Gerry Ptak was digging through the mountains of old instruments at Tucson's legendary Chicago Store when it struck him like Pete Townshend windmilling an open E power chord through a wall of Hiwatt amps.
Well, something like that.
"I was up there wandering around in the archives thinking, 'Geez, what are you going to do with all this stuff?'" said Ptak, who manages the new East Side branch of the famous Downtown red brick music store at 130 E. Congress St.
The Chicago Store, the furthest thing from the modern music chain stores, is known worldwide among musicians for its eclectic piles of musical stuff. It's often the first stop for touring musicians gigging in Tucson, or just coming through on Interstate 10.
There are widely circulated stories about back rooms, closets, balconies and the basement of the old store holding treasures, incredibly valuable instruments that had been forgotten. Rumors that someone had opened a case in a back room and discovered a 1959 flamed maple, sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard that had never been played. Or a room full of brand new Selmer Mark VI saxes from the 1960s. Whatever.
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Ptak won't say it hasn't happened, just that it hasn't happened to him. He's found some less rare and valuable instruments while digging.
But on this recent day, he found a bunch of old acoustic guitars that, frankly, were closer to being firewood than hidden treasure.
And he was puzzling over what to do with them when he remembered something about a symphony orchestra somewhere having professional artists turn old instruments into art as a fundraiser.
He quickly hatched a plan to give the old acoustic guitars to local elementary school art teachers who would have their students decorate them, after which they'd be displayed for a month at the Chicago Music Store Discount Outlet, 7030 E. Broadway, he manages, then sell them and give the proceeds to the school.
Ptak calls the program "Guitart."
The first batch of 20 guitars went to Annie W. Kellond Elementary School, 6606 E. Lehigh Drive , just around the corner from the new store.
Art teacher Sandy Holmes has 40 students, two to each guitar, from the school's grades 2 through 5 painting and decorating the guitars.
The painting on the first batch — following an imposed Mexican-American theme to avoid creative conflicts — is nearing completion.
Some students are already adding cut silk flowers, beads and other touches.
But no strings attached.
They're loud enough without.
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