cmatthes

One of my clients is (and was) the primary distribution infrastructure for the big boys - the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune...every big US paper from the 20th Century that you can recall. Around the turn of the Century (or right after Jeff R. got out of the biz) things dropped off dramatically. The formerly rock solid financials of their clients reversed from black to red within a couple of years, and some of the larger papers just folded (literally, I guess). When I met with the CFO and the rest of the exec team back in 2005-06, they confided that they believed that they had at most, 3-5 years left, max, since everything had gone digital and readership and revenue had all but dried up. They managed to shift their business model effectively since then, and became profitable for the (a real success story), but they had downsized significantly, and reduced their footprint to the large East Coast urban markets only. They managed to keep from running into the ground, but I'm just not sure that I'd touch it. If you like that sort of risk, you may find a typewriter or 35mm film manufacturer looking to sell cheap...

With the internet and 24/7/365 News Outlets, printed news is obsolete before the presses are even turned on for a run. It's just no longer the way people get their news in the 21st century.

Also look at the potential lifespan of this venture. Not sure what things are like where you live, but I just watched a 40 year program for several dozen small community papers go under because print media is pretty much dead in most marketplaces. I would definitely think long and hard about it. I am not in that industry, for sure, but I do evaluate businesses of all types on a daily basis. Unless you can truly stand to lose everything you've invested in the next 5-10 years, I'd think long and hard about it, and at least get a valuation from some independent third party appraisers first. There is probably a reason he wants to sell it - transfer the loss and get out while he still can. I have seen more 3G and 4G businesses desperate to sell in the last 5-6 years because the next generations don't have any interest in perpetuating them and frankly, nobody is buying. If it is your passion, you live in an area that you feel will support the business, you've checked it all 10 ways to Sunday, and the financial investment won't put you and your family in a potentially uncomfortable position, then go for it.

Reflector knobs would not have been original.

The Gibson SG Diablo. Freakin' HIDEOUS.

Way cooler than I thought it'd be!

Will have to be Something from Nothing though, right, Brian?

Zander was a trooper. We looked up halfway through the Foo's (LONG) set, and he was leaning against the railing a bit, but there was fist pumping...

I think they've been great. We caught them in a small club here in DC last May as a "surprise" guest, but we had a STRONG inkling that it was going to end up as a Foo show. People were actually leaving after the third hour, during Troublefunk's set, because there wasn't a single sign of Foo gear anywhere. I knew that the video/film disclaimers from "Roswell Productions" everywhere was a pretty damned solid clue. They even had black paper taped over the Foo logos on all the road cases. When they started putting up Foo merch at 11:00pm, I figured it was a lock! Full two PLUS hours of rawk followed...

Derek is a really nice/cool guy in person. I've gotten to chat with him a few times at some of the PRS open house events, and he took the time to speak with EVERYBODY who wanted to talk with him. He told me that he probably has/had a '70s Sunburst kicking around somewhere, but plays mostly PRS stuff these days.

Yes. Check out Mike's site/blog as well as Josh's introductory post here.

2000. The run was offered to HFC'ers at the open house that year.

Kiz - I'd have bought that in a heartbeat just for the history (and that I don't have a turntable for the vinyl I DO have currently), and paid more just for all that! It will be in GREAT hands with Rick.

Trust me - Mike and Josh are top level pros. If you or I think of something, they've already figured it out!

That particular guitar is really just a "test bed" for the pickups - it is not a 100% finished product. Mike and Josh have had EXTENSIVE discussions on their vision of how the pickups will compliment the guitar and vice versa. Trust me, that has been considered!

It's a small run Hamer did for the HFC Open House one year. They were all stunning.

That looks absolutely idiotic. Chinese?

I guess it depends on what you're playing too. I played gigs all summer with a 60s/70s heavy classic rock cover band, and the "go to" guitars were my reverse Strat and either my Stiked Holoflake LP Jr. or my single pickup Baker/LP mashup. I brought my '69 RI Strat with Filtertrons tuned for slide, but left it home at the last gig, because I just didn't feel like making another trip from the car. I didn't miss it.

I will neither confirm nor deny that, but I will definitely not deny it.

I think the best thing for you is to bring out an Esquire or Junior. Go straight into your amp, no pedals. Work the volume knob. C'mon. You KNOW you want to!!!

Wow - that run was almost a decade ago!

Unbelievably cool. Paul is truly one of the best guys on the planet that I've had the pleasure to meet. We chatted about a "project" about a year and a half ago, so I'm VERY interested to see what he's got up his sleeve...

Nice! That shirt has worn well...

Not much of a difference between the two guitars, really.