Tish Ciravolo is the founder of Daisy Rock, which is famous for its guitars and basses designed especially for women. Ciravolo has been busy on the newest line of guitars which will debut at Winter NAMM 2007, but she took time to talk with Gearwire's Joe Wallace about the evolution of Daisy Rock, the Daisy Rock Made-In-USA line, and how ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons became an instant Daisy Rock convert.

Wallace: Let's talk about the evolution of Daisy Rock. How did it all get started?

Tish Ciravolo: The idea for the company was actually inspired by my daughter, Nicole, when she was just one-and-a-half years old. We were drawing one day, and she drew a picture of a daisy. I saw the picture and felt inspired to draw a neck and headstock on it. I developed the guitar design and took it to my husband, Michael Ciravolo (President of Schecter Guitars). I told him that I wanted to create a line of guitars designed just for girls, with slimmer necks, lighter weights and unique shapes, sizes and finishes.

When did you unveil the first guitar?

I introduced Daisy Rock's first model, the Daisy, in 2000, at Seattle's RockrGrl Conference, and Daisy Rock was born. The idea seemed to catch on right away, and we now offer a full line of guitars and basses for girls of all ages and skill levels.

What was the initial reaction? Did you have any trouble convincing buyers to give these guitars a try?

Like anything new, some people were curious right away, and others needed time to warm up to the idea. The most important thing to me was letting people know that Daisy Rock was out there, trying to offer something better for girls, especially since no one was doing it yet. Besides being more feminine-looking, we wanted every Daisy Rock guitar and bass to be lighter, slimmer, and built with a thinner neck, all the features that could help make it easier for a girl to play. When people heard about it, I think a lot of them wanted to see if what we were saying was true.

Has Daisy Rock gotten any attention from bands with stylistic obsessions? Any high-profile or interesting attention to the line?

Yes! Two that I can think of right away are an all-boy Swedish glam band called Supergroupies, and Clare from the VERY WILD rock & roll band AntiProduct. Besides sounding awesome, the guitars totally fit the way their bands look.

We've got some pretty amazing high-profile endorsers, too. Robert Smith of The Cure has a Heartbreaker Guitar. Sylvain Sylvain (The New York Dolls) has a Rock Candy Special. Louise Post from Veruca Salt plays a Champagne Sparkle Rock Candy Guitar, and both of Jimmy Page's daughters play Daisy Rocks. Miley Cyrus endorsed us long before she became Hannah Montana. Aly & A.J. play Daisy Rock Guitars in two of their videos, and Hilary Duff plays Daisy Rock Guitars, too. And Lindsay Lohan is holding an Atomic Pink Rock Candy Guitar on the back of her first CD cover. We love everyone who plays our guitars!

Daisy Rock's new hand-made guitars were built by the same hands who worked on guitars used by Led Zepplin, Jimi Hendrix, Santana, and many others. Stay tuned for Part Two of Gearwire's exclusive interview with Tish Ciravolo, when we ask how Daisy Rock collaborated with guitar maker John Carruthers, and how ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons became an instant fan of Daisy Rock.