Daisy Rock founder Tish Ciravolo has made it her mission to open up the guitar marketplace to women. In the past, female guitarists have been forced to make do with instruments designed for "man hands". Ciravolo's specially-designed guitars and basses are optimized for a woman's grip, and the weight ratios are scaled down as well. In an industry that takes pride in offering choices, Daisy Rock is a welcome addition to the marketplace. In part two of our exclusive interview, Gearwire's Joe Wallace asked Ciravolo about her new line of made-in-the-USA, handcrafted guitars, and what it is like working with guitar maker John Carruthers, who has worked on axes for everyone from Van Halen to Hendrix.

Wallace: You have a new line hand-made line of guitars. These are your first USA-made models, but where were your earlier guitars manufactured?

Tish Ciravolo: We design our guitars in California, and work with our factories overseas to select the best woods, electronics and hardware for each model. We love the work they do and we're proud to offer beautiful, high-quality guitars at great prices, but there are several girl guitarists who are loyal to Made in the U.S.A. instruments. We didn't want them to feel like they couldn't have a Daisy Rock because it wasn't made in America. So we decided to offer these girls the option of an American-made guitar that's lighter, thinner, and made especially for them on the Pink Label.

Is "made-in-USA" a feature you want to expand to your other models?

As far as making more models in the U.S.A. it's really up to the girls out there. We try to pay attention to what they ask us for, so if they say they love the idea of American-made Daisy Rocks and ask us for more models, weíll go out of our way to make it happen.

Hand made is getting to be a buzzword. One example; The Moog Little Phatty hand-made synth, now Daisy Rock. Is this a trend, happenstance, or are buyers just demanding something better or more unique these days?

I think that just about every industry, from surfboards to shoes, places extra value on something that's hand-made. I don't know if it's becoming a bigger trend in the music industry, but I think it can be a deciding factor for anyone buying an expensive guitar or piece of equipment.

That's what we had in mind when we called John Carruthers. We decided that if we were going to release an American-made model, we wanted it to be very special, and have as much value as we could put into it.

Having the Pink Label Guitars built by John Carruthers, who has worked on guitars for legends like Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen, Carlos Santana, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and so many more, really gives the guitars extra magic. These guitars aren't just made in a factory located in the U.S.A., these are built by hand, by one of the finest guitar craftsmen in the world. If you own one of these guitars, it's something to brag about. Besides being American made, it was built by someone who has worked on guitars for everyone, even Hendrix!

How does it feel to be on the cutting edge of guitar tech aimed at those of us who aren't built like pro wrestlers? I have long yearned for a guitar I could easily fit my hand around and play with agility instead of stretching to hit certain fingerings.

Hey, that's really nice of you to say! To be honest, I was surprised no one thought of it before. But back when I was playing out, I spent a lot of time searching for a good bass that fit my build. I went through a lot of basses, and it was really disappointing. Sometimes I wondered if guitar makers were trying to make it harder for girls to play! I knew there had to be a better way, so I looked at my experience and tried to figure out what would have helped me. I wanted to help other girls like me, give them a fighting chance.

You have quite a long list of artist endorsements, who is your favorite endorser and why? Any fun stories you can share about the artists and your guitars?

I don't think we have a favorite endorsee, we are just one big happy family and we truly want to support any and all girls who want to play guitars. But we do have some great artist endorsement stories that we'd love to share!

Our Director of Marketing & Public Relations, Rich Lackowski, got a phone call one day, he gets dozens of every day, but this time the voice on the other end of the line was Billy Gibbons, guitarist for ZZ Top. He was on set filming a video for ZZ Top in the desert when someone showed him a Daisy Rock catalog. He was so blown away, he picked up his cell phone and called our general phone line. The switchboard operator sent the call to me. YEAH! For the next 30 minutes, Billy proceeded to tell Rich about how cool he though our guitars were, and how he wanted to play them in his video that he was filming, and also wanted to take them on the road. He ordered 6 Butterfly guitars on the spot. Rich asked him if he was sure that the Butterfly was what he wanted, and he was quite certain, that was the coolest axe he had ever seen. Then Rich received this email:

"Rich,

Billy F Gibbons, back with you. Thanking you and the Daisy Rock crew for the fine set of 6-string things which arrived safely on the set. The Daisy Rock guitar fit the scene superbly...and..these instruments play great! ! Gracias !

(By the way, "Butterfly" is Queen 'round these parts, too. Everybody's flyin' high with her. Again, ! muchas gracias ! )..

Looking forward to seeing you all, 'quick'...! Best to the DR gang. Stay coolest.

Kindest Personal Regards,

Billy F Gibbons

ZZ TOP

Later, Rich received another call from Billy Gibbons praising the quality craftsmanship of the guitars. He mentioned that he has played countless guitars and models, and his guitar tech is very critical of how a guitar is made and how it feels. Both Billy and his guitar tech praised the quality of Daisy Rock Guitars and said that they felt as good if not better than guitars 10 times their cost.

How can an artist become a Daisy Rock endorser? There are plenty of up-and-coming bands who would jump at the chance.

You can get in touch with our Artist Relations department by e-mailing to: artistrelations@daisyrock.com" or just send your press package to:

Artist Relations Daisy Rock Guitars PO Box 10003 Van Nuys, CA 91410