Gargantuan Jungle Of Guitars

by Blair Lovern

Who the hell plays a Strat with a furry leopard coat pick guard?

Gargantuan Jungle Of Guitars

29th Dallas guitar show

(Click photo to see entire gallery)

Junior Brown keeps it old-school country by not having a bass drum in his band. Pete Amaral just bangs a snare and cymbal. It's something you don't really think about until you think about it, but it really makes a difference in the overall band sound.

DALLAS — Well, here we are with another touching and very special (not really) photo essay from the 29th Annual Dallas International Guitar Festival and Musicfest, which is what we in the trade call a long name.

Next year will be, if my math is correct, the 30th annual show. That's impressive because I'm as guilty as other human beings when it comes to celebrating milestone years that end in "0". But way back when, Charley Wirz of Charley's Guitars here in Dallas started the first guitar show ever in a basement hotel room. Unfortunately, no one can ask Mr. Wirz what he would think of things today because he died in 1985.

The show was again held at Market Hall, and that place is what we in the trade call "kind of big." Man, it's huge.

Enough babble, check out the photos.