Scratch - The Meaning Behind The Name

When thinking about a cool name for these guitars, I was reminded of the movie that got me interested in Blues music. "Crossroads", (not the Britney Spears movie but the Ralph Macchio / Steve Vai movie). There is the scene at the end of the movie when Willie Brown gets back to the "Crossroads" to reconcile his deal with Papa Legba (basically the voodoo version of St. Peter). Side note: Papa Legba, happens to be the one that Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to, in return for fame. Once Willie Brown & Lightning Boy reach the old crossroads where Willie had made his deal with Legba, he is greeted by Legba's assistant. Well ol' Willie Brown asks Legba's assistant "What time he comin' round?" The assistant retorts, "What time WHO, comin' round?" Willie tells him, "I'm talkin' about Legba!" To which the assistant replies..."Legba?!? Where you been slick? He done changed his name to SCRATCH!"

That scene always stuck with me. The whole guitar duel, cutting heads scene. As a 15 year old just starting to play guitar, it had everything you could ask for. I liked Stevie Vai already, but this was my introduction into the likes of Robert Johnson and that muddy, gritty sound of what I like to call "Swampy Delta Blues". The sound of a slide guitar moaning out them blues was a winner for me.

So, I thought "Scratch Guitars" was a cool name for my projects. Based in blues and humble beginnings. On the surface, a scratch on your guitar is something that we try to avoid. However over time you will find that it is exactly those scratches that make your guitar, yours. Your guitar bares the scars of your time together. It's a relationship. Those scratches make your guitar unique and a one of a kind. Look at any guitar hero that's out there and upon close inspection of their guitars you will find that instead of being pristine, they are actually beat up and scratched all to hell because they were loved enough not to be replaced. I have seen where you can spend upwards of $20,000 to have a replica of Van Halen's "Frankenstein" guitar. An artisan will use his craft to "replicate" everything from dents and dings to the burn marks from Eddie's cigarettes that were stuck under the strings on the headstock. The people that would buy this would not be able to tell you where each scratch came from. It's not their sweat that darkened the wood grain. You can't pre-fabricate a relationship with someone else's guitar.

Be an original. Play your own guitar. That relationship with a guitar starts like any relationship, with an introduction.

I would like to introduce to you... Scratch Guitars!

Get Scratched!