillsborough Ave. A variety of solo and full-band performances will take place throughout the
day, both inside the store and on a full-size stage set-up on the store's west parking lot.
Drummer Anton Fig and bassist Will Lee of Late Night With David Letterman will perform as the
rhythm section for all of the outdoor performances, which will include jazz star Larry Coryell, Steve
Morse of the Dixie Dregs, Paul Reed Smith, Robin Zander of Cheap Trick, Mike Clark of Suicidal
Tendencies, Reb Beach of Winger, Bill Leverty of Firehouse, Warren Haynes of the Allman
Brothers Band, Ibanez guitar endorser Ralph Santolla, bassist Stuart Hamm, and saxophonists
Richard Elliott and Mike Scaglione.
In-store performances will include jazz guitarists Mike Dowdle and Al Valenti, Nick Bowcott of Grim
Reaper and Ibanez endorser Chad Sonenberg. Coryell, Morse, Hamm and Beach are also
scheduled to give in-store performances.
The celebrity performances will give the show star quality, but the backbone of the event will be its
trade show aspect. Some of the featured items on display will be the latest guitar effects and sound
processors, amplifiers, and the new Roland guitar synth, an instrument that through MIDI (musical
instrument digital interface) technology can access any sound capability of a compatible
synthesizer. ""Things have obviously moved forward with the technology,'' said Thoroughbred
Music's Russell Farrow.
""But they've also moved backward with the re-issue movement," he said, referring to the recent
trend of many classic guitar designs being reinstated into the market.
Farrow says the guitar show will have that trend covered as well. A slew of Gibson re-issues will be
on display, including a 1939 Wes Montgomery, a 1959 Les Paul replica and an L5 re-issue from
the late '50s. A variety of Fender and Gretsch re-issues will also be on display.
Among the giveaways will be a Martin acoustic guitar, a Yamaha electric guitar, guitar pick-ups and
other accessories, instructional videos and tee shirts.
Farrow said the previous Florida Guitar Shows were ""absurdly successful" and expects
approximately 3,000 people this year. However, many of the people attend just for hands-on
experience with the latest offerings from the guitar industry, and not to buy. But Farrow maintains
that the guitar show is good for business in the long run. ""Our day of show sales are nothing
compared to our residual sales."
Call Thoroughbred Music at 238-6485.
- St. Petersburg Times, February 19, 1993