On June 7, 2015 we celebrated the fifth annual Notes For Notes benefit concert here in Santa Barbara’s Lobero Theatre. This is a huge event on our calendars not only because it’s a night of great music and great tones, but because funds raised by the evening go towards supporting music education for kids. Notes For Notes designs, equips and staffs after-school recording studios inside Boys & Girls Clubs in LA, Nashville, Santa Barbara and is rapidly expanding across the country providing free access to professional-quality instruments including guitars, basses, drums, keyboard and synths, DJ gear, digital music workstations and full recording facilities. Seymour Duncan CEO Cathy Carter Duncan explained the reasoning behind the concerts, “Supporting the capacity for kids to explore and discover the power of music is extremely important to us. We all know how important those early musical experiences are in shaping our lives, connecting with other like-minded musicians and inspiring each other to create.”
Last year’s concert featured Jimmy Vivino and BCB, Joe Bonamassa, Robben Ford, Rich Robinson, and our very own Seymour W. Duncan, raising almost $100,000 with the help of our generous fellow gear companies and supporters. This year our dear friend Peter Frampton performed, with the Notes For Notes Youth Band kicking things off with a 45 minute set of great tunes in front of a sold-out crowd. Frampton played a Les Paul which was donated by Gibson, and the guitar was signed and auctioned off at the end of the night.

Below are some photos from the the concert and the VIP reception. Thanks to everyone who came out and enjoyed some great music in support of Notes For Notes! See you next year!

The Custom Shop Team: MJ & Derek

The Seymour Duncan Team (Left to Right) Marc “Boomer” Bobonic, Max Gutnik, Laura Wallace, Mark Weikel, Derek Duncan, Cathy Carter Duncan, Alex Semple, Steven Casado, Riley Giffin