It’s time once again for the international buy-sell-trade and high-class-swap meet for guitar enthusiasts as the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium hosts the California World Guitar Show.
This year’s event—which takes place on August 7th and 8th—marks the 159th show for vintage guitar dealer of Strings West and event promoter, Larry Briggs. Briggs who has been dealing in vintage guitars since the 70s has “owned and sold eighteen 1958-1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard models.†At one time his vast amplifier collection included 140 Fender amplifiers in black face, tweed, white and brown colors.
Briggs got into vintage guitar shows back in 1978 when one of his partners started the first International Guitar Show (in Texas). In 1984 they, along with two other partners formed Texas Guitar Shows, Inc., (Four Amigos Productions) and began putting on trade shows so that guitar buyers, sellers, collectors, retail stores, manufacturers, amp companies, book sellers, clothing dealers, effects pedal companies and all those with guitar related merchandise could set up booths and sell their wares.
“We get dealers flying in from all over the country. Pennsylvania, Texas, but 80% of our booths come from California. A nice feature of this show is that the public can bring in any piece of gear they would like appraised at no extra charge,†explained Briggs.â€
Briggs has sold guitars and amplifiers to many of the super groups and stars of the seventies, eighties, nineties and into this century, including Stevie Ray and Jimmy Vaughan, Billy Gibbons, Ted Nugent, Vince Gill, Neil Schon, Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, Joan Jett, Heart, Bob Dylan, the Bee Gees and Brian Setzer.
The event also draws high profile celebrities. “We’ve had everyone from Axl Rose, Los Lobos, Daryl Hannah, Peter Coyote, ZZ Top, Jackson Browne, and Steven Segal show up,†said Briggs.
The show opens Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $15 and children 11 and under are admitted free if accompanied by an adult.
For more information check out: www.texasguitarshows.com or larryb@stringswest.com
