JuanCarlosVejar Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Folks, Maybe it's early but I remember that in years past people would get a thread going about the Montana Homecoming . Did any forum members attend this year? JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hogeye Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Folks, Maybe it's early but I remember that in years past people would get a thread going about the Montana Homecoming . Did any forum members attend this year? JC It's going fine. Tonight is the last night and most of the folks are a bit weary but none are ready to go home. Gibson had a barbeque with all the plant workers and the Homecoming folks. The Gibson display bus was in town taking people from the hotel to the plant. Lots of time to ask questions an see the things you wonder about. Lots of good music and a Gibson Day at Music Villa. Ren was missed for sure and there were a few like Guitarstrumr that wasn't there but the core group and the new folks bonded and there was a lot of fun. The evenings are reserved in a hospitality suite and there is an open mike for folks to perform on. Lots of good guitars and an amazing assortment of Gibson's being played. Everyone from beginners to professionals get to play two songs if they want. Me? I just like to enjoy the music. Val Bolitho had some of her custom guitars for the folks to try. I think my favorite was a beat up old '43/45 Banner. Oh, wait, that was mine. Dave from Salt Lake City was playing it and he is a fine player. He got the old girl to sing. Dave came in a day early and we had a nice time. We sat in my back yard and played some of my old stuff. The weather was perfect and it was a nice time. Hope you can come out some time J.C. You would enjoy the country and the people. Just a bunch of Gibson folks. No pressure and a chance to talk to all of the folks that make the guitars. They are all nice people and like the fact that the folks that buy the stuff they make come out and chat and watch them at their jobs. Music Villa always has a bunch of very nice hand selected guitars for the folks to play and there is no pressure to buy anything. They always have special pricing and Montana has no sales tax. Some of the folks take advantage of that but this isn't a sales event it's just a get together of fun guys and gals. Bozeman has a lot of very fine places to eat and being a small town none of them are pretentious. Come as you are. Bozeman has a distillery on Main street and to many breweries to count. It's a beer lovers paradise. You can walk to downtown from the hotel and there are no gangs or bad folks. We don't tolerate that sort of thing. You are safe in every part of town and any time of day or night. There are plenty of people that will give you a ride anywhere. Call me and I will pick you up and drive you anywhere and if you don't want to bring a guitar I will lend you one of mine. Lots of folks never leave the hotel as they have a good restaurant and a very lively bar. Sign up for next year. Hogeye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWG4927 Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Damn Sounded good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Every year at this time, after reading of the fabulous time had at the Gibson Homecoming I tell myself - 'you need to go next year'. "Next Year in Bozeman." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vacamartin Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Every year at this time, after reading of the fabulous time had at the Gibson Homecoming I tell myself - 'you need to go next year'. "Next Year in Bozeman." +1.........count me in. Time to start planning Hogeye...I've heard about a budding artists colony in Bozeman. My wife, being an artist(oils and pencil) might want to tag along next year. Can you recommend some links to help with more info about the artistic side of Bozeman and more info on Gibson Homecoming? Thanks, JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 It's going fine. Tonight is the last night and most of the folks are a bit weary but none are ready to go home. Gibson had a barbeque with all the plant workers and the Homecoming folks. The Gibson display bus was in town taking people from the hotel to the plant. Lots of time to ask questions an see the things you wonder about. Lots of good music and a Gibson Day at Music Villa. Ren was missed for sure and there were a few like Guitarstrumr that wasn't there but the core group and the new folks bonded and there was a lot of fun. The evenings are reserved in a hospitality suite and there is an open mike for folks to perform on. Lots of good guitars and an amazing assortment of Gibson's being played. Everyone from beginners to professionals get to play two songs if they want. Me? I just like to enjoy the music. Val Bolitho had some of her custom guitars for the folks to try. I think my favorite was a beat up old '43/45 Banner. Oh, wait, that was mine. Dave from Salt Lake City was playing it and he is a fine player. He got the old girl to sing. Dave came in a day early and we had a nice time. We sat in my back yard and played some of my old stuff. The weather was perfect and it was a nice time. Hope you can come out some time J.C. You would enjoy the country and the people. Just a bunch of