Christian Laguna - Bolivia
1. Is collecting Sire guitars only coincidental or planned? Tell us about it.
David: It started out as a coincidence, but now has developed into a passion. As long term Larry Carlton fans, we purchased his latest album with Paul Brown, Soul Searchin’, and saw the photo of him playing his Sire H7 on the CD cover. Of course we were used to seeing him play his ES style guitar, so I jumped online to find out more about Sire guitars. Which led me to the Sire USA website. I then found the Australian distributors, Gsus4 Music, who sell the Larry Carlton guitars and Marcus Miller basses, and Bass Gear Direct, who distribute the Sire instruments and sell the basses. I ordered an M7 Ash Natural 4 string bass as a surprise gift for Lyn, and that started our Sire journey.
Lyn: And what a wonderful surprise that was!
2. What inspired you to choose Sire as your preferred guitar brand? And What is it on Sire, that you didn't see/ feel with other brands?
Lyn: Once we got my M7 bass, we were totally blown away with everything about it! The build quality, the beautiful tone woods, the slick playing action, the comfortable rolled fingerboard edges, the amazing sound….everything ticked all the right boxes!
David: And the value for money is just incredible! They play and sound like instruments three or four times their price!
3. Who first had a Sire gear between you, David or Lyn?
David: As we said, Lyn had the first Sire instrument in our collection, her M7. Once we saw what a great bass it was, I ordered another 2 Sire basses for her as surprise gifts for Christmas 2021, a V7 Ash Natural, and a P10 Natural. The Larry Carlton guitars had not yet been released in Australia at that time. Once we knew that we loved the Sire instruments, we placed an order for two more basses for Lyn, a D5 in Butterscotch Blond, and an M7 Alder 5 String in Brown Sunburst, which was Lyn’s first 5 string bass! I ordered my selection of Larry Carlton guitars, an H7 in Vintage Sunburst, an L7 Tobacco Sunburst, an S7 FM Natural, an S7 Tobacco Sunburst and a T7 Tobacco Sunburst. Due to shipping delays caused by Covid, they took seven months to get to us in Australia, but it really was worth the wait!
Lyn: That was an amazing Christmas gift!
4. Is music something you do for love or career? Tell us more.
Lyn: Both really. We have played music together since we first got together as a couple in 1995, first as an acoustic duo, then we got our band together. I met David in his recording studio when I went to record some demos of my original songs, so music has always been a big part of our lives.
David: True. These days we play gigs as a duo or with our blues/rock band, Bounty Hunters Band, and we write and record in our home studio, so music is a huge part of our lives every day. We have 6 CDs of our original material released so far, with more to come. We are very fortunate to have been able to turn something that we love into a successful career.
5. Do you already have your favorite Sire guitar features? What are these and why?
Lyn: I love the comfortable necks with those rolled fingerboard edges. I only have small hands, so those super comfortable necks make playing gigs very stress free and enjoyable.
David: Yes, I would agree with the comfortable neck factor for sure. I also love the way the pickups are voiced on the guitars and basses, which is obviously where Larry Carlton and Marcus Miller had a lot of input.
6. How do you think our instruments unite you as a couple who love playing guitars?
Lyn: We have always loved having matching guitars and basses. It really looks great on stage to have matching instruments!
David: Absolutely true! And the Sire Marcus Miller basses and Larry Carlton guitars work together so well sonically as well. They just sound great together!
7. If you could go open a show using your Sire gear for any artist who would it be and why?
David: We have been fortunate to share the bill with some of our favourite guitar players such as Robben Ford, Chris Cain and Kirk Fletcher. But someone we would really love to open for is Larry Carlton. As we said before, we are major fans of his, and we had the pleasure of meeting him a few years ago when he toured Australia. He is a lovely, gracious man, and a monster guitar player! It would be a total blast to open for him! And there would be lots of Sire gear on the stage! (Laughs)
Lyn: Oh, Larry for sure! And I’d also love to see Marcus Miller playing his Sire basses live!
David: Oh, for sure!
8. Which is your favourite Sire gear? What are your personal favorites to play using your Sire gear? What’s the story behind it?
Lyn: Ooohh….that is a very difficult question! Because I love all of my Sire basses. But if I had to choose a favourite, it would probably have to be my D5, which is funny, because it is the least expensive of all my Sire basses! But I just love it, particularly playing live with the band, because it is lightweight, extremely comfortable to play, has a simple layout, and sounds super gnarly! We name all of our instruments, and I call my D5 ‘Dusty’, after the late Dusty Hill, bass player from ZZ Top, because he played that style of bass.
David: As Lyn said, a very difficult question! Because I love all of my Sires too! If I had to pick a favourite, it would probably have to be my L7 ‘burst. I have always played LP style guitars since I started playing guitar at the age of 14, over 50 years ago! The L7 is just so beautiful to play, and even just to look at! (Laughs) The neck is super comfy and those pickups are voiced like a pair of creamy old PAFs. I call my L7 ‘Pearly’, after ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons’ LP ‘burst, ‘Pearly Gates’. It’s an amazing guitar!
9. With your musical background and story, what will you tell other musicians or couples who might want to take the same path as yours?
Lyn: I would say be true to yourself, and play the type of music that makes you happy. Don’t just follow trends. If you really love the music you’re playing, it will show, and you will bring people enjoyment.
David: Very true! Also, especially for young musicians starting out, get together with other players around the same ability as yourself, or maybe even a bit more advanced, and jam and play together. Don’t be a ‘bedroom warrior’, get together in someone’s garage or living room and play music together. And as soon as you can, get out and play some live gigs. That’s where the real learning happens!
10. How do you balance music, your obligations like family, work, quality time, etc?
Lyn: Well, as David said earlier, music is our life. We have a wonderful family, five beautiful children and their partners and at the time of this interview, seven gorgeous grandchildren! And of course we love getting together and spending quality time with them, and also our wonderful friends.
David: Absolutely! There is a lot of music happening at our home all the time. We have our home studio set up, and we spend a lot of time in there jamming, writing and rehearsing. When most married couples would chill after dinner with some television, Netflix or computer screen time, we hit the music room and jam! (Laughs). We also have a toy poodle and two kittens to keep us busy! We are fortunate to live in a beautiful part of the world at Lake Macquarie, which is Australia’s largest lake, and we enjoy going for walks around the lake or getting out on it in our tandem kayak. We also enjoy dining out and catching live music shows and bands of course!