Today I’m taking a sick day. I didn’t sleep much at all last night, just a few 15-minute segments here and there. I stayed in bed late, missed my coffee date, and was trying to do something productive today. Like buy Mike Doughty’s “The Book of Drugs” and curl up under a blanket, reading about, quite possibly, my favorite musician ever.
When I was in high school I was really into music, and going to concerts. And boys. I think those all kind of went together, especially if you take into account that I was (and still am) more than a little on the tone-deaf side. This was a source of constant annoyance to my high school boyfriend, a talented guitarist who would play little pieces of songs in different notes (keys? I’m not sure honestly) and ask which I liked better. I would say they both sounded the same. “No, listen,” he’d say, and play them again. They still sounded the same; they always sounded the same.
So with this bit of a musical obstacle, I always find it somewhat ironic that I ended up making guitar straps. And I make a LOT of guitar straps. I tried playing when I was a kid (again, I think that this had something to do with boys, or being cool, I’m not really sure) and it was a complete disaster. My guitar teacher was hot. That’s all I remember.
Every year when I prepare for Wintergrass I stock up on straps. I had three (!!) left in stock at the end of December, a record low. I should have 60 in stock by the end of February. Some will be new patterns, some old in new colors, and they generally come easy to me. There is one pattern, though, that has been giving me trouble for years. I’ve wanted to make a Clarke strap with my plaid on it, but could never get the layout right. Then the other day I saw a picture of Mike Doughty fixing his plaid tie, and it suddenly all made sense.
So here it is, dedicated to Mike Doughty, the very first plaid strap. And Mike, if you’re reading this, the strap is yours if you want it. Just say the word.
For everyone else, it is available at www.moxieandoliver.com.
xo
c
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