Hi,

best wishes to all of you for 2023. Hopefully it will be a better year than the last one.

Having said that, we really just had one bad DAY last year! February 28th. The rest of the year demonstrated the resilience of our town, and showed a positive spirit (by lots of folk) to re-build, re-invent, and renew. Walk around the city block today and there are more businesses re-opened than not, and even more than a few new ones!

A lot more residential properties seem to be occupied as well. I suspect that most of those are owner-occupied rather than rentals. Just like the businesses - if you have true personal connections to a place (whether financial, emotional, or both) you simply have to defend it. And re-invest.

2022 was so broken and disrupted that it's only really been in the last month or so that I've had a fully operational workspace and been able to get back into top gear.

I have quite a big backlog of major repairs to catch up on, as well as a few dozen minor ones, so I will have to close my shop for a few weeks to catch up.

The nature of my gig means that I usually have to pull the shutters down for one or two weeks each year (to catch up!), but the chaos that was 2022 means that this time I have to do it for a few weeks.

My shop will re-open late January and hopefully things will be back to "normal" after that.

Best wishes to everyone, and I look forward to seeing you in 2023.

Andrew

 

Hi there my friends,

and so goes another year. And what a year it was!

Thanks to the support of all of you who have needed my time and skills to make your instruments work properly, in the wake of the flood the shop has slowly crept its way back towards normal.

Thanks also to all of you who have asked about Lisa, and expressed concern about her illness. She is still recovering, albeit very slowly. We are hoping that her recovery will continue, and hopefully at an increased rate.

The next post on this page will be about guitars, repairs, and the big backlog I have that I will be addressing in the first three or four weeks of 2023. 

But meanwhile...

If you walk around the Lismore CBD now you'll see that about 70% (and perhaps even more) of the businesses have re-opened. And there are even several new businesses!

One of the important ones for us is that Planet Music has been sold, dismantled , and reconstructed at 81 Keen Street Lismore. With a new owner! 

The new owner is Matt Bone, former employee of both Planet Music and Byron Music, a genuine working musician (bass player), and I'm sure that many of you will know him.

I can't think of a better person than Matt to take over Planet Music. He is well-known and well-regarded, knows the music retail industry from both sides (all sides!), and is a thoroughly splendid chap!

In uncertain times, this is the best news for Lismore's music scene that I can imagine.

The February 2022 flood was a genuine disaster. And a huge test of personal philosophy - "do you believe that the glass is half-full or half-empty"!

The recovery from such an enormous event was always going to take a while, but the level of commitment shown by every single business owner, and every single home owner, to clean up and move back-in shows that there are plenty of those of us that are optimists.

And every one of us has a newly-modified plan should an event even a fraction of that one happen again.

Shame that the authorities don't seem to have one. Divert Leycester Creek, dredge the Wilsons River, have some upstream plan in order, and complete the Richmond River Overflow outlets to the ocean between Woodburn and Wardell.

All of which plans have had technical approval and even government budgeting, but none of which have been enacted due to "cost".

The cost to people who lost absolutely everything, and also those who didn't but whose lives were still irrevocably changed, is immeasurable in the real world. 

Meanwhile, sports stadiums and nuclear submarines are regarded as money wisely spent...

Oh NO!! I've gone political again! I spent my whole life trying to avoid this stuff, and within a few strikes of the keyboard I've joined the damn system!

In too deep now, trying to scramble my way out...

2023 will be about nothing but guitars. Promise!

Andrew

 

 

 Hi Everyone,

just a short note to let you know that I have removed all of the guitars from the shop and placed them in safe-storage. Again!

I do this any time that there is even a hint of flooding.

This event has followed a very similar pattern to February (albeit with a lot less rainfall). The weather bureau's response has been similar too - an incremental increase in the forecast rainfall over a couple of days. Whatever computer modelling they use to predict the development of these weather events is clearly rubbish. 

It doesn't look like the river will get into the CBD this time, but better safe than sorry.

And I am despairing of the fact that the "authorities" seem to have no intention of undertaking any flood mitigation measures. The town was trashed in February and all that has happened since is a lot of political posturing. There ARE measures that can be taken to reduce the risk, and they are all much cheaper than the restoration costs.

