Bathtub race comes down to a tight finish »A5
The newspaper of record for Nanaimo and region since 1874 || Monday, July 27, 2015
Making music Local guitar-maker Joe Egan is relatively new to the industry, but his ‘out there’ style is beginning to catch on as his clientele grows into the United States
CITY
Dams issue back before council SPENCER ANDERSON DAILY NEWS
Joe Egan works on a guitar in his Cassidy workshop. [JULIE CHADWICK/DAILY NEWS]
Joe Egan slowly building his brand in a unique industry
I
t was never necessarily Joe Egan’s plan to become a guitar maker. Growing up in the paper-mill town of Fort Francis, Ont., he fell into music as an early escape. A musician in a “spazzy jazz metal” band called Tugnut, after five years on the road touring he realized he wanted to take a different path. Still a music lover, he wanted to stay in the business, and decided to build himself a few guitars that he liked. It turned out that building guitars was a delicate and challenging task he thoroughly enjoyed. Now 32, he runs a workshop on an idyllic horse farm in Cassidy, the tidy lines of tools and guitar molds on the wall a testament to his focused, disciplined approach to the craft. It’s a business not typically associated with youth; those at the top of their game and whose guitars are in high demand often have at least 30 years’ experience. However, Egan is slowly
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building a name for himself, and it’s a custom seven-string acoushas a steady base of customers tic guitar that features fanned extending into the U.S. now comfrets, which were first introing back for second guitars. duced by builder Ralph Novak in This is due in part not only the 1980s. to the long hours of dedication “We’re working with different he has invested but his scale lengths with every outside-the-box inclinsingle string,” he said. ation to do something “It’s seven-string. I different. mean, they’re out there, “My stuff’s not that but when you start radical but it’s . . . not so doing something like much a tribute to tradthis there’s no documenitional styles, it’s a little tation. You can’t look branch out,” said Egan, up what your favourite who builds and bends builder did. I’m not sayevery part of the instruing it’s recreating the Julie ment by hand rather wheel, but when you Chadwick than use any machines. venture out from the “There’s easier ways to Reporting standard stuff you’re on go about building, quickyour own.” er paths — easier sells One thing Egan has — but I want to be fully also experimented with engaged on every single build.” recently is different sized sound He pulls a case out and shows holes and how that affects tone. a guitar with a body shape that As with any deviation from the is enough unlike a guitar that it norm, there is always a risk the almost appears to be a different instrument will “blow up,” said instrument. Egan. Built for a client in New York, “We always say, with hand-
made instruments, it’s walking that line between overbuilt and underbuilt, having it on the verge of explosion,” he said, and with every build there are hundreds of pounds of pressure and tension involved. “We get down to fractions of a millimetre. And fractions of a millimetre across the whole top can change the whole box.” Egan has been going hard for about three and a half years in his current location, and though he plans to be in the business for the long haul, it’s important that he continues to love his work. He said his focus now is on building collaborative relationships with musicians so they can meet in the middle with their ideas. “When you see people using your guitars, man, that’s what it’s all about,” he said with a smile. Julie.Chadwick @nanaimodailynews.com 250-729-4238
Raiders open 2015 with a 22-14 victory
Insurers may soon be covering marijuana
The Vancouver Island Raiders started the B.C. Football Conference on a positive note with an eight-point win over the defending champion Langley Rams. » Sports, B1
Canadians who have been prescribed medical marijuana could one day see their insurance company footing the bill following new rules from Health Canada. » Nation & World, A6
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Nanaimo council will vote Monday on approving the membership and terms of reference for a special select committee to oversee work at the lower Colliery dam. The select committee is also tasked with preparing a conceptual plan for the middle Colliery dam. The committee was called for as part of motion passed by council last week authorizing the city to submit design and construction plan information to the province to build an auxiliary spillway on the lower dam to ensure the dam can withstand a severe flood. The project is controversial to some park users and even some members of council. The motion passed by council Monday calls for an independent investigation on “problems and issues” that have arisen in relation to the project. The committee will be made up of members of the controversial former technical committee set up by the city in 2013 to develop and recommend remediation options for the dams. The ‘controversial’ part of the committee was that the meetings were not open to the public and its membership was not fully disclosed. Nanaimo Mayor Bill McKay said he does not believe that will be the case this time around. “I believe it’s council’s intention to have those meetings in the open,” he said, “with questions (from the public).” McKay said he is aware of three people eager take part on the committee, which will include representatives from Snuneymuxw First Nation and the citizens’ group Colliery Dams Park Preservation Society. Another group, the Dams Direct Action Group, has pledged it will take part in civil disobedience in the park to prevent installation of the lower dam auxiliary spillway. Spencer.Anderson@ nanaimodailynews.com » We want to hear from you. Send comments on this story to letters@nanaimodailynews.com. Letters must include daytime phone number and hometown.
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