Today we’d like to introduce you to Clif Jones.
Clif, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Moved to L.A. in 1977 with a rock n roll band and a record contract. The record company, RSO, folded 2 weeks after we played a showcase at The Troubador, not because of us. :o) All the guys except for me decided to go back to Atlanta but I stayed. I interviewed for a job as a record engineer and quickly found out I wasn’t qualified for ” the big time ” yet … BUT – A fellow named Bill Lazerus, who engineered the James Taylor ” Sweet Baby James ” record and ran Warner Bros. studios said if I took his engineering class he might be able to place me. I graduated top of the class and Bill, who was changing up gigs to run the new ” Evergreen ” recording complex hired me.
I had a great run and after 2 years got the dream job – a gig at The Village Recorders. I worked with everyone from Rick Springfield to Frank Sinatra to Barbara Streisand.
I decided to leave the 100 hour weeks in the record studios to co-raise my Son as a single Dad. Week on, Week off, I don’t have a single regret. As a matter of fact, with the record business being what it is now it was probably a great move.
Fast forward – I befriended a lot of the great “cats” / players in the business. Mike Landau, Dean Parks, Jeff Porcaro, Tim Pierce, Lee Sklar to name a few. I started collecting, buying and selling instruments. They all took notice and one by one asked if I would sell a few pieces for them. I said sure. I did this out of my home for several years until a friend – pedal board designer Dave Phillips, L.A. Sound Design and Tim Pierce said ” Hey – this space is opening up next to me in our building, come have a look. I did – I plunged in – I remodeled – I bought gear. I now own a music store – Tough but rewarding in these times but when you have a cat like a Walter Becker from Steely Dan come in and hang for 3 hours or a up and coming 12-year-old come play all his licks – it’s all worth it.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the L.A. Vintage Gear story. Tell us more about the business.
We have created our own niche. The guitars, amps and pedals we carry are not available thru anyone else in Los Angeles, sometimes California and a few builders we carry – We are THE ONLY dealer of their gear!
Contact Info:
- Address: 2407 Magnolia Blvd.
Burbank , Ca. 91506 - Website: www.lavintagegear.com
- Phone: 818.298.6030
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: lavintagegear
- Facebook: l A Vintage Gear
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