Gibson folks. No pressure and a chance to talk to all of the folks that make the guitars. They are all nice people and like the fact that the folks that buy the stuff they make come out and chat and watch them at their jobs. Music Villa always has a bunch of very nice hand selected guitars for the folks to play and there is no pressure to buy anything. They always have special pricing and Montana has no sales tax. Some of the folks take advantage of that but this isn't a sales event it's just a get together of fun guys and gals. Bozeman has a lot of very fine places to eat and being a small town none of them are pretentious. Come as you are. Bozeman has a distillery on Main street and to many breweries to count. It's a beer lovers paradise. You can walk to downtown from the hotel and there are no gangs or bad folks. We don't tolerate that sort of thing. You are safe in every part of town and any time of day or night. There are plenty of people that will give you a ride anywhere. Call me and I will pick you up and drive you anywhere and if you don't want to bring a guitar I will lend you one of mine. Lots of folks never leave the hotel as they have a good restaurant and a very lively bar. Sign up for next year. Hogeye Nice update.. thanks Hogeye.. see you soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Sounds like fun.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Does anyone no how many people attended?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hogeye Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 +1.........count me in. Time to start planning Hogeye...I've heard about a budding artists colony in Bozeman. My wife, being an artist(oils and pencil) might want to tag along next year. Can you recommend some links to help with more info about the artistic side of Bozeman and more info on Gibson Homecoming? Thanks, JD Bozeman has always been a collection point for artistic folks. That is the main reason Gibson has done so well here. Ren is a very talented artist and he collected a group of folks that excelled in other disciplines other than wood working. They are the ones that brought their work ethic to the plant. Lots of musicians and writers as well. Bozeman has a disproportionate number of art galleries on Main Street. They cater to all of the tourist traffic. It's a great place to make contacts. I could give you a list of movie people and a long list of professional musicians that live here but don't have the time. Bruce Weber of Weber mandolin fame was a potter until Ren got his hands on him. The rest is history. Bruce is the finest mandolin builder on the planet. He throws a pretty mean pot as well. So many folks have come and gone it's hard to name them all. My favorite painter was John Walker of Walker Guitars. This is tongue in cheek as John was a house painter. I'm sure you get the idea. Remember Bozeman is a college town. There are a lot of folks coming into town and they are young and give a vitality to the community. The Homecoming is just a loose knit group of folks that love their Gibson's. Mike Goecke was the founder. He and a couple of others wanted to come to Bozeman and tour the plant but Gibson just wasn't interested. It got to be a real issue on the forum and one of Gibson's employees went over the head of Gibson's Marketing Director and contacted Mike. He and Mike started plans for a group of folks to meet at a motel close to Gibson and they just started adding names To the list. The guy met a lot of resistance to the event so he did it off the books. He actually took his vacation for a week so he could give the folks a tour of the plant. The whole idea caught on and the rest is history. To Gibson's credit they finally, after a little kicking and screaming, decided to support the whole idea. The number of folks attending was small as Gibson has trouble getting people in the plant for tours. 30 or 40 folks are tough for them to accommodate. You must keep in mind that the plant has to be in operation and production goals need to be met so.... Well it's just tough for them to do all they want. They have to run the tours in shifts of 5 or folks at a time to avoid confusion. It takes a day for all the folks to get thru. All of the events are put on by folks that donate their time. NO money is involved in the Homecoming. Just come out and enjoy a gathering is a great surrounding. You just have to pay your own way. Yellowstone Park is a big part of the success of the Homecoming. Guys just sort of tell their wives and kids they are going to the greatest National Park in America and then just happen to stay in Bozeman. Well I'm sure you get the picture. The Museum Of The Rockies is also a big draw. Kids love dinosaurs and Montana has a bunch of them. This is an event for the whole family and anyone that needs a vacation should think about going to Bozeman. If you want to eat great food and drink wonderful spirits and you like to sit around in the evening and play this is the place to be. Not a lot of the drinking thing but it is possible. Ha.... Just sayin'. To sum it up. Great place to watch guitars being built. If you own a Gibson bring it home for a visit. Best National Park in the world and the finest dino museum on the planet. All in one place. NO I don't work for the chamber of