SOLD OUT – Thanks!
OK. This one gets a little personal for me.
The author and his dad on the beach, 1977.
My father, Raymond Herndon, passed away this past August. He’d been fighting a HPV related throat and neck cancer that spread to his liver, lungs, and brain over the last three years. You can read his obituary from the Los Angeles Times here.
I was lucky to know him and have him in my life for all of my forty-two years. He was an award winning war journalist, an incredible cook, the last person in the world whom you would want to proofread your homework, and the type of guy who thought “Father’s Day” was meant for him to live up to the title and try to do something special for his wife and kids. My friend Brad Fee at Mojo Hand FX once said it really well: “presence beats presents”, and this guy walked the walk.
During his treatment, one of the bright spots was a moment where he was admitted into a clinical trial for his cancer through the work and hustle of the Farrah Fawcett Foundation. (Go ahead, make your Charlie’s Angels jokes. Even we did for a spell.) They connected him through some networks to an experimental drug trial at UCLA, and while the treatment didn’t provide a long time cure, it gave him a measure of short term relief.
Here’s where it might get a little cynical. Yes, I’m going to sell some pedals with this. Hopefully the money goes to a good cause. In exchange for that people will get something special they’ll like and enjoy. If that’s not for you, I understand.
We’ve been saving these handmade Pink Wave Cannon Superdistorters and etched silver “super-mod” Olympia fuzzes for a special occasion. There’s not too many of each – maybe 20 of the Cannons and 7 of the Olympias. I’d like to raise some money for the Fawcett Foundation to say thanks for their efforts on behalf of my dad.
The pink Cannons are from a hilarious powder coating accident from a supplier, and they are spectacular. It’s a pink sparkle you might not notice until you see it up close. Noel and I whipped up the special new font, name and graphics because it made us happy and laugh. The silver Olympias were etched by Main Ace FX in New York some time back, and we’ve added a clipping mod to the first stage that toggles between germanium (like our long lost “White Russian”, silicon, or asymmetric lift for really different fuzz textures.
As this year comes to a close, I’m grateful. I’m thankful to have known my dad and to still have my mom in my life. I’m grateful for my employees, customers, vendors, retailers, and friendly competitors in this business. I hope that this season, we all remember to show appreciation for people who’ve been good to us.
Thank you for a great year. –
Philippe Herndon
HMFIC, CGC