about eric

After all, it is all about me…isn’t it?

I grew up in the L.A. suburb of Temple City.  A small town in the big city, there were only 5,000 or so residents within the two square miles of city limits. This place was famous at one time for being the location for the downtown scenes for the TV series “The Wonder Years.” and the location for the first Winchell’s Donuts. Verne Winchell probably could not call his shop Verne’s or Vernon’s since there was already a Vernon’s Pharmacy in the down the street

I came up through the schools playing music mostly. Some of the best memories of school were either practicing music or performing it. In middle school I started playing in the marching band. It was there I met the girl that would one day be my wife. We didn’t date until we were juniors in high school. I’d say that the strangest part of our relationship at that time was that I did not get my drivers license until I was 18, so she drove us everywhere.

After H.S. I did a short spell at P.C.C. it seemed like the thing to do. Really it turned out to be the 5^th year of high school. Most every one of my friends made that transition. But for me it didn’t last long. After three semesters I dropped out and took a job full time at a music store. It was there that I learned a little about the music industry from the retail side, even though we were a small store, we were full line and had a good selection of instruments. It was there I picked up playing the guitar. On slow days I could practice for hours uninterrupted. After a few years of re-stringing and making minor adjustments, another first in my life. A co-worker mentioned that I might make a good Luthier…”What’s that?” my family asked.

A few months later I was at new school, The Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery. The only one of its kind, and it ran $5,000 plus materials for tuition…About 1/3 the cost now-a-days. In four months I built 3 instruments. At that time they had no plan for “Job Placement.” In fact, I was told that there was a good chance that I would either starve or give it up in two years. in the long run neither would be true.

In 1991 I married my high school sweetheart. We were young and in love. We still are today…well, at least we’re still in love. After 7 years of infertility, we were blessed, and still are with twin girls…followed 3 ½ years later by a boy. We are the nuclear family and  have had a fairy tail life. We have had ups and downs, but stuck together through it all.

Professionally I have done a few different jobs, most notably working for a major manufacturer of acoustic guitars. I’ve also hung drape at all hours of the day and night in hotel ballrooms, made molds for laser sights for heavy artillery and clutch parts for funny cars. Today I’m a stay-at-home dad with all the rights and privileges that come with that job title.