Repost with Update - Master Class with Christopher Parkening, August 1980, Part 2

 Everybody's talkin' 'bout the new sound, funny, but it's still rock and roll to me.

Billy Joel, It's Still Rock and Roll to Me, 1980

Here is a photo me (sorry for the poor quality, it’s a scan of the original) from August 1980 at the Christopher Parkening master class at Montana State University, Bozeman. My guitar teacher at the time had studied extensively with Mr. Parkening and thought it would be good for me to audition for the class, he was certain I would be accepted. I was and somewhere I have the acceptance letter from Mr. Parkening. Talk about a dream come true!  I remember that I played an etude by Sor and a lute piece, Wilson's Wilde and maybe an etude by Giuliani, I need to look for the end of class recital program, I think I played in the second or third spot. It was quite the experience and I got to met several wonderful players. 

My parents drove me to Bozeman in our 1963 Plymouth Belvedere station wagon. Somewhere around Idaho Falls, Idaho, the radio station we were listening to played Still Rock and Roll to Me, it was the first time I heard it and it made an impression on me. It made more sense to me when I started my college freshman year one month later, there I discovered punk rock and that kids my age were dying their hair pink and spiking it. I thought that Still Rock and Roll to Me was an anthem for those of us who were 18 years old at the time. 

The guitar I am playing in the photo I still have, it is a Hernandis Model 1, imported by Sherry-Brenner of Chicago from Japan. The label states that it was made February 1973, has a western red cedar top, the back and sides are Indian rosewood plywood. It is a Japanese made copy of the José Ramirez that were so popular among classical guitarists in the 1970’s and 1980’s. My parents bought if for me in 1979, I think it cost $620 with tax, that equates to about $3000 in today’s dollar. Despite the plywood back and sides it is a well made guitar.

Update 06/2025: I recently replaced the top and neck on that old Hernandis guitar. It now has a gorgeous redwood top and a Spanish cedar neck, unlike the original which was mahogany. I tuned the back braces a little to get more depth from the back and the top has a bracing system that has proven very successful for making a loud guitar with a beautiful voice. I am currently in the middle of French polishing it, when it is done I will offer it for sale.