I had a nice visit in Clovis, California, today. I met up with Rick Hammond, who worked for Semie Moseley at Mosrite in 1963. Rick is also the guy who made the two famous “Fire” shaped guitars with Mosrite parts—one of them was played by Dave Myers in the legendary Southern California surf band, Dave Myers and the Surftones.
We were also visited by Bob Robertson, who lives just a few miles away from Rick. Bob posted a couple days ago on the Mosrite forum on Facebook with a photo of his father’s guitar, a 1963-era Joe Maphis model solid body (the model and body shape that quickly became the Ventures model by the fall of 1963). It was quite the coincidence that I was on my way to go see Rick to interview him for my Mosrite book, so I invited Bob to bring the guitar over, and we all shared a nice visit this afternoon.
Rick had great stories about working for Semie as a teenage boy, and the birth of the Ventures model. I got some really good quotes from him for my book. And it was really special to see this very rare Joe Maphis model in person, as well. Thanks, Rick! Thanks, Bob!
Hitting the road now to Los Angeles, it will be nice to sleep in my own bed tonight.
See more photos at Deke’s original Facebook post!
