Benji profile picture

Benji

When you're up, keep your head down and stay humble... when you're down, keep your head up, and be s

About Me

I'm currently living in Austin, Texas pursuing a dream I started 7 years ago (in a little place I call home, Salem, Oregon), which is building guitars for a living! I attended Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery in Phoenix, AZ in the Spring of 2006. I learned the basics of how, and why a guitar is built the way it is, and we also spent some time doing repair work. It took me awhile to get there, but by way of my personality, work experience, and the ability to build one of the nicest acoustic and electric guitars (I also started a 6 string bass) without much prior woodworking experience, they gave me a good recommendation when it came to job placement. Once I finished school I was interviewed and hired by Collings Guitars in Austin, Texas. So I flew back to Oregon, packed my things, and moved to Austin, Texas! I love what I do for a living (building all the electric guitar necks), I'm comfortable with my position and place in life, and the weather here in Austin is amazing... along with all the live music I have at my fingertips!I GOT MARRIED!!!For those of you that don't already know, or haven't heard about it through the grapevine... it's true, I got married. I also adopted the cutest little 4 month old baby boy, named Jack. I met Natalie about a year ago in Portland, Oregon when visiting family and friends. We keep in touch via text messaging, phone calls, and emails, along with the occasional trip for her to Texas, or back to Oregon for me! We decided we'd get married when I flew back to Oregon this last March (for my older brother's wedding coincidentally). It was nothing elaborate, just at the courthouse in Hillsboro, no family (they didn't even know at the time, ha ha), just a couple of good friends as witnesses! After a month and a half of being apart, Natalie and Jack finally moved to Austin, and we've been a happy little family ever since. I've already taken Jack to his first concert, ZZ Top... he fell asleep 5 or 6 songs into it though. He already loves swimming... how could you not when it's 100 degrees out all summer! I've gotten pretty lucky, I've only been pee'd on once (sorry Natalie, she's taken the worst of it)... ah, the life of being a proud parent!!!That's about all I have to say at the moment... I'll be updating my photo's periodically, so if you're interested, check'em out! This profile was created using: ProfileTweaks Editor Ver.2
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My Interests

Family, friends, music, sunny days, beer (I'll miss you ROGUE and all the other great NW breweries!), cooking, barbequing, mini golf, air conditioning, flip-flops, sunglasses, swimming, biking, skateboarding, cruising the hill country, Stella scooters, old Volkswagens, photography, Oregon autumns, rainy days, coffee, movies, playing guitar/bass, snow, fireplaces, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, scrabble, backgammon, bowling, air hockey, fuzzball, pool, harp guitars, double basses, tattoo's, concerts...

I'd like to meet:

Anyone that has influenced me that I haven't already met

Music:

I can respect any genre of music as long as it's musical and not just noise (which I can still appreciate to a point)... Robert Johnson, Elvis Presley, Trojan Records, Funk Brothers/Motown Records, Stax Records, Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Doors, Blind Faith, Captain Beyond, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Rush, Stanley Clarke, Jaco Pastorius, Bob Marley, anything on Trojan Records, Micheal Hedges, NOFX, Rancid, Face To Face, Bad Religion, Refused, Sublime, THE PiETASTERS, Les Claypool, Nirvana, Marilyn Manson, TOOL, Team Sleep, Portishead, Atmosphere, Buddy Wakefield, Charlie Hunter, Robert Randolph, AIRBOURNE, and local Oregon acts like Synaesthesia, Genius Ignoramus, Precursor, the Ty Curtis Band, Hillstomp, Mark Lemhouse, Eleven Eyes, or any of my new (Austin) friends bands... the Unfortunate Heads, Brass Knuckle Belt Buckle, Deuce Coupe, Reid Wilson and His So-Called Friends, and the Flatcar Rattlers (aka the Hillbilly House Band)... check'em out!

Movies:

Rad, Gleaming the Cube, Batteries Not Included, Willow, Princess Bride, Short Circuit, Kids, Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Orgazmo, Office Space, Dazed and Confused, Poolhall Junkies, Swing Kids, Boondock Saints, American Beauty, Fight Club, Almost Famous, Dogtown and the Z Boys, School of Rock, Sin City, Big Fish, Kung Fu Hustle, Motorcycle Diaries, Crash, Wedding Crashers, Death Proof, Planet Terror...

Television:

G.I. Joe cartoons, old school Warner Brothers cartoons, Dukes of Hazzard, A-Team, CHiPs, Magnum P.I., Starsky and Hutch, MacGyver, Night Rider, Airwolf, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air re-runs, VH1: Behind the Music, The Simpsons, Family Guy, any of the CSI's, Curb Your Enthusiasm, House, My Name Is Earl, How It's Made, and anything educational on Discovery Channel...

Books:

Any instrument or music related books/magazines, the newspaper... I don't read books very often, my attention span doesn't allow me too (atleast for the most part)!

Heroes:

Anyone who's influenced me to be a better person and to follow my heart... family, friends, random people

My Blog

Concerts...

Shows I've seen since I moved to Austin, TX in the summer of 2006... Monte Montgomery (July)... free show with NAMM passBlues on the Green Concert Series with Joe Ely and the Double Trouble (Aug.)... ...
Posted by Benji on Sun, 03 Jun 2007 08:46:00 PST