McSwain Guitars

Over half a century ago, rock-n-roll wailed its way into popular music. It didn’t come without opposition, though, as concerned parents and fire-and-brimstone preachers everywhere condemned it from the start. But that didn’t harness a force that would become too unstoppable to ignore. As the years passed, concern waned as rock and roll became an enjoyable and very credible form of music. And although all instruments employed in a band hold a very integral role in constructing the power of rock, one particular seems to be the keystone, and typically goes hand in hand with the genre: the almighty guitar.

This is an idea that Stephen McSwain has been privy to for quite some time now. For the past 15 years, he’s been building custom made, self-described “bad ass” guitars for a plethora of rock and roll musicians. His roots are implanted in Gastonia, NC. A musician himself, he played guitar for a band known as In The Works during his tenure at Furman University. But the real fire ignited shortly after graduating from college while residing in Charlotte, NC. He had then began playing in a new band called Carbon Black and wanted a new guitar. So with that, and as a means of balancing out the humdrum nature of his day job selling medical supplies, he embarked on what would become his ultimate passion. “I just pulled out the old carving tools from when I was a kid and started carving faces into a guitar body”, Mcswain recounts, “People in Charlotte kept suggesting that I get it into the hands of some famous guitarist, so I got in touch with Steve Vai and sent it to him.”

Suffice it to say, Steve Vai (yes, that’s right, the legendary and iconic guitar master) loved it, and that guitar became #0001. From that point on, McSwain fervently continued making new models and went to every show that came through Charlotte. He would talk to any artist that would “give him 30 seconds,” meeting “everyone from Aerosmith to ZZ Top,” pitching his guitars to a veritable A-to-Z of rock gods. People started buying, and McSwain Guitars transformed from a hobby into a rock-n-roll dream.

McSwain has since relocated to Los Angeles, converting an old garage into his own personal laboratory. Now 38, this is where he continues to make what he calls “functional art," where the best of both worlds are represented. It's art you can play. In his own words, “The guitars are built one at a time, and just as much effort goes into making it an ultra high end custom McSwain electric guitar as goes into making it a completely unique piece of art that someone can hang on their wall.”

Everyone from Slash, Tommy Lee, Jerry Cantrell, Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, Jared Leto of 30 Seconds to Mars, and even British illustrator and cartoonist Ralph Steadman have all taken a liking to McSwain’s artistic vision. In fact, Steadman is working with McSwain on a special line of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas guitars, of which he will be signing, numbering, and dating each one. Clearly, these guitars are meant to be wielded only by the best. When asked who he’d like to see pounding on one of his axes, McSwain responded with a short list of artists some might believe unthinkable, “Eddie Van Halen, Keith Richards, Neil Young, Paul McCartney, and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top”. But given McSwain’s evident prowess and a dream of keeping rock-n-roll alive and well, it shouldn’t be too difficult to slip one into their hands.

mcswainguitars.com

Steve is wearing the aa3405 motorcyle tee in vintage black.