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April 2007 - Thanks to so many concerned people who wrote to me from all over the planet to report sightings of Amber Gibson Starburst Elite's from all over the planet. I checked out every lead but never located the original guitar1. However I'm thrilled to advise I found an identical replacement on EBay. The seller was in my home city (Toronto) and when I asked him if I could come over and 'touch' the guitar, he said OK. When I arrived and told him my name, he knew who I was, and he was aware of the saga of the missing Starburst. Then he lowered the price and told me he wants me to have it - so I bought it on the spot, and threw in a few guitar lessons into the deal. <<< Photo at Toronto City Roots Festival - June 2007 - Brian smiling with the new Guitar! And tranquility is once more restored to the galaxy. Gibson Serial Number 90262016 This
page is dedicated to the loving memory of my beautiful Gibson Starburst Elite Custom Guitar,
Gone, but will be picked always in my heart. Written on Sept 8/2000. Everyone can relate the pain of a great loss, and Guitar players especially will understand where this is coming from. I lost a special edition custom model, an acoustic Gibson Starburst Elite Guitar -- very few were made, and only 5 were sold in Canada -- not only a collector's item --
but just a beautifully crafted instrument. It was love at first sight when I saw it at Long & McQuade in Toronto, Steeles Ave store. The Starburst just jumped off the wall into my arms. Its much too flashy and special to go into a pawn shop --they would know it’s hot and not touch it. My guess is that it will show up someday in the hands of a street musician -- somewhere. A guitar of this caliber can never be replaced. It’s not a tangible loss – it’s more an emotional bereavement. It was there when I wrote many of my tunes, and recorded ‘Back to the Dirt’ for me. I used it as my
stage guitar because it sounded like an acoustic, but could play like a slick
electric -- it just knew how to play what I was feeling. (Or perhaps I played
what it was feeling) For me playing the guitar is like caressing a beautiful
woman -- it’s a deep passion which defies limits. I used to put the Starburst
in the stand beside my bed when I slept. Sometimes I would wake up in the night
and smile at it -- and it would smile back at me. Typically I would play it for
three to five hours per day. Although I have a class collection of about twenty
guitars, this was my favorite. Before gigs I would change the strings, and spend
an hour polishing it -- just getting to know it intimately. The Starburst would
always give back much more than it got.
The loss cannot be measured in terms of money, nor any rational form of personal currency I can name. (My feelings are like the same kind of depression as when my dog 'Oreo' died last year. As much as I miss Oreo, I can accept his death as nature's way because he was old, lived a good life, and passed on painlessly knowing he was loved.) Now Im in shock and denial about the loss of my guitar -- it was stolen by an emotionless empty superficial lost soul during a violent robbery. It occurred on Spadina Ave, about 4:00 AM after a Zygote concert, when thieves smashed the car windows and made off all contents of the trunk. If you spot this Starburst, let me know. It will show up somewhere, I just know it. So Long Starburst, for now, but Im sure we shall meet again. Somewhere in time. Brian Gladstone
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Good
things happen
Taken
before its time on Sep 3/2000
