I don't know how I got diverted; no one alerted me...
I went nuts when I saw my first Fender Jaguar in the flesh (or wood, in fact). It was an Oly White/tort guard '62 or '63 and it was in the hands of a very young Carl Wilson. I wanted one sooo badly, but $379.00 was beyond my budget back then (late '64, snowbound Chicago).
But--wait! Several months before that, I'd seen this album at Goldblatt's Department Store in Logan Square. It had a midnight sky, a white T-Bucket, and some hip lettering...Ventures in Outer Space. I flipped the jacket over, and there on the back I saw my first sunburst Mosrite. I can still remember two blurbs from the liner notes. The first said that "the Ventures play Mosrite guitars exclusively". The second informed me that the address for Mosrite information was right next to the address for the Ventures International Fan Club, on Highland Ave. in Hollywood
I guess you could say I was impressionable. And the look and sound of those Mosrites never left my head. That album was absolutely the nutz. Snarly, twangy (overused word!), crackling leads and crazy early effects. Visual music.
I've probably owned six copies of VIOS since that day, right up to the current CD, and still listen to it with amazement and not a little nostalgia, but I've never owned a Mosrite. I've played a few and gotten close to pulling the trigger, but the urge and the bucks were never quite in synch.
I went through lots of Fenders from my brand-new Oly White/tort guard Mustang in '65, through to the dozen or so offsets that are in my collection now, and after a long absence from playing music (35 years!) was again smitten, this time by Rickenbackers, which form the basis of my current passion and involvement. But Mosrites were the first and someday I hope to own one or more original Ventures models.
I love surf music, and played in surf bands back in Chicago (talk about unpopular) and in Southern and Northern California, where I've lived near the Pacific since 1979. I'm currently between musical projects, but never stop looking and loving the sound.
Unfortunately, I got sidetracked in 2004 into luthiery, and got so backed up with work that actual musical pursuits have been put onto the back burner for awhile.
I'm here to absorb the lore and spirit of Mosrites, pay tribute to Semie and his instruments, and offer help from a tech standpoint wherever it would be appropriate. I'm not up on Mosrite history and trivia, but can build, repair, and paint guitars till the surf runs out. I'm the guy who builds Rickenbacker acoustic guitars under license from the factory, in my own workshop, so I'm fairly tech-competent; hopefully my tech knowledge will contribute what I take away in Mosrite information and connections with good Mosrite people!
--Paul (AKA mostlyrite)
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