What was supposed to be a quiet (well, as quiet as they can be) visit with my good pal Ernie Jackson turned into a bit of an adventure in Staten Island. It all started when Ernie needed breakfast, and on the way we stopped by Mandolin Bros., that famous mecca of guitar on Forest Avenue.

Ernie started with showing me the new Veillette Baritone Twelve-String:

We then moved into the room with all of the semi-hollow guitars:

And then I fell in love with a Gibson Howard Roberts:

On the way out, Ernie introduced me to Stan, the owner and a super-nice guy. Good-bye turned into hello when Stan wanted to show me a couple of amazing guitars, and that he did!

Long story short, a fifteen-minute jaunt turned into 90, and it was worth every second! (Though I did feel badly as by the time we left, it was time for lunch…) If you are a guitarist and you haven’t been to Mandolin Bros., you are missing out. Now I just need to get some more gigs so I can afford to take home a Howard Roberts or an L-5!