How I (Sort of) Crashed Super Bowl XLIV

Nope, I didn’t get into the Orange Bowl for the game. But our pickups made it to the Saints’ post-game party. Here’s the story.

I got a call that day from Fervor endorser Andrew Autin, who’d just arrived in Miami. Andrew plays lead guitar for MoJEAUX, the band hired to play what would turn out to be the Saints’ victory party.

The switch on one of his custom Hembrys was cutting out and the bridge pickup wouldn’t play. It was a big deal to Andrew—he’d just installed a pair of Fervor Hot humbuckers, whose punchy tone he really likes. (I’m convinced there’s a metalhead somewhere in Andrew’s past.)

What could I do? Miami’s an hour-and-a-half drive from our factory, so I told him I’d be right down. We met in the Miami Marriot lobby. “Wow. You guys make house calls,” Andrew said when he saw me. I set up my operating room right there: two chairs, my soldering iron, and a worried-looking concierge in the background.

A few minutes later, the Hembry was ready to play. Andrew’s not only a superb guitarist, he’s also a gentleman; he immediately invited my wife and I to dinner with the band. It was a great chance to get to know these guys face-to-face. I’ll say this about every one of the New Orleanians I met in Miami, which was maybe 80% Saints fans on that electric night: they’ve gotta be the kindest people I’ve ever met.

After dinner the band invited us back up to their room to jam. I’d brought a fiesta red Strat which I’d built for myself and a Fender Blues Junior amp. The Fervor ‘50s Strat pickups on this guitar give it a nice warm, bluesy, little-bit-bassy tone. Pretty soon, Andrew got his hands on it, then MoJEAUX’s keyboard player Blake Sticker. Neither one wanted to put it down.

What could I do?

Now Andrew had three guitars to play for the Saints, each with Fervor pickups: his Hembry, another Hembry with Fervor Special Editions, and my fiesta red Strat.

We never made it to the party or the game (Andrew tried!), so you’ll have to make do with this videoclip:

Go to www.myspace.com/mojeauxband  to see the party videos.

But it was awesome to have been there with MoJEAUX. Meanwhile, I’m still waiting to hear how Kim Kardashian likes Fervor pickups…