1. Divert Leycester Creek! Leycester Creek actually brings more water into Lismore than the Wilsons River. Diverting Leycester Creek behind the airport has been suggested for 100 years or more, and has actually been approved! After 2017 it was approved and budgeted at $200 million - a lot less than the cost of recovery. But the "authorities" decided that was too expensive.

2. Dredge Wilsons River! If you lower the bottom of the river you also lower the TOP!

3. Re-direct the storm-water channels! It is almost surreal to think that many of the storm-water channels that direct the flow from the hills around Lismore outflow into the river UPSTREAM of the CBD rather than downstream.

4. Build a series of small reservoirs upstream of Lismore to regulate the flow. This is an idea that I was told about that I'm not sure would be effective. But the chap that told me has spent a lot more time than I have studying this subject.

Surely anything that would effect even a small decrease in river levels during a major rainfall event is worth considering?

But the "authorities" seem to think that building a new sports stadium in Sydney has a greater priority than saving a regional town, and all of its citizens and businesses...

OK. That's my first and last venture into the shadow world of politics!!

Your guitars are fine (as always) and I will re-open the shop later in the week.

Andrew

 Hi Everyone,

my shop is now back open as normal.

Still a few bits of organising and decorating to do, but back to full pre-flood status.

I am pretty-well as up-to-date as usual with smaller jobs (set-ups, wiring and such), and routine mid-range jobs (refrets etc.), but still quite a bit behind on the bigger and longer-term jobs (restorations and rebuilds). I will catch back up over the next couple of months.

Thanks for reading this, and thanks for your support.

Best wishes to all of you who have suffered through this disaster, I know that many of you have been affected WAY more than I have. Being back open and trading as usual, it seems as if my little business has crossed a watershed. Hopefully the rest of the town will do so too.

Andrew

FINALLY!!

Hey everyone,

well there you go. After five months my shop now has electricity, telephone, and a new alarm and security system. Phew. Which means that very soon I will be properly back open. Double phew...

Over the next couple of weeks I will be moving stuff back into the shop - the tools, the parts, guitar-repairs to be collected, guitars for sale, as well as all of the posters and pictures and bits and pieces of paraphernalia that made the current stark bare rooms previously a bit of a cool place to visit.

More importantly, I will be able to clear the workshop at home and be able to do again do all repairs at the usual rate, rather than having to shift guitar cases and boxes of stuff every time I start a new job. It also means that I will be able to begin to catch up on the huge backlog of major repairs, including a lot of flood-damaged stuff.

There is a huge backlog, so it will take some time to get back up to speed with that.

But at least it would seem that we have emerged from the tunnel! 

I am still going to have to book new work in at a slightly slower rate than normal, but over the next few months I should be able to bring the turnaround times for regular work back into the usual one-week window. The longer-term jobs will take longer...

Thank you all for riding this whole thing out with me.

And best wishes to you all as ever. I am more than sure that some of you who read this have been through way more pain than I have.

Andrew

 

 

 Hi everyone,

in the words of Captain Beefheart...ELECTRICITY!!!

Yes, after four-and-a-half months I finally have power re-installed at the shop. 

I have the security people coming tomorrow, and so hopefully things will be back to "normal" very soon.

Phone may be a little longer. The NBN tech came out today and found that there is a fault somewhere deep within the labyrinthine chaos that is the Telstra wiring of the old building. I'm guessing that it will all be archaic PMG stuff, with old wobbly copper-cable 'phone lines

I might have to train a team of carrier pigeons...

And on it goes!

But we are getting closer.

Meanwhile, my business is effectively trading as usual - regular hours and hopefully soon regular turn-around times.

Andrew

.

Hi everyone,

back open and still trying to get the electricity and phone fixed. Aaargghhh...!

Slowly getting there...

So I thought I would share one of the wackiest nights of my life...

We have a very dear friend who is a BIG Bruce Springsteen fan. Now I remember the hype back in 1975, when Springsteen was going to be the "future of rock'n'roll" and the "new Dylan" and all of that stuff. I bought "Born To Run" and it was ok.  Etc.

I am not a huge Springsteen fan, but yes he has done some good stuff.

