Roundball Rock
Lessons from John Tesh, the #StickNation guys, and "trashy" guitars.
Hey, friends! I can’t decide if February is moving incredibly slowly or quickly. Could it possibly be both? Let me know how it’s going for you in the comments below. Let’s get into it!
Roundball Rock
If you grew up, like me, in the Jordan era of the NBA, something deep inside you stirs when you hear John Tesh’s classic composition Roundball Rock. If the tune isn’t already playing in your head, stop what you’re doing now and play it below.
If you just listened and you’re not ready to post up in the paint, there might be something seriously wrong with you. The song still slaps. In all seriousness, though, there’s a fascinating story about the origins of the song that I only recently learned.
In the video below, John Tesh explains that while trying to write a sports-themed song, he found himself in a hotel in Europe without a piano at exactly the moment inspiration struck. Not wanting to lose his creative muse, he called his home phone to leave a message on his answering machine, singing the melody of the now-iconic song.
Watch below to hear the original recording, followed by a full orchestral performance of the refined product.
Tesh didn’t let the slight inconvenience of not having a piano get in the way of writing a piano song. He made do with what he had, realizing in the moment that creative inspiration often comes in bursts when you least expect it. Not capturing it immediately risked letting it slip away forever.
Fortunately for all of us, he did capture it, albeit crudely. The original demo of Roundball Rock is far from finished, but the essence of the song is there. Had he waited until he found a proper instrument and recording equipment, the song may have vanished from his mind altogether, and with it the soundtrack of my youth.
Takeaway: Sometimes good enough is just that.
Stick Nation Update
In October of 2024, I wrote a brief segment on the Instagram account officialstickreviews. If you missed it or simply don’t remember, the account posts reviews of sticks—like from trees. Is it as dumb as you think? Maybe not.
The point I tried to make a year and a half ago is that almost no niche is too small. If you put yourself out there, you’re likely to find a like-minded tribe even if your thing is hunting sticks.
It turns out, I wasn’t the only one to find these guys amusing. Jimmy Fallon invited the guys from the account onto The Tonight Show for a seven-minute segment to discuss the origins of their account, their aptly titled debut book, Sticks, and to be knighted into the inner circle of #StickNation.
Watch the full segment below:
While I still hold that it’s worth sharing your interests publicly to find your people, I missed an important takeaway the first time I wrote about these guys. #StickNation teaches us the importance of taking being silly seriously.
Their entire shtick (pun intended) is obviously a joke. I know it. You know it. And they clearly know it too, but their commitment to the shtick has basically elevated what would otherwise be considered a stupid gag into an inclusive form of performance art. All you need to do is check their hashtag on social media to see the impact they’ve had.
Takeaway: In a world that feels increasingly heavy at times, I, for one, look forward to the occasional stick-pic.
Guitar Update
I’m no tree-loving hippie, but I am conservation-minded, which is perhaps why I like building guitars with materials that would otherwise be discarded. My latest build features lumber that I literally pulled from the burn bin at my school’s wood shop.
You might ask why the school would throw away such nice wood? The answer is that the wood isn’t really nice at all. In the guitar-building world, luthiers would scoff at the idea of using plywood for almost any part of a guitar—especially construction-grade plywood. It’s almost never used because it lacks the tonal qualities of exotic hardwoods, but I’m not a luthier, and this is an electric guitar where the pickup does most of the heavy lifting tonally. Instead of trying to hide the fact that I’m using unconventional scrap materials, I’ve attempted to feature them prominently.
I personally think the exposed plywood looks awesome. Take a look at the gallery below to check it out for yourself:
One other note on the plywood: it’s hard to tell in the photos (and in person, for that matter), but the material I was able to scavenge was too narrow for the top and bottom, so I had to glue two pieces together lengthwise to achieve my desired width.
As for the specimen wood used for the neck and fretboard, I also had to laminate the maple and walnut to achieve the appropriate dimensions. All in all, I think it turned out pretty well, and I love it even more because it’s essentially made from garbage.
I really enjoy building these guitars, and I find that I lose myself in the work. I would love to find a way to do more of it. A future where I build these to sell is definitely a possibility. Until then, I will continue to hone my craft, gift these when I need to make room for new ones, and push the boundaries in terms of the materials I use.
One More Thing
One of my goals is to foster a greater sense of community with this newsletter. As such, I’d love to know what creative things you are up to and to feature them here.
Drop me a line via email or in the comments below to let me know what you have cooking. Can’t wait to hear about it.
Until next time,
—Mike