James Infelt

ACQUIRED OF THE ANGELS

Some say that heterosexual males are drawn to the guitar because it’s shaped like a woman. If there is truth in that, I thought D’Angelico and D’Aquisto guitars were the goddesses of the guitar world - veritable sirens with arms extended, to me! Before I ever experienced one, I was moved by their visual beauty (which can also be a problem amongst human beings, as history can attest).

Through the Guild of American Luthiers, I learned more about their histories, and after numerous visits with Jimmy D’Aquisto about building me an instrument, I had the idea to document their story - the guitars were such lovely examples of artistry, it seemed like such an important slice of Americana.

The first edition came out in 1991, and after Jimmy died in 1995 I started a second edition, as the story was, in a sense, complete. I did a third edition (pictured) with a new publisher in 2018 adding a plethora of new colour photos and an enhanced narrative. As with all of my musical instrument history books, I really wrote them because I wanted to read them.

HISTORY OF THE LUDWIG DRUM COMPANY

After graduate school for the first graduate degree, I had a private teaching studio and was an adjunct instructor at a college, and when I’d assign drum students to find out about the history of the drum kit, they’d come back and say they couldn’t find anything. I did my own checking and learned, to my astonishment, that this was indeed true! I then had the idea to do a book about Ludwig as they were responsible for so many advances in the world of 20th-century percussion.

I had met both Wm. F. Ludwig Sr. and Wm. F. Ludwig Jr. when I was a kid - my late maternal grandfather had been Wm. F. Ludwig Jr.’s pastor, and my grandmother had arranged a tour of the factory in the summer of 1968 - a wonderful twist of fate for a young drum-enthused boy. I’d been keenly aware of Ludwig ever since I saw Ringo on the Ed Sullivan Show back in 1964, and the name ‘Ludwig’ had a lot of meaning for me.

The book is comprised of copious recollections by both Sr. and Jr., and drew heavily upon the Ludwigs’ archives in the form of catalogs, photographs, and memorabilia - all stored in Mr. Ludwig’s lovely basement.

ART THAT SINGS

After my experience with D’Angelicos and D’Aquistos, there were very few guitars that interested me as a player, but Steve Klein’s guitars were the exception - upon playing them I had an immediate connection; they had some of the incisive character of the D’Aquistos I’d been playing, but with a flat-top glow, which suited some of what I was writing then - the strident presence of a word-transcendent vibe that was touching. As Steve and I visited, his story and its connection to the whole California in the ‘70s scene with Joni Mitchell and all of the singer/songwriters that have since become iconic was fascinating. Hence, another book conceived and birthed.

THE NOUVEAU SERIES

While curating a guitar exhibit at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art with Steve Klein, I was collecting a guitar for the installation and was over at experimental guitarist Henry Kaiser’s house, and he had a resin-topped instrument by Michael Spalt which I thought was exceedingly cool, so I added it to the exhibit. I contacted Spalt and became enamored with his work, and then had the idea to create a series of electric guitars based on the shape of a Klein acoustic guitar, themed with original art from the Art Nouveau period, as Klein’s always reminded me of the sensuous lines of Art Nouveau. The guitars feature original Tiffany glass, original art by Toulouse-Lautrec and Alphonse Mucha, among others. They were exhibited at the Museum of Making Music in San Diego, then at Rudy’s in New York City, whereupon they were sold. The book (and film - see the video section) discusses the background, process, and fruition of this deeply special series of electric guitars.

THE MASTERS' BENCH

Given my history with “Acquired of the Angels”, the National Music Museum requested me to do a book about the D’Angelico/D’Aquisto workshop, which they have as a permanent exhibit - a splendid recreation of the workshop of the most prominent luthiers of the 20th-century. The book is about D’Angelico, D’Aquisto, and Paul Gudelsky who apprenticed with D’Aquisto. It was a real gift to work on this along with the Museum’s stringed instrument curator Aria Sheets, and the fine photographer Spencer Lowell.

FABLES

When our kids were little I would put them to bed with a story - we would lay in the dark and I’d start free associating, trying to tie things from our life-at-the-time into the narrative. One evening when I was at a bone-numbingly vacuous meeting, I decided to start writing them down, and when I concretized them, they really seemed to work. I used to take copies of the illustrations into grade school classrooms and read the stories while the kids coloured the pictures, and it was always a good experience.

BLESSINGS AND PROMISES

This was my version of a relational view of the Decalogue - a cool little book I used to use while teaching classes to middle-school kids on the topic . It always stirred conversation that intersected with real life issues. Love the illustrations.

THE ED CHRONICLES

As I was growing older I began reflecting upon my childhood and how significant many of the memories were, so I began writing them down simply to remember them. These started to mingle with my life obserflections, theming three books (Continuing Ed, Continuing Ed ContinuEd, and Ed-Ward) written over a period of two decades about a guy who goes back to his hometown where revelations and ever-deepening questions never cease to unfold. Using humor, insight, and unvarnished honesty, it’s essentially about the soul of one’s life, which I hope might encourage the reader to ponder their own life’s journey.

BOOKS TO WHICH I’VE CONTRIBUTED

Archtop Guitars, by Rudy Pensa/photos by Vincent J. Ricardel

(D’Aquisto narrative)