Kiefer Sutherland makes an unexpected visit

NAMM can be a very special place. It’s four days filled with the unexpected. As we were paying a visit to the Gibson booth, we found John Sykes (Thin Lizzy, Blue Murder, White Snake) out front doing an appearance and signing autographs. Inside, jazz guitar virtuoso George Benson was shaking hands and taking photos with adoring fans. And then suddenly behind us there’s a whoosh of activity-- lights, cameras and Kiefer Sutherland.

I got a few moments to talk to Sutherland and discovered a personable, approachable man that loves his guitar.

DaBelly: I’m here with Kiefer Sutherland…

Kiefer, tell us why you’re here today.

Sutherland: I’m here because we’ve done a signature guitar for Gibson. They’re launching it today. It’s a gold top 336. It is aged off of a 335 that I got that is a ’68. And it’s not one of the most coveted years for a 335, but it’s one of those guitars that just aged and plays beautifully. A partner of mine in our record label, a phenomenal musician, Jude Cole, one of the best guitar player that I’ve ever heard, it’s one of his favorite guitars ever. We started talking to the folks at Gibson about just how much we love this guitar and we also talked about how much we love the 336, which is a much more compact rock and roll version of the 335. And they asked, if you were to do what you wanted on a 336 what would it be? We’ve got a gold top 335 that became a gold top because the paint had worn down; it was actually cherry originally, so we said we wanted to match the paint. We put some 57 Pluses in the pickups and the volume knob pulls out as a coil tap so the variety of sounds that it has makes it perfect for someone like me who is an average guitar player. When I find the time to actually sit down and work on it, this will be a guitar that will grow with me. I will never ever be able to grow out of it. And for a professional guitar player like Jude Cole it’s something that, instead of changing between three or four different guitars, he can find so many different sounds out of this one. It’s a guitar that we are very proud of and we are presenting it today for the first time.

DaBelly: That very exciting. Of course you’re known more for your acting…

Sutherland: A lot more!

DaBelly: Do you anticipate stepping on stage with a guitar in the future?

Sutherland: Absolutely not! I have so many friends that are such great players that I was embarrassed for 10 years to actually pick up a guitar around them. Finally I just said forget that and started playing again. It’s something that I love more than anything. It’s one of those things that I can actually do. I can pick up a guitar and go find a corner and sit and play and immediately forget about the things that happened today or what’s going to happen tomorrow and just have one moment engaged with this instrument.

DaBelly: The great thing about a guitar is that it can be very personal, you can enjoy it in private.

Sutherland: That’s what I do with my guitar!


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