Ted Newman Jones “Guitars for the Stars” interview July 27, 1979

Daily Texan Friday July 27, 1979
Guitars for the Stars

The man began traveling with bands at the age of 15. He hails from Tennessee, is 29 years old and strikes one as being an ordinary, everyday country boy. The man is sure of himself. He once reworked an old guitar that he "thought Keith Richards would like, got in touch with the number of the Rolling Stones through a friend, sold the guitar to Richards and has since made him several more. The man is Ted Newman Jones and he has toured with the Rolling Stones, Tracy Nelson (then with Mother Earth) and Isaac Hayes. He has made guitars, both acoustic and electric, for Mick Jagger, Ron Wood and Tom Petty. At the moment he is working on guitars for Bob Dylan and Travis Holland. Jerry Jeff Walker plays a Newman guitar even though he doesn't know it (it was sold to him through a friend of Newman's). Newman can build "a totally custom made instrument to fit just about any player." Newman grew up next to a radio station. "Just listening to the Stones when I was a teenager made me want to play," he said. "It was the first thing I saw the made any sense – they were the only people who picked up on the black energy – and to see some white English guys do this just blew my mind."

In 1972, Newman moved to Arkansas to apprentice for a year under Leo Erickson, perfecting his craft as an instrument maker. Since then, he has led an alternating lifestyle – living out in the country in Arkansas, travelling with bands, making instruments, writing, playing and recording music. He visited this city a year ago, "liked the youth of Austin," and moved here in December 1977. Newman rented space in an old warehouse downtown, and with the aid of partner Danny McCullough and co-worker Joel Judlin, began once more to do what he apparently does best – making musical instruments.

He said he also has plans to form a band in Austin and has already done some recording. "Making music is probably my most important dream," he said. "Guitar making is more or less a hobby but turned into a business, so what would you call that – a serious hobby, I guess." "Hell, I didn't know how it started. I started working on them (guitars) because I couldn't get what I wanted," he said. The art of instrument-making is time-consuming and demands precision. The effort that the process demands, especially that which goes into the final shaping, sanding and application of finish takes no less than 120 hours to complete one instrument. The delivery time for one of these custom-made guitars is usually between three to six months.

The guitar for Dylan that he is working on at this moment has intricate abalone decorations – hearts and crosses – on the fretboard. Newman said "elaborate inlays make it an individual piece – a work of art – and they do serve their purpose. They show you where you are on the scale. Newman chooses the wood carefully, considering it a crucial aspect, and that accounts for the price he is able to demand for his work. His instruments start at $1,000. The average cost is $2,500, while $3,000 is the highest paid or a Newman guitar. Newman and Judlin prefer not to do repairs, because it is so time-consuming and not as satisfactory as starting from scratch. Sometimes starting from scratch is a literal statement. Newman himself said he has chopped down a tree to get the wood he wants. All the guitars he makes are guaranteed and should "last longer than the player." And if parts can't be bought, "we make 'em," said Judlin.

Newman's own music consists largely of ballads and rock and roll. "I suppose the ballads would be considered a little bit country," Ted said. "I never thought I could play an instrument until Keith Richards convinced me that I could. He encouraged me to play with him. All the Stones were really helpful and encouraging. They always showed me what I needed to learn," he said.

Newman is enthusiastic about the New Wave music that bounds back and forth on the airwave so often. "I think it's as important as the Beatles and Stones. They always showed me what I needed to learn," he said. But the punk rock scene in Austin disappoints him. "It's designed around adolescent cliques," he said. It's bullshit."

Newman said he has "just about" reached the stage where he can build guitars when he desires and go on the road if the fancy should strike him. He will probably go on a U.S. tour with Mick Taylor in the fall, but only for three months. That's the most decadence he can take at one stretch, he said. Ted Newman depends mainly on word-of-mouth to attract clients, and considering some of the mouths that are speaking his name, it's not surprising that the man is currently working on 13 instruments, can charge $3,000 for a guitar and looks very satisfied himself.