It’s been 2 ½ Years…….

Wow, so apparently it’s been 2 ½ years since I wrote a new blog post. It’s also been 3 ½ years since I quit my day job and pursued luthiery as my fulltime passion. I’m happy to say it’s definitely no longer a hobby. Even with the pandemic, I’m still in business and doing fine.

A lot of things have happened in the last 2 ½ years. First and foremost, Melinda and I married in September 2018. We share every day together and continue growing closer. Our wedding was a fun celebration at Crandall’s Orchard on Lake Roosevelt with some of our closest beloved friends. For music we hired the real deal R&B singer Max Daniels and Nu Jack City. The food was delicious, everyone had a great time and we “danced until dawn.”

Melinda and I attended several local guitar shows to display my instruments. The first show was an evening with guitar legend Andy McKee at the majestic art deco Fox Theater in Spokane. If you’ve never heard of Andy McKee, I highly recommend you look him up. His fingerstyle technique is unlike any other and his playing is almost hypnotic. His show was a lot of fun and we got to hang out with several other instrument builders from eastern Washington. Another show I was invited to participate in was with Jenifer Batten. Jenifer Batten is a guitarist who toured on Michael Jackson’s last 3 world tours and then later toured and recorded with Jeff Beck.  Only a handful of luthiers were chosen to participate. Unfortunately, the show was canceled by Jenifer at the last minute. The third show I was excited to participate in was the Spokane Fall Folk Festival. This festival showcases the diversity of our community through music, dancing and the arts. I rented a booth beside a dozen regional guitar builders from the Pacific Northwest. We shared 2 days of networking with new clients and building friendships with the other builders. For this show I brought several handmade Irish Bouzoukis and a 10-string Cittern. I was shocked by the number of Irish Bouzouki players in the Spokane area and even more surprised by the interest in the Cittern. Apparently Citterns are not common but highly sought after in the bouzouki circles. The show was a huge success with several instrument sales!  Hopefully there will be a show in 2021 and I will be ready with some new Bouzoukis and Citterns, as well as a few acoustic guitars.

In the last 2 ½ years I had a graduate of the Roberto Venn School of Luthiery as an apprentice and a local musician as shop helper. I’m very happy to share with you that I will have a new apprentice starting in October. John Prietto is a semi-retired architect whose hobby is woodworking and furniture making. He has a background in AutoCAD design and can assist me with learning CNC. With a small shop I really don’t have room for an apprentice or internship. My shop is only 14’x20’. However, John has his own shop, tools, tone woods, books and jigs and is ready to start building. John is an accomplished mandolin player and as they say, strike when the iron is hot. Stay tuned as I’ll be sharing photos in the coming months!

Do I have any advice on getting into luthiery as a career? My best advice is “no, I don’t”. It’s either in you or it’s not. If you don’t have the confidence to go out and do it, you probably shouldn’t be doing it. The person who can do this and barely make a living has to have the necessary hand skills. You have to be able to do good quality work. You have to look at your work and say, ‘this isn’t finished’, ‘this isn’t good enough’, ‘I have to redo this’. You’re always striving for perfection. Flawless perfection. A good journeyman knows how to hide their mistakes. I am the first to admit that I am not a master. I work hard every day trying to do a good job.

My bread and butter comes mainly from doing instrument repair and restorations. This takes up a fair share of my time. The other 10% of my time is building new instruments. I try to build about 4 new instruments each year, mostly during the winter months when business slows down.

In this field you have to be continuously learning. You have to do research and know where to find information. Work with your local library to help you with very difficult to find or very expensive out-of-print books. This may sound weird, but you absolutely have to know what you don’t know. You have to be good at budgeting; to know where you’re going to spend your money; what kind of stock to have on hand, parts, inventory and materials. Identify what the market wants otherwise you’re spending money on materials that won’t sell. You have to be able to source those materials. You need to know your vendors, be able to put up with shipping delays or backorders. I’ve had some parts take over a month to arrive!

You have to be good at self-marketing and promotion. If you’re going to build guitars, you have to get them out in front of the public. Attend guitar shows. Where are the local guitar shows? Spokane has had a few guitar shows, but the major shows are on the west coast in Anacortes, WA, Portland, OR and Healdsburg, CA. If you’re going to fix guitars you have to talk to musicians. Gain their trust and gain referrals. Go to open mics, go to gigs. My best clients come from very good referrals. Therefore, I don’t advertise in the traditional way like most businesses do. Other than Facebook or my website, it’s all word of mouth.