Our friend Alex shouted us tickets to see Springsteen at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre back in February 2014. He scored tickets to "general admission", which is the acre or so of clear space directly in front of the seating. With most bands this is an area crammed with fans (the so-called "mosh pit"), but with Springsteen it was like an open field! Alex had been to every show on the tour so far, and knew the plan.

We got to the venue early, in time to get a burger from one of the concessions, and sat just outside the auditorium doors. We could hear the sound-check and it was an unfamiliar tune. The Springsteen loonies were puzzled, and Lisa said "that sounds like the Bee Gees song, "Stayin' Alive". Everyone laughed!

The doors opened and we filed in. General admission before the seated punters. The riggers were still climbing the scaffolds. About an hour to wait. Yay. Alex said "whatever I tell you to do, you must do it immediately". OK.

The band came on and lo-and-behold the first song was "Staying Alive"!

Here is the clip:

 

Good lord!

About a quarter into the show Alex grabs us and says "come this way". He takes us to the catwalk where Springsteen moves into the audience. Alex says, "stand right here and hold your hands above your head". "What??" "Just do it!!".

And Springsteen leaps off the catwalk and I catch him!

Beyond crazy! He's doing a "crowd surf" and I'm the guy that catches him. Along with another guy to the left, who is clearly a huge fan as he has tears rolling down his face!

Very, very silly!

I've done work for lots of well-known and well-respected musicians, met more than a few famous people, but this was the only time I ever caught a rock-star!

I also got to stand right next to Nils Lofgren (!) and I have actually been a fan of Nils since before I ever heard of Bruce Springsteen, so that was pretty funny too.  

The show was great - four hours long (!) that seemed like one or two. If you have even the slightest interest in Springsteen, and he comes this way again, you won't be disappointed if you can get tickets.

I think of stupid stuff like this every time I start to despair about the snail-pace restoration of my shop. Four months. Yikes.

But I am slowly getting things back in place, slowly being able to have the space and time to work on the bigger jobs I have booked in, and am slowly getting back to "normal".

But there is no doubt that the prevailing word is "slowly".

It is the same for all of Lismore - there just aren't enough tradies. They are all juggling 20 jobs.

Patience...

AK

 

 

 

rr

 Hi everyone,

my shop IS BACK OPEN! Usual times: Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 1.00pm - 5.00pm.

Please drop by if you can, and let anyone else that you know.

The shop remains compromised by not having either electricity or a functional telephone, but the solution to these problems remains in progress. 

Repairs are still being dealt with as usual, but with a slightly somewhat slower time-frame. Almost normal, but not quite. Getting there... 

Basically, I have one head and four walls. The method required to re-instate both the electricity and the telephone seems to be to choose precisely which of the four walls I should bang my head against.

The poor tradies are over-worked and under-supplied, but they are edging their way towards normal.

It won't be long. 

First track on the Beatles second record and perhaps the best start to an LP ever!

It Won't Be Long: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVKU6SevefY 

Things will soon be back on an even keel, and I look forward to seeing y'all again!

Andrew

 

Hi Everyone,

if you are reading this please let everyone (ok, every guitar-player you know) that I am alive and well and that my shop is back open again usual hours - Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 1.00pm - 5.00pm.

I am also accepting repairs via the other shops that I always have. Byron Music and Valiant (Brunswick Heads) are unchanged, and Planet Music should be back operational soon. As, I hope, will Russell's Music.

Since my last post to this journal, Telstra have completely stuffed up my account. Despite hours that I've spent online and with phone calls, and despite three appointments with the Telstra Shop Goonelabah (nee Lismore), they have been unable to put my account onto a temporary hold and divert incoming calls to my mobile. They now seem to have cut me off. I will be seeing them tomorrow morning. 

UPDATE - 31.5.22! Telstra have told me that there is another fault on the line, not directly related to the flood damage! They are working to fix this. But then, a few hours later, I get a text from Telstra saying that my account is overdue - so they clearly haven't put my account into "flood-relief hold mode". 

Aargh!

I think that perhaps Telstra's incompetence has been, for me at least, almost as big an inconvenience as the actual flood!! I've probably spent as much time trying to deal with them as I have re-building the shop.

BUT!!! I am back open and slowly getting back to trading as normal.