commerce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hogeye Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Does anyone no how many people attended?? The number is artificially small as it's hard to get everyone into the plant for tours. The Motel situation in Bozeman is difficult as it's a big tourist town and the motels are booked years in advance. If you want to come contact a motel or campground today as it's difficult to secure accommodations. So--- maybe only 30 or 40 folks are part of the official gathering. Some of the music events have hundreds of local folks attending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vacamartin Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Hogeye, thanks. The wife is fired up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-1854Me Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 I went to the first Homecoming, I think in 2006, IIRC. It was a lot of fun. I dragged about 5 or 6 of my guitars along, and ended up coming back with one more that Paul Decker of Music Villa wouldn't let me leave without: he made me a deal I couldn't refuse!! That was the year they let some of us try our hand at sunbursting a guitar, under the watchful tutelage of none other than Van Feldner. Here's me with Van, and Jason Jones of the CS looking on in the background: I've been maybe 3 other times to the HC, but numerous times to Bozeman to visit some of our Gibson friends, including Hogeye. Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Getting in this door is pretty fun. Great gathering of folks. Missed it this year in exchange for rain and cold on Cape Cod.... never again. I will be back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Hannah Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 Bozeman has always been a collection point for artistic folks. That is the main reason Gibson has done so well here. Ren is a very talented artist and he collected a group of folks that excelled in other disciplines other than wood working. They are the ones that brought their work ethic to the plant. Lots of musicians and writers as well. Bozeman has a disproportionate number of art galleries on Main Street. They cater to all of the tourist traffic. It's a great place to make contacts. I could give you a list of movie people and a long list of professional musicians that live here but don't have the time. Bruce Weber of Weber mandolin fame was a potter until Ren got his hands on him. The rest is history. Bruce is the finest mandolin builder on the planet. He throws a pretty mean pot as well. So many folks have come and gone it's hard to name them all. My favorite painter was John Walker of Walker Guitars. This is tongue in cheek as John was a house painter. I'm sure you get the idea. Remember Bozeman is a college town. There are a lot of folks coming into town and they are young and give a vitality to the community. The Homecoming is just a loose knit group of folks that love their Gibson's. Mike Goecke was the founder. He and a couple of others wanted to come to Bozeman and tour the plant but Gibson just wasn't interested. It got to be a real issue on the forum and one of Gibson's employees went over the head of Gibson's Marketing Director and contacted Mike. He and Mike started plans for a group of folks to meet at a motel close to Gibson and they just started adding names To the list. The guy met a lot of resistance to the event so he did it off the books. He actually took his vacation for a week so he could give the folks a tour of the plant. The whole idea caught on and the rest is history. To Gibson's credit they finally, after a little kicking and screaming, decided to support the whole idea. The number of folks attending was small as Gibson has trouble getting people in the plant for tours. 30 or 40 folks are tough for them to accommodate. You must keep in mind that the plant has to be in operation and production goals need to be met so.... Well it's just tough for them to do all they want. They have to run the tours in shifts of 5 or folks at a time to avoid confusion. It takes a day for all the folks to get thru. All of the events are put on by folks that donate their time. NO money is involved in the Homecoming. Just come out and enjoy a gathering is a great surrounding. You just have to pay your own way. Yellowstone Park is a big part of the success of the Homecoming. Guys just sort of tell their wives and kids they are going to the greatest National Park in America and then just happen to stay in Bozeman. Well I'm sure you get the picture. The Museum Of The Rockies is also a big draw. Kids love dinosaurs and Montana has a bunch of them. This is an event for the whole family and anyone that needs a vacation should think about going to Bozeman. If you want to eat great food and drink wonderful spirits and you like to sit around in the evening and play this is the place to be. Not a lot of the drinking thing but it is possible. Ha.... Just sayin'. To sum it up. Great place to watch guitars being built. If you own a Gibson bring it home for a visit. Best National Park in the world and the finest dino museum on the planet. All in one place. NO I don't work for the chamber of commerce. Really fun reading about this, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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