A CONVERSATION WITH PETER CASE (continued)

PC: Oh, I think this phone might be getting ready to freak. Is that what's going on?

PM: Not on my end.

PC: Mine might be going down. If it does, you can call me back on the cell. [gives a number]

PM: Okay. That's our fallback number. Where are you? Where's 206?

PC: It's San Francisco. I'm in San Francisco right at the moment.

PM: I've been a Case fan since I was living in the Bay Area, and the Plimsouls were doing it in the early 80s.

PC: You were living up here, huh?

PM: Yeah. I was managing sales, actually, at the time, at Mesa Boogie.

PC: Oh, really? That's cool.

PM: I imagine even way back then you were probably a more Fender or Vox-y kind of guy.

PC: Yeah. I used to use Vox and Ampeg. I got a Matchless now, that I use sometimes.

PM: Pricey, but great.

PC: Yeah. I got it about ten years ago. My friend Rick was working over at the company.

PM: While we're on the gear side of things, what's your acoustic of choice in and out of town, and how do you pick it up?

PC: I take the same guitar with me in the studio that I take to the gigs. It's a Martin HD-28.

PM: Old or new?

PC: It's a new one, like a vintage model, but it's a newer one from a few years back, maybe '99 or something.

PM: Herringbone, is that what the "H" is for?

PC: Yeah. I played a lot of them before I picked that one out, and that's a nice one. I also play a Gibson 0-1. I got a newer one of those, too. But I got an old LG-01 from the 50s.

PM: That's the one I wanted to hear about. I saw a picture of that somewhere. That's nice.

PC: Yeah, I like that. I don't take that on the road.

PM: [laughs] I'll bet. How do you pick the guitars up? How's the HD-28 picked up?

PC: I'm using them all with L.R. Baggs pickups. I use their preamp, too.

PM: Got it.

So, we've mentioned the Plimsouls, a great band that preceded your current and long-standing musical life. Did any of the other members remain in music as a profession?

PC: Not as a profession, I don't think. They still play. And the Plimsouls got back together again a few years ago and made another album, called Kool Trash, cool with a K.

PM: Right. Kool Trash. Was that a good record? I don't have that one yet.

PC: Yeah, I think it's as good as the other Plimsouls records. It's got some really good stuff on it. Once again it was done in a blaze in a few days. But it's a real exciting record. It has Clem Burke playing drums [formerly with Blondie]. It's a pretty good record. I think there's a couple of really great songs on it.

PM: What did the other guys wind up into?

PC: Been working in the film business. One guy is a pyrotechnician. That's the bass player, Dave Pahoa. He does bombs and burns down buildings. He's still doing it all the time. It's a good line of work for this guy, to tell you the truth.

PM: [laughs]

PC: And then Eddie Munoz has been doing animation for years. I just played with Eddie the other night, because I had a gig in L.A. and I had some guests come out. Dave Alvin came out and played, and Eddie came out and played at one point. continue

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