Arts& Entertainment
Arts& Entertainment
WORKING FOR WORLD- CLASS GUITAR MAKER PAUL REED SMITH, FORMER HAGERSTONIAN RICH HANNON HAS FOUND A VOCATION AND A MENTOR THAT HARMONIZE HIS LOVE FOR MUSIC AND THE INSTRUMENT.
The wide, pristine hallways of the Paul Reed Smith Guitar factory are lined with music memorabilia, the kind you’ d find in a high-end, New York recording studio or a Hard Rock Café: Gold records from multi-platinum bands, colorful images of Latin-blues megastar Carlos Santana, and magazine covers featuring Dave Navarro, Mark Tremonti and Orianthi, a 23-year-old guitar prodigy who was hand chosen by Michael Jackson for his final tour.
It crosses my mind that each PRS guitar made here is only beginning to write its own story after it leaves these Stevensville, Md., walls. Famous musicians around the world have prized PRS guitars for their tone, aesthetic and quality workmanship for almost 30 years, and chances are, you’ ve heard a live performance featuring one.
I was invited to PRS by Rich Hannon, the company’ s Topcoat department manager and a musician whose family roots run deep in local soil. Born and raised in Funkstown, a graduate of the South High
Right inTune.
by Kate Rader + photos by Turner Photography Studio
Hagerstown: The Best of Life in Washington County & Beyond May / June 2013 39