The Golden Hardstock Guitar--now on the auction block

What, besides being great performers, do Elvis Presley, Frank Zappa, Bryan Ferry, David Bowie, ZZ Top, Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles have in common with every musician who played at Hardstock 08, the sold-out Scotty Hard benefit concert held at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver on April 25? 

Answer: they all laid their hands on Hagstroms, the classic cult guitar of the Seventies.

At Hardstock 08—it was the same Hagstrom every time, the now legendary Golden Hardstock Guitar.

The Golden Hardstock Guitar began its performing life in the hands of Craig Northey of The Odds/Colin James fame. From there it became "kind of like the Stanley Cup, passed around from champion to champion and maybe lost on a street corner in Winnipeg."

Today, it has become a symbol of the musical community that has rushed to the aid of Scotty Hard.

"On that night at the Commodore I had every performer sign it and some people played it," said Northey. "It has become the "Gerry Cheevers Mask" of Hardstock 08."

The musicians who autographed the guitar include: Hard One's Barney Bentall, Doug Elliot, Paul Hyde, Colin James, Simon Kendall, Colin Nairne, Craig Northey, and Pat Steward; Neil Osborne, Brad Merritt and Dave Genn from 54/40, Tom Harrison, Ra McGuire and Smitty from Trooper; The Pointed Sticks; The Jazzmanian Devils; John Mann from Spirit of the West with his son Harlan Mann; Bughouse 5; Kinnie Starr; Hardrock Miners; the Furies; I Braineater; Go Four 3, Swank and the Mike Webster band.

The Golden Hardstock is a 2008 Hagstrom Swede WCT with a gold-top finish. Hagstrom's famous flagship guitar, it is the ax of choice of Dweezil Zappa, Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo of Gym Class Heroes, Pat Smear of Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, Ryan Ross of Panic! At the Disco, Joe Marro of Joseph Marro & The Humdrum, Mike Golla of The Starting Line, Jake Cinninger of Umphrey's McGee, Peter Ruesc of Carbellion, Ben Curtis of School of Seven Bells, Aaron McLain of Marc Anthony, Cameron Keym of The Sleeping, Joe Wizda of The Charms, Ethan Kaufman of Ryan Cabrera, and Luke O'Malley of Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra.

You can read about the Hagstrom Swede in Guitar World

You can see its technical specifications on the Hagstrom website

Special thank you to Jam Industries/Erikson Music in Montreal, who provided Craig Northey with the guitar and have generously agreed to its donation to the Scotty Hard Online Auction House.

What's the Golden Hardstock worth? "I think its retail value is around $650," says Craig Northey. "Its sentimental value, however — or hoodoo with all those signatures, is probably closer to $1 million."

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Posted By Hard Supper to Scotty Hard Supper Club at 7/30/2008 12:26:00 PM

The VanDusen Botanical Garden's "edible garden" package

The VanDusen Botanical Garden's "Edible Garden" package includes:

• $25 Gift Certificate to Shaughnessy Restaurant at VanDusen Garden
• One year individual membership to VanDusen Botanical Garden
• Gardening Trowel
• Heirloom vegetable/herb varieties propogated in the Van Dusen greenhouse: Amish paste tomato, Golden drop pepper, Marjoram officinalis, wooden garden tray

• VanDusen items: wildflower seed pen, luggage tag, copy of the quarterly member newletter - The Bulletin, copy of the garden's education catalogue, copy of the Garden's official guide book, Plenty tote bag

SUGGESTED RETAIL VALUE: $200

The 55-acre VanDusen Garden in the heart of Vancouver boasts over 255,000 plants representing more than 7,300 taxa from around the world. The plant collections represent ecosystems that range from tropical South Africa, to the Himalayas, to the Canadian Arctic, as well as plants native to our own Pacific Northwest.

Shaughnessy Restaurant at VanDusen is a garden retreat like no other  - casual elegance, superb cuisine, soothing ambiance, and picturesque vistas. The seasonal West Coast menu focuses on fresh ingredients, many from the Garden itself.