My name is Eric, but my friends call me 'Fish' I was born on December 27th, 1957 I Moved to Florida, and then North Carolina, during my early high school years. After High school I attended two semesters at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before dropping out due to system shock.

I then met my wife of 45 years, Mary, shortly thereafter and we moved to California, where I've lived since 1979.

As a child, I was deeply interested in science, pretty much in any subcategory. History, Biology, Chemistry, Astronomy, Entomology, Paleontology, Archeology, Engineering, Architecture, you name it. At the same time, I was being raised in a family with three older brothers, all of whom were amazingly capable craftsmen, and an over-achieving artisan father. Construction of all kinds was in my blood.

I fell in love with music at a young age, first through my father, who favored Hank Williams, Hank Snow, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, and loved to listen to a station out of Wheeling West Virginia. Then there was my brother Gordon, who at the age of 12 or so learned how to play my dads guitar in a matter of weeks, and loved the Everly Brothers, Dwayne Eddy, The Beatles, Elvis, Clapton, Rick Nelson etc. My brother Jim was into The Stones, Steppenwolf, Mountain, Blood Sweat and Tears, Iron Butterfly, The Allman Brothers, Vanilla Fudge etc.

My brother Scott followed with The Kinks, Arlo Guthrie, Led Zeppelin, Joe Cocker, The Byrds, and many more.

My own personal preferences are extremely mixed but I do favor great storytelling, so the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty etc.  I am also into the acoustic sound of string instruments and that led to Bluegrass music.

My earliest introduction came from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Bands album 'Will the Circle be Unbroken'. First exposure to Doc Watson. From then on, I was hooked.

I started working on guitars in my late twenties, doing setups mainly, until someone stepped on my brother Gordons old Yamaki guitar at a party one night. After replacing the top and doing some inlays, as well as a complete refinish, I now had the confidence to start doing repairs of a structural nature. I built my first guitar from scratch in 1995 and 1996 and I've been collecting tonewoods ever since.

I've spent the last 40+ years working as a general contractor building mostly large custom homes in the Beverly Hills/Brentwood/Malibu areas. In that time, I built about 35 guitars. I have also repaired and restored hundreds of string instruments, all as a weekend and evening hobby.

I retired in January of 2023 and have since dedicated myself full time to the fine art of lutherie. It is my honor and joy to be able to do build and restore stringed instruments!