M a n d o l i n a n d g u it a r p h o t o s : E m i l y B . H a ll
A year after that, his brother
died o f a drug overdose.
Still, he climbed his way
back to stability. A fter com plet-
ing rehab, now a single father
w ith a teenage son, Baxendale
settled in Denver and slow ly
recovered his livelihood. He
started a new guitar business,
Colfax Guitar Shop. Gradually,
in the early 2000s, his clientele
grew in volum e and prestige.
Life began to feel normal again.
In 2010, Baxendale’s son,
John, started the Colorado
Guitar Company, w hile
Baxendale sold Colfax and
headed to A thens, w here, h e’d
discovered, there w as a dearth
o f master luthiers but an abun-
dance o f serious m usicians.
For this new shot in a new
place, Baxendale credits his
craft as a luthier. “I ’ve always
held on to that, through the
addiction and all the hardships.
I didn’t play or make guitars
during the w orst o f it, so w hen
I started to clear my head, I
realized I shouldn’t just take
my skills for granted. W hen I
started over again in Colorado,
I really appreciated w hat I had
learned, and took it a lot more
seriously.” T his n ew chapter is
“about creating as much art as I
can, and passing the know ledge
along to students,” he says.
In the beginning, Baxendale
took up making guitars in order
to play; in fact, he loves playing
so much he’s joined five bands
since he arrived in A thens. But
his best and highest expression
as an artist is w hen he’s shaping
mahogany, spruce, rosew ood,
maple, and koa into custom ,
handmade acoustic guitars.
A new ly strung, just-built
guitar is “like a new born colt,”
Baxendale says, “awkward at
first, but as you tune it a couple
o f tim es and play a few chords
on it, it opens up like a flower.
It’s very exciting. I live for
that m om ent.”
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P h ilip B ish o p w rites a n d ed its the
a d v o ca cy w eb site artistsspeak
out.com
,
w h ich fo cu se s on a rtists
a n d h u m a n rights.
a u g / s c p n
a m e r i c a n c r a f t 0 5 5
