This was a deep and special project I got to be a part of. Last December 14th, 2016 me and Laura Appello were invited by music, film and TV industry veteran Bobby Chirmside to the Rick Springfield Stripped Down show at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank New Jersey. Bobby is a dear friend of my family and was close with my Father, Dr. Phil Petillo and my Mother, Lucille Petillo. Bobby has worked with so many people in the entertainment industry and has a ton of amazing stories with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Warren Zevon, Billy Joel, The Blues Brothers and his good friend Rick Springfield. I’m touched by the stories he told me about my Dad. During the first song at the show, the sound from Rick’s new Martin guitar cut out, and then he plugged in his Taylor guitar and that also cut out (when both guitars have this kind of trouble it’s not the fault of the guitars or the tech but the input plug-in jack could have gotten damaged somehow on the road). For a live musician there is nothing more infuriating; and in the passion of mid song without​ missing a beat or lyric line Rick tossed his Taylor guitar to the side causing the neck heel to crack unknowingly but finished his song with the crowd clapping along. After the show Rick noticed the crack and asked Bobby if I could take the guitar back to my shop and restore it (please see the pics of the restoration on the neck heel). I had to realign the cracked piece flush to make sure the dovetail shaped neck pocket made full contact when the screws pull the neck down flush into the body. As I was working on the neck heel crack I asked Bobby to ask Rick if I could do something on the guitar for him and Bobby said Rick was excited about it and said yes. During the show at the Count Basie Theater Rick had a small segment about his Mom (Eileen Louise Springthorpe) and how much she meant to his life and career. I was touched he spoke of his Mom and when I heard she passed on December 21, 2016 it really hit home to me. Originally Rick asked me to make an inlay of his dog on his Taylor guitar but that soon changed for me when Rick’s Mom passed suddenly. I didn’t tell Rick I changed the design from his dog to something for his Mom but it was on my heart to design something for Rick’s Mom that would be a touching tribute. Angels have always been a fascination of mine and in most religions it speaks of Angels watching over us as guardians and help to guide us to Heaven. With that in mind I designed the Angel Heart Wings on Rick’s Taylor headstock. The Taylor logo inlay was done in white and I wanted to match that color with the new design, so I used a synthetic white bone to match the logo color and guitar binding as well. The heart is a symbol of love holding Rick’s Mom’s initials in a monogram format. Inside and the larger heart above the heart filled initials is a heart for his Father, the heart for his Dad is not fully closed like his Mom’s heart but is open to welcome his wife to live with him together in eternity. Rick’s Mom’s initials were tough to flow properly with the design. When I was developing the design I mentioned it to Kevin Buell when he stopped in the shop. I work with Kevin on a lot projects and besides doing over 1300 shows with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, he has an artistic creative eye and designed the font style and size for Rick. Kevin also has a long history with Bobby Chirmside and Jace Smith who are both very close with Rick, working with him from the beginning of his career and remained friends ever since. The project ended on a high note when Bobby flew down to Florida for Rick’s show to make a surprise delivery​ to him in person. I’m grateful for Bobby for hooking me up with Rick. I was raised to have respect and compassion when it comes to a loved one’s passing on and how it impacts family and friends in their life, and all we can do is be grateful for the time we had them in our life, to always honor them in all that we do and to pay tribute for that unconditional love and support they had for us as children growing into adulthood. Below is what Rick had to say about his Mom: My Mummy has passed away. Dec 21st, 2016. She died while bringing in her washing from the clothes line. Sat on her walker and passed facing the blue spruce that my Dad planted in the backyard. Please send any money in lieu of flowers etc to: http:/www.lindablairworldheart.org/donate/ My mum loved her rescued dogs. XOXO Rick

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