Life With Strings Attached
Everything in life is better understood if you can learn to see the strings attached.
Life With Strings Attached is a long-form conversation series hosted by Jamie Gale that explores the people, ideas, and disciplines shaping the evolving world of the guitar.
Drawing on decades of experience across touring, retail, distribution, manufacturing, education, consulting, and global cultural exchange, Jamie brings together builders, designers, artists, scientists, historians, entrepreneurs, collectors, and innovators to uncover the patterns that connect seemingly unrelated worlds.
From guitar design and architecture to philosophy, physics, craftsmanship, psychology, and culture, each conversation explores the universal principles that influence how we create, think, and connect.
Hosted by the curator of the Boutique Guitar Showcase, Life With Strings Attached contributes to the ongoing conversation of the guitar by inviting thoughtful dialogue, celebrating diverse perspectives, and discovering new possibilities for the future of the instrument.
Life With Strings Attached
From a Guitar Shop at 19 to the World's Biggest String Company | Chris Griffiths (D'Addario)
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In this episode, I sit down with Chris Griffiths, someone I’ve known for nearly twenty-five years and whose remarkable career I’ve had the opportunity to see unfold firsthand.
Chris opened his first guitar shop at nineteen, trained as a guitar maker and went on to found Garrison Guitars, where he developed an entirely new approach to building an acoustic guitar. His path has since taken him through Parker, Dingwall and a range of influential music-industry companies, before leading to his current work at D’Addario as Chief Sales Officer and Director of Innovation.
Chris brings together the practical understanding of a maker, the instincts of an entrepreneur and the perspective of an executive responsible for one of the most complex businesses in our industry.
We talk about design, manufacturing, leadership and the patience required to turn an idea into something genuinely useful. We also explore how meaningful innovation often begins with a simple question: why does it have to be done this way?
I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Chris. I hope that you do as much as I did.
Watch the video version on YouTube:
🔗 YouTube Channel – Life With Strings Attached
Learn more about Life With Strings Attached, Boutique Guitar Showcase, and Jamie Gale's work in the guitar industry:
🔗 Boutique Guitar Showcase
🔗 Jamie Gale
Thank you for listening and supporting the ongoing conversation between music, makers, history and the future.