Many of my clients contact me through Facebook, but what was once a cool forum to promote pictures of guitars and see what other projects my friends are working on has now mostly turned into a cesspool of nasty politics and stupid memes. Therefore I’ve decided to move my online promotion to Instagram with minimal promotion on my Facebook business page – Keeley Guitars. As for my personal Facebook page? Well, that will go away very soon.

Ultimately, it’s the human interaction, establishing positive relationships with my customers and great referrals that keep me going.

You have to be self-motivated because there is no boss. You need to be good at customer relations because you have to talk to people. You need to know what they want and be able to tell them what they need as well. You have to assess the instrument and determine if it’s worth working on. You also have to size up people you don’t want to work for because, believe me, they are going to find you! Although I am honest and sincere with my customers, I still have a lot to learn about dealing with some customers that are a real pain in the butt. People-relation skills. You have to learn how to do that, or you have to learn how to fake it! However, I am truly grateful for the customers I do have. Without them, I could not pursue my passion.

If you have all these skills in a single package, there are so many other jobs you could be doing that would make you a lot more money, be a lot more secure and be far less precarious. It doesn’t make any economic sense to do this. In the end if a person is bound and determined and says “I don’t care that it’s not rational for me to do this”, that is the person that will be the one to succeed.

For the love of it!                    

Don’t be under the illusion that’s it’s an easy life. It’s a rewarding life, but it’s not an easy one. There are so many things out there to be concerned about. What if I get sick? What if I can’t do this difficult repair? What if I make a mistake? As I mentioned earlier, you just need to know what you don’t know. Know when it’s okay to refuse a difficult repair. Ask for help from an experienced luthier. I could worry about so many other things, but why? Keep learning and striving for perfection. I will continue to focus on my work. My craft. Luthiery…

‘Keeley Guitars and the New Renaissance Man’

April 1, 2019 - The Silverado Express

By Michael Pickett

 Talking about wood-working instrument-makers seems comparatively exotic in this information age. In a world where people trade data via ones and zeros, finding artisans who create one-of-a-kind guitars in small, rural shops seems like something from another era. Keeley Guitars bridges the gap between old-world excellence in craftsmanship and modern tech applied to world-class instruments. “I’ve always had a passion for the guitar and making things with my hands,” says owner and luthier, David Keeley. “I initially began reading every library book I could get my hands on pertaining to guitar building and instrument repair. Then in 1990, I met luthier Buck Willhite whom I worked with for several years learning how to build harps and guitars.”

Dividing his time between creating custom instruments and repair-work in his beautiful workshop, Keeley often has stacks of exotic wood and rows of his world-class instruments next to cases filled with instruments clients bring him for restoration of various sorts. “When I’m not building custom guitars, mandolins and Irish bouzoukis for my clients, I’m doing instrument repair work. If it has strings, I can probably fix it. This also includes violins, mandolins, banjos, harps, harpsicords, ukuleles and more.” While Keeley’s services range from doing instrument setups, rewiring, refretting, repairing broken necks or violin bows; he enjoys the variety every new request brings.

“Sometimes there’s the occasional guitar that was smashed by an angry spouse,” he muses. “I never know what may end up on the workbench. It could be a budget student violin that needs a proper setup so it plays better, or a major repair of a 1950’s Gibson Les Paul going on a European tour.” Keeley is often so busy, he has to make time to complete his own custom instruments. Previously employed by the city of Kettle Falls providing valuable grant-writing expertise and hands-on improvement of the community, he worked hard to transition from his ‘day job’ to full-time work as a world class instrument-maker and expert repairman. “Honestly, the high-points for me are the relationships I’ve built with my customers. I get to meet a lot of interesting people and they trust me to take care of their instruments. They range from those who are just learning to play guitar, to successful working and touring musicians. I do repair work primarily for the tri-county area, the local music stores and a few special clients outside the area, some sending their instruments from as far away as Arizona.”

Keeley’s professional story is an inspiring one, turning his passion into a successful business that serves other artists near and far. Having worked with other luthiers--some responsible for the iconic instruments of players like Eddie Van Halen, Eric Clapton and Chet Atkins--Keeley has honed his abilities as a craftsman and business-owner over a period of years. “I enjoy taking a broken instrument and repairing it so it can play music again, especially if it’s going into the hands of a young person wanting to learn. If you have a broken instrument you no longer care about, send it my way. I will fix it and donate it to the Kettle Falls Public School music program. There is still life left in these broken instruments and they deserve a second chance to make music.” Check out one of Keeley’s custom instruments at: keeleyguitars.com or contact him for repairs and further information at: 738-6491 to make an appointment.

