(Michael Volk is a current student at Guitar Craft Academy Nashville.)
I got started playing music in the fourth grade on the cello. That didn’t last long when rock ‘n’ roll became a major focus of mine at around age 11. That’s when I received my first electric guitar and amp. Shortly thereafter, my friends and I formed a band we named Turmoil.
My interest in luthiery really started out as a young child, whittling on pieces of wood I found out behind my home. I’ve always been interested in the patterns and graining that you’ll find in wood, and I have always gravitated towards building things out of wood.
Years later, after watching a Danny Gatton video and falling in love with the guitar he was playing, I decided to make my first electric guitar. I looked into the MI course years ago when I lived in Southern California but was unable to attend due to my military commitments.
As luck would have it, years after I retired from the military, I found myself here in Nashville. Still having a portion of my G.I. Bill left, and MI receiving its VA credentials, I was really happy to find out I was going to be able to learn from great craftsman and guitar technicians that work here at the Nashville campus.
Currently I’m working on a guitar of my own design, which is influenced by the painting ‘Chinese girl’ by South African/Russian artist Vladimir Tretchikoff. I like to say it’s a Telecaster that time-traveled into the futuristic universe of Blade Runner.
After graduation I hope to continue learning the craft via an apprenticeship with some of the great luthiers in the Nashville area, and I hope to open up my own custom guitar shop in the future.
– Michael Volk