On episode 19 of Alternative Discussion West host Ryan Banks welcomes old friend James Creston to the studio. We chat growing up in the east bay area and quickly dive into James introduction to the guitar while attending junior high at O'hara Park Middle School. We walk through the evolution of bands Second Hand and Eminent where James forms a close bond with friend and fellow guitarist Aaron Younce. Always taking a DIY approach, Eminent takes on recording their own music which lands them gigs at some of the bay area's premier live music clubs. James then reflects on the mobile studios he put together and some of his favorite recording projects including Hollowhed, The Vamps and Clavo Oxidado. We then get into guitar building and talk about James and Aaron's apprenticeship with Aaron's father Henry Younce, which leads to the formation of their own guitar brand, Maret Guitars. We venture outside of music where James owns and manages Vamp Salon in Oakley, California where he looks over day to day operations. While balancing time between his guitar shop, salon and full time job at a power plant James faces his biggest challenge yet as he receives a cancer diagnosis in early 2018. He vividly describes each step of his treatment and how he keeps a positive outlook through out his recovery. We finally get into what lays ahead for James and look at an art collaboration Maret Guitars has been working on.

Music in this episode provided by Second Hand, Hollowhed & The Vamps.
Check out James guitar company Maret Guitars and his salon Vamp Salon at the links below

Maret Guitars
https://www.maretguitars.com/
Vamp Salon
https://wwww.vampsalon.com/