Profile
Peter B. Dragge CdeP 1969 Confessions of a Luthier
urfling and kerfing. Rosette and peghead. Quilted mahogany, Gaboon ebony, and mother of pearl. This disparate concoction of words are integral ingredients of fine guitar building, the passionate pastime of Thacher alumnus Peter Dragge CdeP 1969. Visiting his shop adjacent to his home in the Ojai foothills, one can’t help but be captivated and intrigued by the enthusiasm and expertise with which he produces handmade guitars—both acoustic and electric—that each require three to twelve months of focused work to complete. It’s even more fascinating to watch Peter work when one notices that despite his massive hands, his nimble fingers can produce intricate, detailed work that requires a delicate touch for one step followed by brute strength for the next.
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Peter became a luthier by way of a circuitous route. He’d always loved listening to music, playing guitar, and working with wood, but the notion of combining these elements didn’t catalyze for many years. Peter’s earliest recollection of an interest in woodworking was with his grandfather; the two shared trips to hardwood shops and lumber mills, fascinated with the various grains, textures, and aromas of the different kinds of wood. In the wood shop his grandfather, a quiet and gentle man exhibited infinite patience, discipline, and the strength of character formed by a life of working a North Dakota farm. The hours he spent watching and occasionally helping his grandfather make furniture in their home workshop served as both foundation and inspiration for his future career in woodworking. Many years later, at Thacher, he took David Barber’s wood shop class and crafted a coffee table for his girlfriend (and future wife), and a pair of portable stage lighting boxes for a Thacher band he played in known affectionately as “The Vacant Lot” (ultimately called “The End”). Peter wistfully remembers, “I was really pretty bad, I think the rest of the band put up with me mainly because I had a decent guitar and amp. The “rest of the band” conpage 32 The Thacher News
by Jane D. McCarthy
sisted of classmates Greg Smith on lead guitar, and Bob Cross on bass, along with annual changes in drummers and lead singers. The band did, on rare occasions, gain some credibility through the gracious addition of James Newton Howard (Okay, Jim Howard) on keyboards. Peter recalls, “Although we practiced daily, and played at most of the ‘exchange dances,’ the high point of our sadly abbreviated career was a graduation concert to a packed auditorium full of parents and alums, for whom we played The Doors’ ‘Light My Fire,’ (the long version, of course) with a light show by Larry Falk, musical direction by C. Michael Erhardt, and James Howard at the piano. That was the pinnacle of my performing career.” During his junior year Peter observed a senior attempting to make a guitar for his Senior Project. He remembers thinking how incredibly complex it was and why would anyone in their right mind want to do that? The following year, 1969, Peter got his first acoustic guitar, a Martin 12-string, and from that time on he was hooked on acoustics. But it wasn’t until many years later—after a stint as a recording sound engineer in Hollywood, refurbishing and running a restaurant in Arcata,CA, and various carpentry/ fine woodworking projects—that he considered making guitars as a vocation. Peter and his childhood sweetheart, Darian (who grew up across the street from the Dragge family in San Marino, CA), had married and were living in Sebastopol, a rural northern California area where making a living was a challenge. After building a home for his family and participating in the transformation of a horse ranch into the Summerfield Waldorf School (where their children Josh and Jenny attended kindergarten through twelfth grade), Peter attained his contractor’s license. As land and lumber prices soared, and Sonoma County instituted a moratorium on building, he decided to focus on work he could do at home in his workshop. “The overhead was zero, and it was hard to beat the commute.” It was during this time that the notion of building musical instruments first struck. Looking to combine his skill in woodworking with his love of music he made up his mind to search for a teacher. Peter had heard about a renowned Celtic harp maker, Chris Caswell, who lived nearby and decided to pay him a visit. Although very kind and polite, Chris made it clear that he was not interested in instructing a potential competitor. Who can blame him?