#147806  by jerrycaster67
 
Hello world,
My good friend Zach Nugent, lead guitar player for his Cat under the stars band from Burlington VT
has a kickstarter to help him purchase the guitar of his dreams, A Tom Lieber Tiger guitar from the 50th anniversary line of Lieber Instruments.
You may ask your self , why would I donate to buy a guitar for some guy? Well I'll tell you Zach Nugent at the age of 26 is
one heck of a player and the way he way he emulates Jerry Garcia's tone, phrasings, and spirit is inspiring.
Watching the Cats under the stars band is very entertaining. They always give more than they take traveling
hundreds of miles a week to give you quality music. Zach is a very nice, humble young man and I believe if anyone deserves a Lieber Tiger,
it's Zach Nugent. Included below is the address or link to his Kickstarter page
Respectfully submitted,
Rodrigo Tamayo, Tamayo Guitars.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/18 ... erry-alive
 #147937  by Seriesnuns
 
He looks like he's trying to compensate best he can. Free tickets , song requests even a free show it looks like.

Also looks like he's playing a pretty nice wolf replica now.
 #147982  by EMF
 
I think I'm gonna start a Kickstarter so I don't have to go to work anymore...
 #147995  by FrettyBoy
 
EMF wrote:I think I'm gonna start a Kickstarter so I don't have to go to work anymore...
Thank you!

By the way, I could use a new custom neck for my backup Strat. Rather than ME work and save for it (yuck), maybe some of you could just send me some money, any amount will do, it all adds up. And....You can feel GOOD about it because... I LOVE JERRY.
 #147998  by tcsned
 
Good luck to him but I think it's a bit over the top to be asking for money to buy a guitar. But if people want to donate to that, more power to him.
 #148374  by jerrycaster67
 
Hello world,
My friend Zach did it! His fan base donated sufficient funds.
I read all the comments above. I just want to say Zach is great musician and his band
delivers a great show every time. His band is dedicated.
I know the kind of state to state driving this band does to entertain their fans
and I can only imagine how a traveling band pays the way as we know most musicians get
relatively low monetary compensation for their labors.
I use to lug my guitar and bass rigs all around and it sucks,
musicians get paid for the two hours they play and usually not
for their travel time and expenses. I'm not talking about your 20 minute commute to work,
Zach's band travels from Burlington to many other states back and forth all the time.
I told Zach to expect criticism for this attempt to raise funds.
Is it a bit unusual to ask for a luxury item with the help from the resources available from social media?, Yes.
In the end the public has decided Zach deserves these donations.
One of these special guitars belongs in Zach's hands.
 #148380  by Dwarf Rat
 
Back in the early 70s, high school bands were playing a lot of Creedence. My band played the Dead, Hendrix, Johnny Winter, Taj Mahal, and originals. We were 16 and thought we were pretty sharp.

Now there is a Dead tribute/ cover/ uncover band in cities large, medium, and small across the US. Last December, there were 14 different Dead influenced bands playing at Don Quixotes in Felton, California.

Time to move on.

Write your own tunes. Let Jerry rest in peace.
 #148385  by tcsned
 
Good for him, I know how tough it is being a traveling musician and that when you're just trying to make ends meet buying a guitar isn't always possible, especially a nice one. It's a dog's life and anything you can get your fans and supporters to do for you is cool no matter who strange it is to us. I hope he enjoys that awesome instrument and plays it in the spirit it was given.
 #148389  by lovetoboogie
 
There is something to be said about support from peers to obtain the things you need...

When I got out of the joint several cats on this board and a few others got together and pooled some resources to get me a guitar and an amp. I was completely humbled and it gave me faith to push on in some rather dark moments...

With that said, Kickstarter and these other fund/donation type sites have become a characture of the notion they were intended for...

There might have been a more tasteful way for this dude to obtain the guitar of his dreams. I did notice he had quite the rig to begin with...
 #148391  by FrettyBoy
 
Well there you go. Seeing that this whole event was so public, I will again comment on it publicly.

First, I have been gifted three guitars in my life by people that were very close to me. I was humbled, and thrilled beyond belief to receive these gifts. I also felt somewhat unworthy of such generosity.

To me there is a big difference between receiving a gift from someone that was given genuinely from the heart and having people give because YOU asked them to no matter how genuinely those participating felt once asked. I'd be embarrassed, I wouldn't sleep at night.

This gent already had a fine instrument, it's not like he lost all his stuff in a fire or was jobless and couldn't afford strings. He wanted, and lusted after, a guitar that was out of his reach financially....hey,who doesn't? Do you beg on the internet to quench that thirst, evoking the spirit of Jerry Garcia to justify it as if ZN has some "special gift' to bring JG back from the dead. As mentioned in an earlier post, you can find ZNs in many, many cities now and there are many representatives right here on this board. I think it's pitiful frankly. If Tom Leiber felt the way the OP does about ZNs talent, dedication to "the spirit", and ZNs "right" to have such an expensive instrument he should have gifted the thing to ZN in the first place and been happy to do so. Why didn't someone else start a Kickstarter for ZN rather than he himself telling us how worthy he is? Did it not occur to anyone until ZN told us?

I've donated many times via Kickstarter and Go Fund Me for projects and causes that I believe worthy. Buying an expensive guitar for someone that already has all they need to do the job because he "wants it" is simply not worthy of a dime in my book.

It's funny, I've never met ZN, and now I probably never will, nor would I ever go see him play, because what he has done here speaks volumes to me has far as the type of person he is. I'd rather pick a player with a little more self respect and integrity to go see.

I know one thing, ZN will be able to sing the following line with gusto from here on: "Shake the hand that shook the hand of P.T. BARNUM..." and everyone that donated can sing right along at the top of their lungs.