Andrew

 

 

 Hi Everyone,

my shop has been back open again for a few weeks now!

Slightly limited capacity. But if you have a repair that you'd like me to deal with than please drop by. I'm open again usual hours: Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 1.00pm - 5.00pm.

And at other times by appointment. 

I'm actually pretty busy, with quite a bit of work booked in. It's almost normal! Standard repairs, such as set-ups and electronics are definitely normal (ie: a one to two week turnaround), but major repairs and restorations are a bit slower - I don't have the bench-space in my home workshop because all of the shop stuff is stored there! But gradually edging back to previous normal.

We still don't have power at the shop, so I can't have the alarm and security stuff operating. This means that I can't store things at the shop yet and, if you have a repair to collect you will still need to contact me first, so that I can bring your guitar in with me on the designated day.

I spoke to the electrician today and we're edging towards a solution.

I've had lots of very interesting repairs come my way in recent times. This journal of mine seems to have become a diary of woe-begotten times. It wasn't intended to be. I promise that from now on it will be a journal of interesting guitar-stuff...

Andrew

 Hi Everyone,

my shop is back open!!

I will be open again my usual shop hours from Tuesday 12th April.

The shop is still empty, but I will be re-building the counter, racks and benches over the next week or so and when we get the power back on (!) it will begin to get back to normal. 

Still no phone either. But things are slowly edging their way back to how they were.

Because there is no power yet, there is also no alarm and security system in place, so I can't leave anything at the shop. If you have a completed repair with me then please contact me via email to arrange a time for collection. We'll make a firm appointment and I'll make sure your instrument is on board the trusty station wagon that day!

If you have a new repair that you'd like me to do, then please drop by during my "open" hours, or contact me to make another arrangement.

I'm still taking work in via Byron Music and Valiant Music (Brunswick Heads), and will do so via Planet Music and Russell's Music when they also re-open.

Ok, thanks for reading this. And rest assured that my "flood-plan" (which has worked very well so far) will continue to be refined and improved. Thankfully, guitars are portable items and I can move them to higher ground relatively easily.

Best wishes to you all, and hopefully we'll see each other soon.

Andrew

 

Hi Everyone,

here's a post about guitars for a change!!

I've seen quite a few flood-damaged guitars - some are fixable and will be fine, and some won't.

But there is another issue with prolonged wet weather, and that is that some guitars will get moldy.

It's a weird thing - for example I have about 10 guitars stored in a wardrobe, all are in their cases, and some are covered in mold and others are totally clean. They are all old guitars that are finished in lacquer. I have no idea why some would get moldy and others wouldn't. I can only be something about previous handling or storage.

Most guitars these days are finished in either polyester or polyurethane, both of which are inert and will simply wipe clean.

Older, or higher quality, guitars are usually finished in lacquer (usually nitro-cellulose) and although it is a better finish in most respects it is also volatile and will react to most things that it come into contact with.

Mold is one of these things. If you have a lacquer finished-guitar (such as a Gibson, Martin , Guild etc.) and it is covered in mold, you will notice that the mold has marked the finish slightly. This won't wipe off, but can be cut-and-polished away.

The best gentle cutting compound that I've ever found for nitro-cellulose lacquer is, believe it or not, Brasso!!! I have used it for years (decades) to cut and polish the finish on guitars that I have made or restored using nitro-cellulose. It also cleans away mold discolouration (and it has a tiny bit of ammonia in the solution, which should kill the mold spores. It has NO negative affect on the lacquer.

So that's hopefully a decent tip for some of you!

If you have a guitar that HAS been flood-damaged then please call me about it. Some will be fixable, and there is no charge for assessment and quote.

Back soon!!!

Andrew

Hi Everyone,

well...the best laid plans and all that. 

Looks like the re-opening of the shop will be put back a couple of weeks. The place is empty at the moment, so all I have to do is hose it out again and clean the floor and walls. Again.

If you have an instrument with me then please email. Still no phone, and that may be a while yet.

If you have an instrument that you need me to fix, I am taking in repairs via Byron Music and Valiant Music (Brunswick Heads). If you leave an instrument with them, please let them know that it is for me.

I'll be back open ASAP.

