Shop assistant and junior technician, cut my teeth in here! Looking back, it was probably one of the best-known vintage shops in Canada at the time. I got to work with tons of old guitars, basses, drums, and even some amps, when they were less old. I Learned a ton from Darwin Demers & Rich Vernon, even loads from a lot of the regular customers, and got to learn a little from some of the best guitar repair chaps in town like Don Mooney. Lucky to meet a lot of the other shops and industry folks, lots of touring musicians who’d come through town, and get some idea of how things work out there. Assistant Manager/Manager & Repairs – After Settling in London, England, I found a role in Hanks Guitar Shop on Denmark Street, where I started on the shop floor and eventually ran all the way up to managing the store. During this time, I established the earliest version of what would become the Stairway To Kevin, although it would be in an old space under the street. It was here that really began to enhance my skill with instruments, and also electronics, working with a lot of both old and new effects pedals too. At that time there were loads of fantastic luthiers to work with, observe, and learn from, and I spent many late nights under that street fixing things This was my first venture into the self-employed world, and I called myself EchoTen, an anagram of ‘One Tech’. I handled mainly gigs and small tour stuff at this time (I really was still pretty new at this) and carried that on through when I came to the UK and used it as my handle for a long time. As my skills progressed I began doing both private and studio work as well. I was still not really a public-fronted business, but as I built the name, I got to go to some really cool places, and work on some amazing stuff! Stairway to Kevin was also getting established, and I semi-retired the EchoTen brand when STK opened to the public in 2015. Repairs Department – This was the first shop/public space that I worked solely in repairs and restorations. I started there working with the excellent Gerald Gill (now of the Vintage Guitar Workshop in London) and took it over after he left. This was likely the highest volume of guitars and instruments I’d worked on in my life at that point, both brand new to very old, but I managed somehow! This was where the first Stairway To Kevin became a thing & I was a solo operator there up until I left to open the Stairway as a stand-alone shop in 2015. Owner & Operator – This is where I currently handle the madness and repairs from up the Second Floor in the middle of Denmark Street, Central London, with my colleague Gary Chandler-Honnor

It’s intense, sometimes insane, and I’d say by now there’s not much I haven’t seen, or craziness that I haven’t dealt with 😀

Assistant Manager/Manager & Repairs – After Settling in London, England, I found a role in Hanks Guitar Shop on Denmark Street, where I started on the shop floor and eventually ran all the way up to managing the store. During this time, I established the earliest version of what would become the Stairway To Kevin, although it would be in an old space under the street. It was here that really began to enhance my skill with instruments, and also electronics, working with a lot of both old and new effects pedals too. At that time there were loads of fantastic luthiers to work with, observe, and learn from, and I spent many late nights under that street fixing things

Repairs Department – This was the first shop/public space that I worked solely in repairs and restorations. I started there working with the excellent Gerald Gill (now of the Vintage Guitar Workshop in London) and took it over after he left. This was likely the highest volume of guitars and instruments I’d worked on in my life at that point, both brand new to very old, but I managed somehow! This was where the first Stairway To Kevin became a thing & I was a solo operator there up until I left to open the Stairway as a stand-alone shop in 2015.

Owner & Operator – This is where I currently handle the madness and repairs from up the Second Floor in the middle of Denmark Street, Central London, with my colleague Gary Chandler-Honnor

It’s intense, sometimes insane, and I’d say by now there’s not much I haven’t seen, or craziness that I haven’t dealt with 😀