By Nila Harris
These three well-known bands have had the same guitar tech for over a decade, and that man lives in Pendleton County.
Tom Weber who resides in Butler has been a luthier for 51 years and a touring guitar tech since 1993. If you’re like me, you may not realize that a luthier is “a maker of stringed instruments such as violins and guitars” dictionary.com. Weber even constructed his first guitar at the tender age of 14. “He bought an old Gibson guitar broken into four pieces after spotting it at a yard sale and reassembled it with help from his father. He took it to the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo to see what somebody would say about the repairs.” mlive.com/grpress. Apparently, the man surveying the guitar was impressed with Weber’s work and encouraged him to pursue a career in guitar making.
Weber started playing guitar when he was five years old and played in rock bands as a teen. He also taught guitar lessons while attending high school in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. After high school, Weber began his career as an “audio guy” working on musicians’ sound equipment. Once when a Cincinnati band, Blessid Union of Souls was looking for a guitar tech, someone reached out to Weber to see if he knew a technician who could help. Weber contacted the client and asked what was needed and was able to do what the guitarist wanted. Tinkering around with guitars since he was a youngster, Weber naturally ventured into this new realm, and soon word got around about his professionalism. “I haven’t had to promote myself. Never had to ever,” Weber stated. Shortly after becoming known as a guitar tech, Weber opened the “largest (guitar) repair facility in Cincinnati”. He owned this place for 26 years, until a new owner bought the building and forced him out. Only 48 hours after the building was sold, Weber was sent an email stating that he had 30 days to move or pay $9,000/month for a 4,000 square foot space. At the time, Weber was on his way to Japan to tour with Journey. In this unfortunate greediness by a landlord, Weber suffered a major loss of equipment and supplies. Not long after his shop closure, he faced the pandemic when no one was touring, which meant a substantial loss of income. “Not quite where I wanted to be at 65,” Weber admitted. But truthfully, there was a time when he thought he would not make it to 30. In 1988, Weber was diagnosed with cancer and given three weeks to live. And yet, here he is!
During the pandemic, Weber discovered that his client and friend, Edward Van Halen, had taken a turn for the worse and was losing his battle with throat cancer. “That day (October 6, 2020—Van Halen’s death) ruined everything for everybody,” Weber confided. Weber had worked with Van Halen for 13 years and found him to be an incredible musician. “I’ve sat with him (Edward) and watched him do things that you can’t do. Ed doesn’t play guitar; the guitar submits to Ed’s will. It’s truly an amazing thing. It’s an inspiring place to be.” mlive.com/grpress. Before Van Halen passed, there were two questions potential clients, which mostly came through word of mouth, would ask Weber: How much do you make? and What are you going to do if Ed calls?
One of those clients, Reba McEntire, has been an “enjoyable, positive work environment” and the “most wonderful group of people”. They would tell Weber they realized that he had “bigger people than us” and to let them know if he needed them to get someone else to fill in as a guitar tech. He has worked for Reba for 15 years.
Another great client has been C.C. Deville, lead guitarist from Poison. Weber claims to have the “most fun with C.C. Deville” and likes to do his own impersonations of the famed guitarist. When Weber goes on tour with Poison, he travels on the same bus with DeVille. Weber has been DeVille’s guitar tech for 18 years.
But life on the road can be challenging, often working 14-hour days, setting up gear, stringing instruments, paying attention, and listening to the needs of the guitarists. One guitarist could have 10-12 different guitars. When touring with Journey, Weber claims that Neil Schon (lead guitarist) had “48 guitars in the building and another 36 on the truck.” Weber told of a band who “has a reputation of destroying equipment." A friend of Weber’s had taken a job with this band and told Weber, “You have to get me out of here”. Weber took over and was stunned at how badly the gear was assembled. “The guitar player could have died. Holy crap, how did you do this? Why did you do this?”
Weber thought to himself. He had 46 guitars and other equipment he oversaw and had to figure out multiple tunings and guitar changes with no rehearsal or CD to listen to ahead of time.
At one concert, someone inserted a song without telling Weber. “It took a couple of songs before we realized what was happening.” Afterwards, Weber sent the guitarist a long email, trying to “diplomatically” impress on him that if he was going to destroy a guitar, he needed to let the guitar tech know. The guitarist replied to Weber and acknowledged that Tom was right and told him, “As of 48 hours, I have become an adult.” This new lease on life only lasted a short time, but “to this day, he (the guitar destroyer) lights right up when he sees me.” They no longer have a working relationship because Weber feels like this guitarist needs a different kind of tech.
In addition to the aforementioned bands, Weber has also been a tech for Dio, Billy Corgan, Lyle Lovett, Matchbox Twenty, and Nine Inch Nails. Currently, he is on break and is enjoying family time before hitting the road again the first week of March with Reba. Life in Pendleton County might be a welcome place to spend some down time before hitting the road and heading from one big city to another!