I had a great three-hour interview today with my old pal Brian Lonbeck for the Mosrite book.
A lot of you know Brian from playing my Guitar Geek Festivals over the years, and you probably know he is one of the few people on planet Earth who have really mastered the Joe Maphis guitar style. He’s an incredible guitarist.
What most people don’t know is that he’s got an incredible history going back to the early 1960s, when he was a young teenage guitar phenomenon in Los Angeles. He began appearing at the “Squeakin Deacon” talent shows on KFOX radio, which led to him joining the Mandrell family band, alongside a very young Barbara Mandrell, then a supremely talented thirteen-year-old steel guitarist, but also a megastar just waiting for her moment in the spotlight. Brian got his first Mosrite doubleneck shortly after joining the band in 1963.
Brian played with the Mandrells until around 1970, and from there he has had a long career playing with just about every act in Bakersfield, playing the casino circuit with a very successful Elvis impersonator named Ron Stein, and eventually becoming a fixture of my annual Guitar Geek Festivals in Anaheim during the NAMM show every year.
Along the way, he stayed in touch with his good friend Semie Moseley, eventually spending months at a time in Jonas Ridge, North Carolina, helping Semie build guitars in the 1980s. Brian was also a fixture at every Mosrite booth at the NAMM show until Semie died in 1992.
I got lots of great quotes for the book. I doubt there are many people who spent as much time around Semie and Joe Maphis as Brian. Brian has had a spectacular recovery from a near-death sickness a few years ago, hanging out with him today was just like old times. It was great to see him and get his contributions for the book.
I told him to bring his guitar along for the interview, and when it came time to get a photo of him playing the guitar, I told him to follow me over to the Bakersfield sign by the now-closed Buck Owens’s Crystal Palace. The photos turned out great. Of course, Brian started picking out there on the sidewalk, and before you know it, a few cars rolled by with their windows down, giving the thumbs up. Country music and Mosrite guitars will always be a winning combination on the Streets of Bakersfield.
See more photos and a video at Deke’s original Facebook post!
