Not much moves or inspires me more than making a good friend through music.
It's been my good fortune that music has been....well.....instrumental..... in forming a few bonds tight enough to last a lifetime. Not too shabby, I rekon, considering a man can count himself lucky if he has but one or two such friendships in a lifetime.

I'd only been writing articles for News 4 U Magazine for a short time when I was given the name of Rod Austin as a potential subject by my editor. (Thanks D.G.)
Rod is a third generation wood craftsman from Calhoun, KY. All I knew at the time was that I had heard he made an awesome guitar for local guitar legend Tommy Stillwell.
It was apparent from our first meeting on a "Deerhead Tavern -Sunday Night Blues" night, that we had similar interests in music and seemed to share a wavelength on life and a shared passion for our respective professions.

What began as a simple subject for a story evolved into a "real life" story. One of friendship.; not the run of the mill "hey how ya doin'?" variety, no, this one sprouted roots. It's been an honor to count Rod as my friend in what I can only describe as a near brotherly kinship - born through music - Stoked by a mutual love and respect for the blues, live performances in general, quality conversation, and a healthy dose of B.S. - It's been inspirational to bear witness to the "piece of himself" that he puts into every project he takes on.

Some initial small talk about having him make a guitar for me had been fun, but I'm not sure I ever really imagined the talk would ever go much further than one of those "pie in the sky" daydreams like hitting the lottery, or scoring that bad-ass car you always pictured yourself cruising around in, but one day last Spring, the stars lined up and we began discussing styles, features, pickups, etc, and the next thing I know we were at the lumber yard picking out wood!
Photographing various stages of construction was cool! Like watching a dream come true right before your eyes. We both marked time while my income struggled to keep up with my carbon based desires, but Sunday, November 21st, we met again at The Deerhead for the delivery of my new ax - and to hear Tommy Stillwell take her out for a test drive! Now if I can only one day play it as well as it deserves to be played.....but then again, that's part of the beauty and joy of it....spending some time with it....whadda ya know.....yet another "friend" through music! I LOVE it! THANKS Rod!

Pictured below: My new guitar!
Handcrafted by my friend, Mr. Rod Austin. Not a drop of stain....just the natural beauty of the wood with a sweet Tung Oil finish!
Gorgeous inlay work, and even the tone and volume knobs were hand crafted from wood!

* For those interested, here is a list of the materials used: *
A beautiful piece of highly figured Flame Maple for the body. Blood Wood from South America, for the fretboard, and Lace Wood (sometimes called Silly Oak) from Australia for the neck & pickgaurd. Ebony was used for the accent dots on the inlay on the headstock, and on the body inlay, as well as the "shark tooth" below the pickguard. Gotoh gold locking tuners, and Schaller gold locking strap buttons. Pickups are Golden Age single coil pickups right now, but I may switch to a set of Kinman Blues pickups down the road.

Click the "Guitar Shop" graphic below to view more photos of the guitar, contact information, and a selection of images from the creation process!
Delivered, Nov. 21, 2010. - The proud owner of an Austin Guitar! -- Mark Mccoy

"Owed" to Petey

He was just a dog with no name. Found laying in the middle of the road, with no collar or tags. We called him Petey, as he reminded us of the dog from The Little Racals. Petey was in sad shape. It looked like he’d been hit by a car, but our vet said it appeared he had been kept in bad conditions, such as on concrete, as he had dried; bloodied pressure sores all over. He looked to be a Pitbull mix, with his one blue eye. Having never been around a Pit Bull, I was initially concerned, especially since he was injured. But "Petey" was as sweet as he could be. I washed him up gently with warm water and medicated shampoo, got him some medicine from our Vet; got some straw for the old long unused dog pen in the back yard, and bought tarps to protect him from the sun and rain, and started him on the antibiodics for his many raw pressure sores.
Being the owner of two other males dogs already, I knew we’d likely not be able to keep him. While I searched for a home for him, I made sure he would spend his time at my home in comfort.
After many emails and phone calls I finally found him a home, but somehow he got away, and wound up at a shelter, where they said he also had prostrate cancer, and had already put him to sleep. I felt aweful about the outcome, but happy we were able to give this poor guy with no name, who had obviously had a rough life, a nice last couple of days on this planet. But in the process of dealing with Petey I learned much to my surprise, that dog fighting is apparently a thriving activity in our area. I heard the same stories from our Vet, from the Warrick and Vanderburgh Humane Societies, and even from some Law Enforcement friends. I felt a bit naive, as I’d just assumed this was something that occured "somewhere else", but sadly, it seems, I was wrong. They say it’s common to find the “losers” dumped around the river bottoms. I was also told to warn
people that these sub-human beings also scout for, and steal dogs right out of their own backyards, for use as “Bait Dogs” in the training of their “fighters. This is a sad and sick thing. They say it’s very tough to root out these dog fights, but I, for one, have great faith in our area Law Enforcement, and have always told friends that I’d rank them at the very top of their profession, even when compared with larger cities, so let’s pray they have some success, and if you know of anybody who participates in dog fighting, please call the proper authorities. Also, please do whatever you can to support the local Chapters of the Humane Society, and places such as Paaws (www.paaws.org). Many thanks to Daryl at Warrick Ainmal Control for contacting to let me know the dog might have been taken to the Vanderburgh Humane Society. Thanks also to the kind folks at VHS for the kindness they showed him as they ended his suffering.

Finally, THANKS to "Petey" for bringing a gentle ray of sunshine into my life.

He was a sweetie, and deserved better than what life dealt him.

pain.

"NEW SECTION"
As a public service, and a way to pursue some ongoing projects, I've started a new section of my website devoted to the city of Evansville.

If you are seeking information about Evansville; where to go; what to do; media; government; schools; local bands and artists or favorite locally owned eateries, click the "Evansville Links" button below!

Click here, or on the photo below to view a web gallery of images.

Semi-Pro Football

Tri State Titans vs.
Ohio River Bearcats 6-21-08