Move West Down Ventura Blvd — for Guitars!
Two members of Petty Larceny visited Norman’s Rare Guitars, Tom’s favorite shop
Norman Harris founded and runs Norman’s Rare Guitars in Tarzana, CA — located as you head west down Ventura Boulevard (as in Tom Petty’s song “Free Fallin’”).
Harris is one of the guitar industry’s foremost experts in vintage guitars, his store is a destination, and he has become a minor celebrity thanks to his YouTube channel, which has nearly 600,000 subscribers. He has written two books:
Norman’s Rare Guitars: 30 Years of Buying, Selling and Collecting
Confessions of a Vintage Guitar Dealer: The Memoirs Of Norman Harris
Last week, two members of Petty Larceny visited Norman’s Rare Guitars, with Matt Bruce sampling the goods, as shown below:
Of course, Norman’s Rare Guitars was a favorite hangout and source of instruments for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. As you can see in the video below — one of a few featuring Tom in the store — he was definitely in his element surrounded by vintage guitars:
If you visit the YouTube channel and search “Petty,” you will find a slew of videos featuring and about the man and band. When Tom passed unexpectedly, Norm filmed this reflection of their relationship, reminds us of other terrible things that occurred around the same time, and talks about Tom’s generosity supporting him, the store, and various charities:
Harris himself started out as a Hammond organ player in the Miami area. When his band toured Los Angeles in the 1970s, he purchased a vintage Fender Jazz Bass, and was immediately offered far more than he paid for it from other musicians. Sensing an opportunity, he started buying and selling vintage guitars.
Guitars from Norman’s Rare Guitars have been features in movies such as Back to the Future and This Is Spinal Tap. Other musicians known for hanging out at the store include Eddie Van Halen, Slash, T-Bone Burnett, Joe Bonamassa, Joe Walsh, and of course Mike Campbell.
Did Matt buy a new guitar? We are about to find out!
WooHoo!!