And yes, I AM looking at options regarding my premises. For the moment I intend to continue in the same place, and I have always been able to remove the guitars from there if there is the slightest hint of a flood, but it IS getting to be a bit of a hassle...

Twice in a month? Yes. But maybe not again for 100 years. Frankly, nobody knows.

And those "one-in-a 100", "one-in-ten" stats are actually bullshit - they are simply Insurance Company devices to let them know how much to charge you. Not science. Ignore them.

OK, keep well. Email me if you need to.

Andrew

Hi Everyone,

just a short post this time.

I've cleaned the shop and will start to move back in next week. It will be a very minimalist set up at first, essentially just as a meeting place for you to drop off or collect instruments.

When power is restored I'll gradually refit the shop and move back in fully.

So. From next week we'll start to call people who have instruments to be collected and arrange a time to meet. It will be by appointment at first, and then I will eventually re-open with regular hours.

I will also be taking on new work, so please call with any enquiries.

Still no shop phone for now, so please contact via email.

I'm also taking work through Byron Music and Valiant Music, as I always have. Please feel free to either contact me first, or just drop the guitars off at the shops (letting them know that the job is for me to do). Hopefully Planet Music will be open again soon as well.

OK. Order slowly emerging from chaos.

Best wishes to all,

Andrew

Hi Everyone,

best wishes to everyone who has been affected by the flood disaster.

In case you missed the last post on this page, I moved all of the repaired and repairable instruments to higher ground and safety in the days before the flood. They are in a storage shed and are fine. So far I've been dealing with clearing and cleaning the shop, but I will sort out the instruments over the next week or so. Then either Lisa or I will call you regarding collection etc.

Your patience is very much appreciated.

I WILL be re-opening in the same place in Molesworth Street. The building is structurally sound, and I believe all of the tenants are going to return. We have a very good landlord (he's a guitar-player!) and we want to support him. The building is in the process of being cleaned and dried, and I am in the process of restoring the benches and shop fittings.

When the shop is clean and dry, and power and security are back, I will gradually move back in. Until that happens I should be able to deal via a "pop-shop" in the carpark of the building, or even do "home-deliveries" if required. Keep in touch with this "Journal" page for updates.

Back in 2005, when I knowingly opened a shop in a flood-prone town, I always had a contingency plan. Most of you reading this probably know that my "shop" is only open three (half) days a week. That's partly so that I can do some of the work without interruptions, but also so that not all of the guitars are in the shop at any given time. 

This is the way it works: I do any repairs involving glue, noise, sawdust, spray-painting etc. in my workshop at home, and do the set-ups, wiring etc. at the shop in town. This means that perhaps half of the guitars I have booked-in are at the shop and half are at home. This way, if I DO have to evacuate the shop, it's not such a big job.

I've emptied the shop at least a dozen times since I've been here, every time there has been even a slight hint of danger. Sometimes the potential flood hasn't eventuated, but even then it hasn't been pointless - I've improved the system each time.

Compared to many businesses, my shop is relatively portable. I don't have huge machines or thousands of items of stock to move. Guitars are easily shifted, I put most of my parts and accessories into storage boxes after 2017, and I can move almost everything in five or six trips in the commodore wagon.

It works!

The next phase of this strategy is to figure out if I can afford to buy a Hiace (or similar) so that I can do it in one trip rather than six!

This time I lost less - I lost some parts and tools, my magazine collection, and all the office stuff (phone, modem, printer etc.). So not too bad. My little Epiphone test amp was also flooded, but it was back in 2017 and worked fine after it dried out for a few weeks!

By the way: electronic stuff can often survive inundation. It pays to keep it and have it checked out, rather than chucking it away.

Guitars can survive too. Today I saw an expensive Martin that had come apart at almost every seam, and it is probably repairable. I'm certainly going to give it a go.

Ironically, the cheaper guitars that are held together with epoxy and finished in thick polyester, often survive better.

So. I will re-open in Lismore.

Lismore has been good to me. In 2005, after over 20 years working as a guitar-repairer in Sydney, almost always out of other people's shops, I opened up my own guitar-repair shop in the centre of Lismore. This was a huge leap of faith, but I was immediately accepted and covered the rent in the first month and began to sneak into the black soon after. 

