About the Maker:
Founded by Bill Valaika, Glam Guitars is an up-and-coming organization out of Denver, Colorado which designs customized instruments using Swarovski crystals-all with a fundraising auction and worthy nonprofits in mind. Each instrument is designed on behalf of a performer, who, in turn, designates a worthy nonprofit to receive net proceeds from an eventual auction. But before the instruments go up for sale, the performers test them onstage to help create a story.
Instruments are designed by Megan Dalbey. She first sketches a blueprint and after a collaborative process finalizes a design.
Then Bill carefully arranges the crystals by hand, and a functioning, music-making masterpiece is born. From start to finish, the process takes about 2 weeks, with more than 40 hours alone going to ornamentation.
The final product serves several purposes: It's a great way to bring prominent performers and the nonprofit world together. On top of that, the instruments are works of art that will delight their final owners for years to come.
Read more here: http://www.glamguitars.com/index.php
About the Guitar:
Usually, you can only hear the funk when the California band WAR plays, but after Glam Guitars doctored up an instrument for bassist Pancho Tomaselli, the groove is down right visible.
Designed by Megan Dalbey from the Art Institute of Colorado, and arranged by hand with some 7000 multicolored Swarovski crystals by Bill Valaika, the bass now doubles as a functional piece of art.
Besides the light-catching crystals climbing up the Shenker Bass, the ornamentation also has a story to tell. Condor del Sol is spelled out on the head, which is referencing the Ecuadorian nonprofit organization that helps bring solar energy to cities in Ecuador—including Quito, Tomaselli's hometown. Once War has finished having its fun, the bass will be auctioned off, with net proceeds going to Condor del Sol.
This action took place in the framework of the 2010 Hippiefest and so the bass guitar was signed by most of the acts having performed ad the festival, including Jack Bruce, Mitch Ryder, ....
A sparkling gem!
