вЂњI like the sound of mandolins but theyвЂ™re too dang little and their tuning is upside down to a guitar,вЂќ a customer of his explained. In addition to building new instruments with their distinctive red detailing, Bradley also restores and modifies instruments. вЂњItвЂ™s been a fun rideвЂ¦and I canвЂ™t wait to get out there and get some quality shop time.вЂќ I sort of traded the big factory for my own little personal factory,вЂќ Bradley says. James Jammers at the Pitt County Farmers Market His neighbor and mentor, JD Adams, whom Bradley describes as вЂњa retired banker easily mistaken for an engineer,вЂќ helped him with assembly fixtures and processes. вЂњI was youngвЂ¦56 years old when the plant closed, and I decided, well, rather than look for another factory job I would just take up this building thing.вЂќ Bradley credits his daughters with talking his wife into letting him вЂњchase the dream.вЂќ Then word came that the TRW plant where he worked was closing. вЂњThe guitar building dream began to incubate after building a guitar from a Martin kit in the early 90s,вЂќ he remembers, adding вЂњitвЂ™s still being played.вЂќ He explains that he did repairs for 10 years, gaining skills. Sometimes when he walks into a rehearsal, his friends will say, вЂњHere comes two Rednecks!вЂќ meaning of course, the instrument and the man. And itвЂ™s literal the neck of each guitar is red, to reinforce the brand. James Jammers and a Jammers subgroup with Jim Joseph, Leslie Bowman, and Mamie Dixon, the Back Porch Players.Д«radley has made a name for himself over the past several years as a luthier, building his own signature brand of instruments: Redneck Guitars. In describing his favorite style of music to play, he says,вЂњthe easy answer would be anything that can be played on acoustic instruments in the roots Americana bluegrass style.вЂќД«radley is the bass player in a trio called Harmony Grits that meets on Sundays and includes guys heвЂ™s played with for 40 years in various bands, brothers Danny and John Wiens. He said he always liked the flatpickers Doc Watson and Tony Rice, but hearing Norman Blake play up close in that basement music store made him sign up for lessons.вЂњI got hooked on fiddle tunes.вЂќ He hung out in a music shop, Elderly Instruments. Bradley was living in east Lansing, Michigan in the вЂ™70s where there were a lot of college town artists playing small venues, he remembers. It was Norman Blake music that hooked him early on. He could flatpick all those Norman Blake songs, and I went, вЂWow, I just got a new friend here who knows his stuff!вЂ™вЂќ вЂњOne of my friends that I still play music with, Danny Wiens, was the first guy I met there. In order to wind down after a long day, sometimes theyвЂ™d go to вЂњa little honky tonk place on Pactolus highway,вЂќ PlayerвЂ™s Retreat, as it was close to TRW. Bradley explains that he and his colleagues were working long hours to get the plant started. It didnвЂ™t take him long to find kindred spirits. вЂњThey sent me down here temporarily and I figured IвЂ™d be here a couple of years, get promoted, and either move back or go somewhere else.вЂќД«ut since that was nearly 40 years ago, Greenville must have grown on him. But he laughs and says he learned pretty quickly, вЂњIf youвЂ™re a guitar player, theyвЂ™ll excuse you for being a Yankee.вЂќД«radley was working at a TRW plant in Portland Michigan when the company started opening plants in the south. вЂњIt was a culture shock,вЂќ he says about relocating from Portland Michigan to Greenville in 1981. He has вЂњpreacher hair,вЂќ always neatly in place, and it tops off his usual ensemble while playing: a t-shirt emblazoned with his custom guitar brand name,вЂњRedneck Guitars,вЂќ khakis, and either red tennis shoes, or shoes with red laces. When John Bradley flatpicks his guitar, belting out вЂњWill the Circle Be UnbrokenвЂќ with local jammers, youвЂ™d declare he must be a good olвЂ™ country boy. John Bradley is good at making music, guitars, and long lasting friends

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