We recently connected with Mitch Herrick and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Mitch, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I build, restore, and fix guitars during the daytime at a shop that I own on my property in Jupiter, FL … and at night, I play music out live, in all sorts of venues and all sorts of ensembles.
Looking back, the path to getting good at both of these skills was very similar. I came from a family of artists, musicians, and people generally pretty good with their hands. So I think the skill set was there from an early age; just by osmosis. But, I always really enjoyed and was drawn to music, and creating things … whether it be sonically, or just making something pretty. And I had a grandfather and an uncle that could fix just about anything, so they were a really good influence on that side of things. Safe to say, I got a pretty early start, from the time I was a kid, at playing music, entertaining, and woodworking. Everything that I learned as a musician and a guitar builder/tech actually came from working in the industry and on the job experience. It came from finding the best people that I could possibly associate myself with, and gleaning every little bit of information I possibly could from them. On occasion, I play around in my mind with the idea of, what if I had gone to school for music, or for woodworking. Would I have learned my trades faster or better? I just don’t know. I know that the route that I took worked, and that the School of Hard Knocks prepared me for the many ups and downs that come with these businesses. I’m grateful for it, and today I wouldn’t change anything. My path led me to where I am, and I’m satisfied with that, because somewhere along the way, I’ve stayed hungry to learn and to grow. There’s always going to be an obstacle standing in your way, no matter what you’re trying to do. But, when I look back on it now, I can say that the obstacle was always me and the way that I was looking at things in the moment. The minute I made a paradigm shift and convinced myself that there was a way around, through, or over the obstacle … Things got done. It’s truly amazing what believing in one’s self can do. It’s exponential. And it starts with taking the first right step, and staying on the right path.
Mitch, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
As a guitar Builder/Tech by day, and a working musician by night, I have the privilege of working on guitars for some of the most talented musicians in the nation. I build guitars from scratch, but the majority of my work nowadays in the shop revolves around Tech work, fixing, restoring, and rebuilding guitars for working musicians, and vintage guitars for collectors. I’ve had the opportunity to work on instruments from some of the most talented musicians in the world that have played with everyone from Santana to Joe Bonamassa to Pink. It’s been an absolute honor to help these musicians sound and feel their very best while on stage and in the recording room. The fact that they bring their challenges to me in Hope of a fix, is a task I take incredibly seriously. Plus, it’s just fun. Fun being around these amazing people, and experiencing they’re wonderful gifts. In addition, five nights a week, approximately 275 nights per year for the past 20 years, I have played music out live as working musician. I’ve been blessed enough to have toured for many of those years, and played with over 70 International Acts at this point in my career, spanning from Alice in Chains to Jason Isbell, to The Doobie Brothers, etc. Seven years ago when we had my son, I decided to stop working on the road so much, and work predominantly from Florida. I still travel, but not nearly as much. I chose to redirect much of my business to stay closer to home and my family. Lessening my travel also allowed me to focus more on the day business of building and fixing guitars. I truly believe that these are the things that I was just meant to do in life. Coming from a family of musicians, where there was always music around, people who were professional artists, this has always been in my blood, and I just absolutely love every minute of it. I am eternally grateful that my passions are also my businesses.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I’ll answer this question with a disclaimer. Hahaha. This is only one man’s opinion, and only my experience. I don’t know if it will hold any water for anyone else, but I have seen this concept as a bit of a reoccurring theme in many other artists lives, and it’s most definitely been something that I’ve needed to overcome.
There’s a misnomer in and outside of the art industry: That of the “starving artist.” Who knows where it started; whether artists started beliving that they should accept being financially “less than,” or whether Society perpetuated it from the outside. At this point, I don’t think it matters. It’s just something that exists. It has to do with how artists are seen and how they see themselves. Therefore, it has a huge effect on how we run our businesses as artists and how financially successful we become … regardless of what medium we work in. For some reason, Society has labeled artists as financially poor, with one caveat; unless they’re famous. And many artists, for whatever reason, have accepted this as fact. It’s just not true. In my experience, if an artist chases Fame as a direct line to Financial security, in most cases, they end up quitting. It would be like waiting to get struck by lightning, before just simply calling the power company and having them turn on your power. You might wait forever, because it just happens so rarely. I learned fairly early that the most important part of being in the music business or any artistic endeavor, is the business portion. And just above business, is the passion and true love for what I do. If I love what I do everyday, and I’m prepared to work as hard as I can … and have the education to work smart and know what I’m worth. If I’m willing to humble myself to take whatever jobs make Financial sense, even those jobs that are not glitzy or glamor filled. If I don’t listen to the outside world and people who are not from the art world who don’t understand; folks that so often make comments or ask questions about how I “survive” doing what I do. And if I don’t let certain entities take advantage of me from the inside of my industry like dishonest or uncaring agents, & people that want to “manage” me or use me for their own benefit … … … Then I know I’m on good footing, and that my business is headed in the right direction.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
There’s an old saying in alcohol and drug recovery: “Get your own house in order.” That saying applies to everything. Sixteen years ago I walked into a recovery room and surrendered. Getting sober was just the beginning for me. But getting my house in order, rebuilding my life, reconstructing myself as the kind of man that I should have always been … that life’s work has given me the ability to have the freedom and confidence in my businessees that I never had when my personal life was in shambles. It’s been a long time that I’ve been sober, but I realize now that there were so many chains that held me down and limited my latitude to make the right decisions in business in the past. I see now that business, relationships, and life in general … are a long game. And I’ve witnessed that most successful business owners that have thriving, healthy, happy, and sustainable businesses … have personal lives that reflect the same. They are honest and loyal family members and friends. They’re part of their community. They are giving and altruistic. I’ve discovered that it takes vigilance to do the right thing and to work on myself on a daily basis. It’s taxing to consistently walk through things, rather than hide. It’s tiring to go to the gym 5 days a week and work on my physical health and try to eat right. And it takes courage to have the faith and patience to be the kind of father and husband that I want to be, and show the kind of love that my family deserves. All of this takes work and a daily commitment, but the payoff has been so undeniably immense that all I feel is gratitude. And I very much believe that my businesses and the people in them, both in the music and the guitar building worlds, are successful because of consistent personal footwork taken every day.
Contact Info:
- Website: [email protected]
- Instagram: @mitchherrick
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/161SCAf3yg/
Image Credits
Chris Schmitt