This one is a `Rush' job for Oakville guitar maker by Abigail Cukier Special to Oakville Beaver 3 | Thursday, September 25, 2014 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Garren Dakessian always wanted to be a rock star. While that didn't quite pan out, as far as he's concerned, he's doing the next best thing. Dakessian, 47, is the founder of Loucin Guitars, where he hand crafts custom guitars. His latest client is Alex Lifeson, guitarist for the iconic Canadian band Rush. "I am a huge Rush fan. It was a dream to do something for Alex Lifeson," said Dakessian. "I heard about it last Thursday and I haven't slept since. My wife said to me, `What are you, 12?'" Recently, Dakessian asked a high school friend, Doug Elliot who works at 94.9 The Rock, if he had any connections to Rush. Turns out, he did. Dakessian spoke with the band's A&R representative, Andy Curran, who came to visit and check things out at Loucin Guitars' Speers Road home. "The band gets hundreds of offers a week. `Use my guitar, my pedal.' I told him, I didn't want an endorsement. I just wanted to build him a guitar for his personal collection. He loved that idea." Since then, Dakessian has been emailing with Lifeson, who tried out a guitar and said that Dakessian's passion comes through in his work. I am a huge Rush fan. It was a dream to do something for Alex Lifeson. I heard about it last Thursday and I haven't slept since. My wife said to me, `What are you,12?' Garren Dakessian Oakville custom guitar maker Garren Dakessian always wanted to be a rock star. Now he's making an instrument for Alex Lifeson of Rush and is over the moon at the job. | submitted photo inside today's Spotlight Arts Health Beaver www.insideHALTON.com 6 42 43 Travel Sports Classified 44 45 49 For home delivery & customer service call 905-631-6095, 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington New subscriptions call 905-631-6095 or subscribe online at www.oakvillebeaver.com Pharmasave Drugs, Metro, Listen Up Canada, Best Buy, Alexanian Carpet & Flooring, M&M Meats, Mississauga Flooring Solutions, Arrow Furniture, Drug Trading, Salvation Army Recycling, Suko Thai Restaurant, Rexall, Target, Real Canadian Superstore, East Side Mario's, No Frills, Lowes Canada, Mrs. Green's, Cogeco, Michael Angelo's, Food Basics, Starsky Fine Foods, 2001 Audio Video, Hudson's Bay Co., National Sports, Oakville Museums, Pharma Plus, Fortinos, Le Creuset, Global Appetite, Canadian Tire, Shoppers Drug Mart, Mark's Work Wearhouse, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Shoppers Drug Mart, Brick Mattress, Walmart, Centennial Windows, Toys R Us, Walking on a Cloud, Reliance, Staples, Future Shop, Michael's, Global Pet Foods, Freshco, Sobeys, Sears *All flyers not necessarily delivered to all homes Lifeson will be visiting soon to check on Dakessian's progress. After starting to play guitar age 13, Dakessian asked his Grade 10 wood shop teacher, Jim MacMillan at White Oaks Secondary School, if he could build a guitar. The two tried to figure it out together. Then Dakessian's dad arranged a meeting with the owner of the Twelfth Fret guitar shop in Toronto, Grant MacNeill. He spent an afternoon with the young teen discussing guitar construction. "My first guitar was crap. But my second, I still use today and I made it 30 years ago," Dakessian said. Dakessian made guitars for bandmates through the years, but never thought about a career. While he was working with wood in the cabinet business, his mom always urged him to turn the hobby he loved into a career. When she died 12 years ago, Dakessian decided to honour her by following his passion. Loucin Guitars is named after her. Dakessian never makes the same instrument twice. They are custom made with a mirror finish and woods like mahogany, walnut, ebony, Madagascar rosewood and Sitka spruce. Loucin Guitars client list includes Grammy award-winning System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian, Five Finger Death Punch's Jason Hook, 2010 Canadian Smooth Jazz Guitarist of the Year Rob Tardik, Zakk Wylde of Ozzy Osbourne, Sammy Hagar of Van Halen and session guitarist Phil X, who has toured with Bon Jovi. In addition to making custom instruments, Dakessian runs a course (buildaguitar.ca), where students learn every aspect of making a guitar. Using real wood, students build their dream guitar from scratch. Dakessian is still in awe of what he gets to do. He has befriended many clients and regularly texts with Zakk Wylde. "When I'm sitting around with my friends, they say `Can you hear yourself? You are texting with the guys whose posters we used to have on our walls?' "What I love the most is the work. I can work 18 hours a day and not even feel it. You get lost in it," Dakessian said. "It is so rewarding to build something of solid wood, something that in the right hands can make beautiful music."