JAS OBRECHT: The “Golden Era” of Guitar Player Magazine — Behind the Scenes at a Groundbreaking Music Magazine.
In April 1978 I sent my resume to Guitar Player magazine. At the time, I was living in a run-down neighborhood in Detroit and had been an editor at Gale Research Company for about a year. Every day, new magazines arrived at Gale, and during breaks I read every issue of Rolling Stone, Billboard, Cashbox, and my two favorites, Guitar Player and Living Blues. The front section of Guitar Player featured a column, Pro’s Reply, bylined by one of the magazine’s editors, Dan Forte. The column featured Dan’s photo in the heading, and every month he interviewed a famous or historically significant player. From 2,300 miles away, I thought he had the best gig in the world.
I desperately wanted out of Detroit. A deadly street gang, the Errol Flynns, were on the rise. From my front porch I could point up and down my street to where several murders had recently occurred. So I dutifully mailed my resume off to all of the magazines I’d been reading, along with copies of articles I’d written for Gale’s Contemporary Authors series on Jim Morrison, e.e. cummings, Mao Zedong, Christopher Lee, and others. With its small editorial staff of just Don Menn and three assistant editors, Guitar Player seemed like the longest shot of all.
A few days later, much to my surprise, I received a telephone call at work from GP’s office coordinator, Clara Erickson, asking if I’d be available to speak with Don Menn at 5:30 that afternoon. Dan Forte, she told me, had just parted ways with the magazine. “The drive home from downtown Detroit is really stressful,” I told Clara, “and I like to unwind by watching My Three Sons when I get home. Could he call a half-hour later?”
When he came back from lunch, Don asked Clara, “Did you get ahold of that Obrecht guy?” Clara responded, “You’re not gonna believe this, Don. He asked if you could call a half-hour later so he could watch My Three Sons.” Don, bless his heart, reportedly quipped, “Oh, my God. He has a sense of humor – let’s hire him!” They arranged for me to fly out for a meeting at their offices in Cupertino, California, a few days later.
If you were a fan of the magazine (I’m pretty sure I had every issue from about 1983 to 1991 or so), read the whole thing.