It's Been One Year......

It’s been exactly one year since I made the decision to be a fulltime luthier!

After 15 years working for the City of Kettle Falls with massive burnout I made a major life change that has provided me with more happiness, better health and a better understanding about financial stability. The past 12 months have been wonderful because I finally have the freedom to enjoy my life on my terms and work on becoming the person I truly want to be.

Happiness. Without it, we would be miserable, right? Webster’s definition of happiness is: “Good fortune, a state of well-being and contentment.” What makes me happy is spending time with my family, spending time with my best friend Melinda, and working in my shop.

This past year I became a grandfather! Quincy Strandberg was born on September 9th, 2017. Besides spending time with my new grandson and my three kids (all adults in their own right), I enjoy spending time with my best friend Melinda who I plan to marry this fall. I wish I had met her 20 years ago. We are always there for each other and together we are building something very strong. Finally, my choice to leave the rat race and be a fulltime luthier has allowed me the freedom to be creative and productive using my hands and knowledge to build stringed instruments, whenever I want! This is something I have a real passion for- craftsmanship. It’s a skill that only gets better with experience and time.

Health. Without it, we would be miserable, right? Webster’s definition of health is:  “the condition of being sound in body, mind, or spirit.” While working at my previous job for the city, I began to suffer from anxiety, insomnia and eczema. I wasn’t coping well with the stress. All those negative outside factors are now gone. Vanished. Oh they still exist, but they are outside of my small little universe and I plan to keep it that way. Now I have the freedom and time to invest in more important things like real friendships, cooking healthier and finding clarity about things that really matter in the bigger picture.

I am always trying to learn new things and understand different viewpoints. I try to stay positive and associate with like-minded positive people. I’m trying to grow as a person and make my small universe a better place.  

Financial Stability. Without it, we would be miserable, right? The definition of financial stability is: “Living without debt and creating a financially secure environment.” One important factor in making the decision to become a fulltime luthier is that I had zero debt. It took many years to eliminate my consumer debt and pay off my house. This was challenging because in the past I’ve made some bad choices and purchased things I didn’t really need or things I thought I needed. There were times I even had to buy groceries and gas with a credit card, but I worked hard to pay off those cards and cut them up.

I bought my first house 18 years ago. It’s a small house built in 1935 that is reminiscent of a cottage. I purchased the house with a 15-year mortgage and spent the following years doing improvements and upgrades to make the house comfortable to suit my needs. Since I walked away from the day job, my only expenses now are utilities, insurance, groceries and gas. I don’t subscribe to cable TV and I sure as heck don’t miss it. The credit cards are gone. I admit I had a couple financially scary months at first; it was my new reality that I needed to adjust to, but I was creative in finding solutions and I did it without panic. Well… some minor panic. However, that panic created positive motivation. I couldn’t lay around and waste time, I had to get into the shop and make some sawdust. Making sawdust meant making money. The first step toward immediate cash flow was generating business by doing repairs and setups for customers and for the House of Music in Colville.  I no longer had that steady paycheck to rely on and I do not intend to go back to another day job.

Around the same time I left my job at the city, Melinda turned me onto a Netflix show called Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things. I watched it several times and decided I need to make a plan. I gutted my shop down to bare shelves; if it didn’t pertain to luthiery it was gifted, taken to the dump, or it went into a storage shed to be dealt with later. I also took this same approach to my home. I made seven trips to the dump that week and removed as much clutter and unnecessary items from my life as possible. I mean really, how many pots and pans and screwdrivers does one person need? Decluttering also meant eliminating people and organizations that were no longer important to my overall plan. I called these my time wasters. I must say, the purge was liberating! All these ‘things’ were actually feeling like a heavy anchor around my neck. Everything now serves a purpose and function and is part of my plan for a happy, healthy and financially stable life

Now that I’m living my dream of being a fulltime luthier I am enjoying a happier, healthier and financially stable lifestyle. I have the freedom to make my own choices and decisions. I am in control of my own time and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it!

Someone once told me, “There are two kinds of people. Those with lots of money and those with lots of time. You can’t have both.” As long as I’m able to maintain my lifestyle I prefer to be the person with lots of time. And, as Melinda once told me, “We’re on this planet for only so long”. Think about that for a minute.

I prefer to make the best use of my time.