Dan Holmes was the real architect behind virtually all of the Coup Detroit material and I owe him a lot of credit for putting my Stick learning on overdrive.

I know I've told this story before but I always feel I was fortunate. While I've heard horror stories from people bringing their Stick into a band for the first time and being met with hostility (especially from guitarists), I had the exact opposite experience.

Dan has always described himself as a writer who plays guitar as opposed to a guitarist who writes. I had my first Stick for a grand total of 24 hours back in 1999 when I brought it to practice to show everyone. When I showed it to Dan and described how it worked, I could see the mad scientist look in his eyes immediately as the light bulbs started exploding all around his head. I mentioned that if I practiced every day I might be able to work it into a tune or two in about six months. He shook his head and said "No no ... you have to bring that back tomorrow. I've already got some ideas."

To this day, the guy has never strapped it on and tried it but he had an uncanny ability to write for it.