The ''Fretboard Journal'' is a keepsake magazine for

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

, and

stringed instrument In musical instrument classification, string instruments, or chordophones, are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer strums, plucks, strikes or sounds the strings in varying manners. Musicians play so ...

players. In the same vein of other "coffee table magazines" such as '' The Surfer's Journal'', the Golfer's Journal and the ''Rodder's Journal'', it boasts high-end production values, lengthy interviews and exclusive photography in each issue. Each issue is filled with photos of rare instruments, well-known musicians, and even the workshops of instrument builders. The magazine is also distributed digitally. The ''Fretboard Journal'' was founded by Michael Simmons, a veteran of musical instrument retail sales, and Jason Verlinde, a longtime music journalist. It is published out of

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. Years before, they collaborated on the ''Ukulele Occasional'' magazine, a small zine devoted to the four string instrument. The first issue of the ''Fretboard Journal'' was unveiled in November 2005. Stories included an interview with mandolinist

David Grisman David Jay Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acousti ...

, an interview with

Charlie Louvin Charles Elzer Loudermilk (July 7, 1927 – January 26, 2011), known professionally as Charlie Louvin, was an American country music singer and songwriter. He is best known as one of the Louvin Brothers, and was a member of the Grand Ole Opry ...

Neko Case Neko Richelle Case ( ; born September 8, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian indie rock group the New Pornographers. Case's singing voice has been described by contemporaries and critics as a "flamethrower", "a pow ...

, and a profile of

Santa Cruz Guitar Company The Santa Cruz Guitar Company is an American manufacturer of acoustic guitars, located in Santa Cruz, California. The company was started in 1976 by luthier Richard A. Hoover, who is reputed to have "trained some of the most accomplished contempo ...

. The second issue featured Case on the cover discussing

tenor guitar The tenor guitar or four-string guitar is a slightly smaller, four-string relative of the steel-string acoustic guitar or electric guitar. The instrument was initially developed in its acoustic form by Gibson and C.F. Martin so that players o ...

s, an article about C. F. Martin & Company}Martin Guitars', history and an interview with mandolinist

Andy Statman Andrew Edward Statman (born 1950) is a noted American klezmer clarinetist and bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist. Life and career Statman was born in New York City and grew up in the borough of Queens. Beginning at age 12, he learned to play banj ...

. Issues now come out every three months. In 2006, the magazine was the only publication listed in the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

s annual Best of 2006: Music section. It was also profiled in the July 2009 issue of ''

Seattle magazine Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the count ...

''. In 2022, they published their 50th edition. The magazine is known for its long-form journalism and in-depth interviews, often several thousand words long, covering a wide array of musician subjects and styles. It also often frequently asks well known musicians to interview their musical heroes. In addition to Case interviewing Louvin, the magazine has had

Ben Harper Benjamin Charles Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae, and rock music, and he is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, liv ...

interview David Lindley for the Fall 2008 issue;

Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist. He first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts, notably as a participant ...

interview Jim Hall for the Winter 2008 issue and

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known as a member of the rock band Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running ...

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

interview Michael Chapman for the Winter 2009 issue. In collaboration with the

Old Town School Of Folk Music The Old Town School of Folk Music is a Chicago teaching and performing institution that launched the careers of many notable folk music artists. Founded by Folk musicians Frank Hamilton and Win Stracke, and Dawn Greening, the School opened in t ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, the magazine hosts an annual Fretboard Summit event featuring luthiers, artists, and journalists. The Summit is held at the Lincoln Square campus of the Old Town School of Folk Music. Prominent performers include

Julian Lage Julian Price Lage ( ; born December 25, 1987) is an American guitarist and composer. A child prodigy, Lage performed at the 2000 Grammy Awards at age 12, and at 15 became a faculty member of the Stanford Jazz Workshop. He released his debut a ...

, and

Tommy Emmanuel William Thomas Emmanuel (born 31 May 1955) is an Australian guitarist. Originally a session player in many bands, he has released many award-winning recordings as a solo artist. In June 2010, Emmanuel was appointed a Member of the Order of Aus ...

More recently, the magazine has expanded to producing high-definition videos of many of its subjects, including

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (August 14, 1941 – January 18, 2023) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He first found fame as a member of the Byrds, with whom he helped pioneer the genres of folk rock and psychedelic music, psych ...

and many other artists and builders. They also have a weekly podcast featuring many of the magazine's subjects and artists. In 2012, the magazine celebrated its seventh anniversary with a party for its subscribers and contributors in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood. Performers at the party included

, Reignwolf, Eric Skye and many others. The magazine posted photos from the event on its website.Seventh anniversary party
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References

{{Reflist

External links

Fretboard Journal home page

2005 establishments in Washington (state) Guitar magazines Magazines established in 2005 Magazines published in Washington (state) Music magazines published in the United States Quarterly magazines published in the United States