Issue 13
Winter 98

EVERYBODY WANTS ONE!
By Robert Stolz

Ever dream of owning one of Edward Van Halen's guitars? Sure, you can pick up a superb copy of his latest creations, the Wolfgang and the Wolfgang Junior, at any top-notch music store lucky enough to have one in stock. But what about one of Ed's classic red, white and black Kramer guitars? Ever dream of owning one of the those? Of course you have. Everyone reading this article has. But for Michael Anthony Gutierrez of Roseville, California, that dream became reality.

In autumn of 1984, Kramer Guitars and Guitar Player magazine announced a "dream come true contest." The dream prize: one of Van Halen's personal Kramer guitars, autographed and presented to the winner by King Edward himself at the 1985 National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show in Anaheim, California.

When he sold his sole guitar earlier that year to pay for his college tuition, Michael, then just 18, never dreamed he'd eventually replace it with a genuine Edward Van Halen axe. But he did so by beating nearly 100,000 entrants to become the only known Van Halen fan on the planet to own one of Ed's classic Kramer stage guitars and the lucky sucker did it with only one entry!

"I remember using a postcard that had the "Fair Warning" artwork on it. About two or three weeks after mailing it, I began having these incredible, vivid dreams of Ed presenting the guitar to me. I would wake up in the middle of the night thinking that the guitar was in my room," remembers Michael. "I told everyone I knew that I was going to win that guitar. And everyone, with the exception of my grandmother, told me, pretty much, to dream another dream. No one believed me, especially my cousin in L.A. who first turned me on to Van Halen and was lucky enough to see them perform during their backyard party days in the mid-70s." When the official congratulatory call from Kramer Guitars east coast headquarters awoke him at 7 a.m. one morning in January of 1985, Michael suspected his doubting cousin of playing a practical joke. But soon after Kramer President Dennis Berardi convinced him otherwise, Michael was refereeing a coin toss between his brothers to determine which would join him for an all expense paid, three-day trip to L.A. to meet "The Man."

Once the big weekend arrived in February, Michael had a bit of convincing to do of his own when he introduced himself as the contest winner to those at the Kramer booth at the NAMM convention. "At first, they didn't believe me, I think, because I was wearing a jacket and a tie. I wanted to make a good impression. I guess they expected some punk kid with torn-up jeans," recalls Michael. Soon thereafter, Michael and his brother, Larry, were given special passes and led across the street and up to room 5110 of the swank Anaheim Hilton and Towers hotel for a private party celebrating both Ed's recent birthday and Michael's winning entry. The 7p.m. party lasted until the wee hours of the morning and was visited by countless guitarists including Neal Schon, Bill Sheehan, Mark St. John, Warren DeMartini and Jeff Golub.

"The whole floor was blocked off with guards at every possible entrance, and the party itself was held in a very large suite. We arrived a bit early and got to listen in on a business meeting. Ed was there with Ted Templeman, a couple of Kramer reps, and, oddly enough, a couple of VIPs from Coca-Cola. The discussion revolved around issuing a patent on the flip-up guitar-stand Ed used during his solo on the 1984 World Tour. Finally, when Ed said, ‘Screw this idea. Who the hell is gonna buy this shit?' the meeting pretty much ended, the bar opened, people showed up and the partying began. Everyone who was anyone was there." Throughout the evening, Michael had the unique opportunity to chat casually with Ed about his guitars and learned why he applies wax to his pick ups (better sound and tone) and why he sands certain areas of a guitar body (less sweat build up in concert). Ed even invited Michael for a spin around town in the birthday gift given to him by Valerie: a lowrider VW bug!

The next afternoon at the actual convention, word got around that Michael was the winner of the Edward Van Halen guitar and, as a result, he received countless offers to sell the famous instrument, including a brand new, customized 4x4 truck. "I was offered everything you can possibly imagine," Michael recalls without delving into detail. Ed was nowhere to be seen, due to a traffic tie up, but could be heard loud and clear from the Kramer booth. The sound system there blasted tape after tape of Ed jamming solo in the 5150 studio, as well as the hour-long recording Ed made for scenes of the then soon-to-be-released movie Back To The Future. Only a snippet of the music was eventually used for a very, very short scene in which Michael J. Fox's character, dressed as an alien, plays loud rock music from a Walkman cassette.

Shortly after Ed finally arrived, he presented Michael with the guitar and apologized for not having cleaned out the case. Apparently, the case was a favorite for one of Valerie's cats. Because he wanted to give Ed something in return for the guitar, Michael spent a couple of weeks hand-crafting a small sculpture of Ed decked out in his 1984 concert attire, jamming on the guitar, and presented it to him in the booth. "I think I caught Eddie off guard with the gift. He got a kick out of it and was very appreciative. When I saw him last summer on the VH3 tour, he remembered me after all these years and said that he still has the statue, but that the head broke off. I'm working on a new one for him that has Wolfgang standing at his side," says Michael, now 31, happily married and a father to a toddler-aged son. "I just have to figure out a way to guarantee that he'll get it once it's finished."

Maybe Michael can deliver it in person someday and trade the new sculpture for an autograph. Ed, who was to scribble his signature across the guitar before exiting the Kramer booth, quickly became the center of attention at the convention. The atmosphere became so frenzied that, after signing a few photos and album covers, security whisked him away in one direction, and Michael with guitar in another. The two were to meet up later that night for a few drinks and a private guitar lesson but, for some unexplained reason, the jam session and guitar signing never materialized. The next morning, Michael was on a home-bound flight back to reality.

Throughout the 1980s, and until Kramer Guitars closed shop, Michael was invited as a guest to subsequent NAMM conventions. Each time, he caught up with Ed, and sometimes with the other Van Halen band members. But he's never had the chance to sit down with the maestro himself and talk specifically about the guitar. After owning the axe for 14 years, Michael is still curious about the guitar's history, such as what the mysterious, hard-to-read initials (either RS, RG or RJ) scratched in the back of the body represent; if the guitar was used to record any songs; and on what leg of the 1984 tour was it most played. "There are so many questions I have!" says Michael, who also credits Ed for fueling his drive to continue pursuing music as an eventual career, and adds that winning the guitar was somewhat of a turning in his life, musically speaking.

"It made me realize that music is a bigger part of my life than I had previously thought. It made me not give up so easily on my dreams." Given that Michael's dream about Kramer's dream come true contest came true, he should sleep soundly knowing his future in music will be more than just a dream.

By the way, Michael's guitar, which is played only on occasion, is not and will not before sale.

And, yes, it just fucking wails and plays like you cannot possibly believe!