The guitar-players of Lismore, the general region including Byron and Ballina, Mullumbimby, Murwillumbah, Tweed, and even folk as far away as Grafton, Armidale, Tamworth, Stanthorpe, Gold Coast, Coffs etc., have trusted my experience at this doing this stuff. as well as the old clients from Sydney, the Blue Mountains, and even as far away as Indonesia and Fiji (!). I thank you all.

And, if you've got this far into the post...we need to consider Russell.

Russell's Music was flooded, but so was his home.

Russell Adams has been a stalwart supporter of both the professional and the amateur music scenes in Lismore for over 20 years. Russell has lost a LOT in this flood.

Planet Music too. We need a proper music shop in this town, and Peter has made a huge commitment to that. A town as big as ours needs a music shop like Planet.

Hopefully they will both re-open and everyone will support them.

So. More updates to follow. Phone's not working, so please contact me via email:  ak@andrewknightguitars.com.au

Otherwise we'll be in touch.

Keep well, and best wishes whatever your experience of this awful event.

AK

 Hi Everyone,

 YOUR GUITARS ARE SAFE AND WELL ABOVE THE FLOOD PLAIN!

Words fail.

I started moving things out of the shop on Thursday, and all that is left in there now are some of my own bits-and-pieces and humorous knick-knacks that are there as jolly diversions for you to browse while I deal with other customers.

If you have a guitar with me, please rest assured that it is well above flood-level and quite safe. I have storage way up above the flood-plain.

As it was with the last flood, it will probably take me at least a few weeks to get the shop back open. There are protocols regarding drying and mould-reduction that have to be followed, and it will take me a week or so after that to get my poor little shop back into some semblance of order.

I know that some of you would dearly love to have your guitars (completed repairs) back ASAP, but that might take a while. I DO have a storage facility way up on the hill, but during a flood evacuation the instruments get stored (stacked) as they come to hand, and not in some kind of either booking, completion, or requirement order.

Sorry 'bout that. But thanks to my five (actually six) trips into town with the aging Commodore wagon to cart each one of your guitars to higher ground, we won't have any guitar casualties.

So. Please contact me via email (the phone will not be working) about your repairs and I will get back to you. This may take a few days. Sorry.

YOUR GUITARS ARE SAFE AND WELL ABOVE THE FLOOD PLAIN!

As we get past this, either Lisa or I will contact you  about collecting your completed repair.

Repairs booked in but not yet completed may take a little while yet to finish. Apart from the obvious complication of the flood, I was already dealing with a large backlog of repairs and may be playing "catch-up" for some time!

Next plan is to buy a Hiace (or similar) van. This way I could do the exodus in one single trip, and wouldn't have to worry about being cut off by flash-flooding (as happened in 2017).

I don't want to move the shop. It is a well-known and seemingly well-loved space. And loved by little-old-me especially.

And when I moved here from Sydney in 2005 the idea of having a guitar-repair shop smack-dab-in-the-middle of the biggest town in the region seemed to be a no-brainer! A good thing for you guys!

When I set up the shop back in 2005, and organised the required mandatory insurance, I asked about flood insurance and every single insurance salesman laughed in the very same spooky cackle!!

YOUR GUITARS ARE SAFE AND WELL ABOVE THE FLOOD PLAIN!

If you have a guitar with me then please email. My shop 'phone answering service will be out of order.

Stay safe, keep well, and we'll talk on the flipside.

AK

 

 Hi everyone,

MY SHOP IS BACK OPEN FROM TODAY! YAY!

Back to the regular opening hours: Tuesday , Thursday, and Friday 1.00pm  5.00pm.

Andrew

 

 Hi Everyone,

due to the ongoing Covid situation, and the need to isolate my seriously-ill wife Lisa from any potential infection, my shop will be closed for another two weeks.

If you have followed my entries in this journal you will understand my reasons for this.

I will definitely re-open on Tuesday February 1st.

Strange days, my friends. From what I can gather from recent correspondence, and my occasional trips into town, it would seem that lots of other folk are "hibernating" during this latest outbreak too. That would seem to be the sensible thing to do.

So. Keep safe and well and I'll see you all soon.

Andrew