Buy A Guitar, Help WDET/Detroit
• It’s always great hearing from longtime Michigan radio power couple Michael and Joan Cherry Isabella. Joan is the Program Director of Detroit NPR affiliate 101.9 WDET, conveniently located on the campus of Wayne State University, and she and her talented staff are proudly involved in a unique WDET fundraising campaign that we thought was well worth sharing: 101.9FM has teamed up with Detroit-based Echopark Guitars and celebrated artist and educator Sabrina Nelson to raffle off an amazing, one-of-a-kind electric guitar dubbed “The Salt of Detroit,” which was built using wood from northern Michigan trees that were submerged in a lake for at least 100 years.
Guitar builder Gabriel Currie founded Echopark Guitars in Los Angeles and moved the company to Detroit in 2017. His handcrafted instruments are favored by musicians like Joe Perry (Aerosmith), Josh Homme(Queens of the Stone Age), and Jackson Browne, to name a few.
Nelson, a renowned Detroit multimedia artist, created the custom artwork featuring famous guitarists that adorn the front and back of the instrument: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, John Lee Hooker, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Seger, Kat Dyson, Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt, Jack White, Son House, and our pal Don Was. Currie and Nelson both donated their services to create the guitar, recognizing the importance of WDET, Detroit’s non-profit community service radio station — they wanted to help address the financial challenges that the station, like many, faces in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This priceless instrument is currently on display in the Detroit Historical Museum’s Allesee Gallery of Culture until the winner is announced on November 27, which happens to be a) National Guitar Day and b) the birthday of Jimi Hendrix! Raffle tickets are on sale now for $101.90 at wdet.org/guitar, and all proceeds from the raffle will benefit WDET. [Special thanks to WDET’s legendary Ann Delisi!]
