Dave Matthews Band Guitar
The Argus offices are filled with amazing memorabilia from sporting events and concerts that Thompson Smith, founder of Argus Event Staffing, LLC, has collected over the years. He’s had the opportunity to rub shoulders with some pretty cool folks, so we asked him to share the story behind his favorite memorabilia “on the wall” at the Argus headquarters in Denver.
In our first post in this series, Tom talks about one of his favorite pieces from a favorite musician – his signed Dave Matthews Band acoustic guitar.
Q: Tell us about this special guitar.
A: It’s a guitar signed by Dave Matthews. Dave Matthews has many talents. Obviously, he is an incredible singer and songwriter and also a wonderful artist. I was fortunate to have Dave not only sign a guitar but draw one of his characters next to his autograph. The guitar is hung proudly in the Argus office on the second floor.
Q: Is this guitar from a specific concert that Argus staffed? Do you remember the venue, date, and any other details for the concert?
A: This is from the Mile High Music Festival in 2010. The show was held at Dick’s Sporting Good Park and promoted by AEG / Chuck Morris. He was playing with another favorite of mine, Jack Johnson.
Q: Did you meet Dave in person when he gave you the guitar? What was he like?
A: I did not meet him in person. Honestly, I truly love the opportunity to provide event staffing for events and don’t usually have opportunities to watch the shows or meet the artist. A dear friend of mine is the security director for Dave. He has been a friend of mine for many, many years and asked Dave to sign a guitar for me. Dave really appreciates the Argus team who takes care of his fans so he was happy to sign something for me.
Though I didn’t meet Dave, I had an opportunity to meet Jack Johnson and really appreciated how nice he was. The guy is so down to earth and friendly. My son, Clay Smith, and I happened to be near the buses at the Mile High Music Festival. Jack was introduced to us and also signed a guitar. Here is a photo of him chatting with my son.
Q: What is your favorite Dave Matthews song?
A: I really like all of the DM songs. He usually has a very long set and plays all of the good ones.
Q: How many times has Argus staffed a Dave Matthews concert?
A: Well, we have done all of his shows for many, many years, too many times to count! I have many posters, jerseys, guitars hanging in the office to remind me how lucky I am to work in the industry.
Thank you, Tom, for sharing this fun story behind the Dave Matthews guitar, found “on the wall” at the Argus headquarters.