For those of you who have been fans with us from the early days, you know that Johnny has been through a few guitars before landing on his current, awesome, custom Moniker guitars:
The time came when he wanted a guitar that had some capabilities that the Tele didn't have, and it didn't make sense to try and upgrade the Tele. So, he bought a beautiful cherry burst Parker Dragonfly (now called a Maxxfly):
He had the Parker for a couple of years, deciding at one point that he wanted to have it painted Ferrari red. That's when he found the Moniker guys. They said they normally built guitars, rather than just painting them, but they were just starting out and were willing to make an exception, so they painted the Parker for him.
It was a great guitar, but despite its fabulous paint job, its electronics couldn't quite handle the workout of Johnny's sweaty performance. So after a while, he sold the Parker and turned back to the Moniker guys - this time to build him a guitar.
Well, you rarely know what happens to your guitars after they leave you, but last month, a man walked up to Johnny as we were setting up at Cafe Mueller, and he pulled a guitar out of a case and asked, "Was this your guitar, by any chance?" (or something to that effect) It was the Parker.
The gentleman, named Paul, had bought it from a man in California, and when he received it and was looking it over carefully, he spotted the remnants of a name on the headstock. The name appeared to be "Johnny Austin." He wasn't sure who Johnny Austin was, so he contacted Parker, thinking the guitar might be a special edition. They confirmed that it was a Parker, but they said the modifications, such as the name on the headstock and paint job, were from a customization, and they didn't know who previously owned it.
Not to be deterred, Paul contacted the seller he bought it from. The seller didn't know the history, but said he'd bought it from a man in Kansas. So, Paul tracked down the Kansas owner. That seller said that while he didn't know about the signature, he had bought it from a Guitar Center in Austin. So, persevering, Paul found the Guitar Center in Austin that had sold Kansas the guitar.
As it happens, Johnny does a lot of business with this Guitar Center, so when Paul called them and showed the guitar department guy a photo of the guitar, he said, "Oh yes, I remember that guitar. The seller was a local musician here in town, Johnny Austin. Google his current band, The Staylyns, and you'll find him." (or something to that effect)
Paul, who just happens to live in San Antonio, a mere 1.5 hours away, did just that and found out we'd be playing at Cafe Mueller the following weekend. So, he showed up, Parker in hand, and Johnny confirmed that yes, it *was* his guitar, and that *was* his name that used to be on the headstock - SUCCESS! The little guitar that could had made its way all around the country and back to Central Texas.
Paul asked Johnny to sign the guitar, and he asked if Johnny would mind playing it at some point during our set so he could video Johnny playing it. Johnny was more than happy to oblige. Paul stayed for our whole show, and afterward, the two proud owners, current and former, took this photo:
It was a really fun surprise, and we're so impressed with Paul's detective work and so glad he came to our show and shared the story with us. Paul, we hope you will have many happy years with your Morning Star (his name for the guitar)!
We'll be back at Cafe Mueller this Saturday, Oct. 17, 6-8pm. Come on out - ya never know who will show up!
Great story!
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