The Current's Guitar Collection: Valerie June, Martin dreadnought
by Luke Taylor
May 14, 2014
Valerie June visited The Current's studio on August 10, 2013, to play a few songs and to chat with Mac Wilson. After the session, the Memphis singer-songwriter took some time to talk about her then-new acoustic guitar and the mystical connection — prompted by a coincidence involving her phone number — she felt with it.
Valerie June plays Rock the Garden on Sunday, June 22. Here's what Valerie told us about her guitar last August:
What kind of guitar is it?
It's a Martin dreadnought guitar.
Do you recall when you got it?
It was two years ago, now, and I got it in Gruhn Guitars in Nashville, Tennessee. It's a really cool place, full of good guitars.
The guitar was very green. It was my first brand-new guitar. The other one that I had, I bought off eBay, so somebody else had had it before. But this one? Only me.
And the cool thing about it is, the guy brought out three of 'em, and I said, 'No, just give me the one I just played.' And he said, 'I'm not letting you walk out without making a bond with the instrument.'
And so I played all of them, and the third one that he brought down was the one that I needed to have. And it's got the same digits in the serial number as my phone number! So that's a sign. After I had chosen it, he asked me what the serial number was because he was making out the ticket, and I told him the numbers, and it had [the same numbers] and I was like, 'Oh my God — that's my phone number!'
I just thought, 'Oh my goodness, this is so my green baby.' Because it smelled green, it smelled like a new, fresh-cut tree.
I wish it still smelled like that; now it smells like the dirty clothes that I keep in the guitar case!
What do you like about the sound of the guitar?
It's really, really warm. I got the guitar because my other guitar was modeled after Robert Johnson's, the L-1 Gibson. But I was coming back from the Winnipeg Folk Festival, and it got destroyed. And so the airline sent me a check, but they didn't send me enough to buy another small-bodied, parlour-room-style Gibson.
And so I was sitting with Dan [Auerbach] and I told him, 'Man! I'm out of business, and I've got some shows coming up this week and the rest of the month, but I don't have another guitar.'
He has a candy store full of guitars, and he said, 'Well, why don't you go and take the check and get a Martin.' Because [the airline was] kind enough to send me enough to get a Martin. Dan said, 'They're the best acoustic guitars anyway. Use Gibsons more for your electric purposes.'
So I went and I got a Martin, and I love it! He knew what he was talking about. He's a great guitar player for a reason!
External Links
Valerie June - official site
Gruhn Guitars, Nashville, Tenn.