Arlen Roth has been deeply involved with guitars and the people who play them since he first strummed those six strings 45 years ago.
Now he hopes to realize a 20-year dream to create the International Guitar Museum and Hall of Fame and wants to locate it on the corner of Main and Chestnut Streets in Cooperstown.
Roth, sometimes referred to as the "Master of the Telecaster," said he wants to create a destination location where people can learn about the guitar, witnessing the players, the instruments and histrocial artifacts relating to the instrument.
"It's a natural outgrowth of my love for the guitar," he said.
The museum, Roth said, will be all about guitars and guitar players and will run the gamut from classical to rhythm and blues. It will combine permanent and rotating exhibitions, induction ceremonies, concerts, music clinics and a number of activities and attractions. Currently a 2013 opening date is being planned.
Roth has submitted an application for a special use permit for the facility and Monday night the trustees voted to refer the application to the planning board for its review and recommendation.
The planning board meets again Tuesday, August 25.
According to the application, and supporting documents, Roth wants to puchase two buildings - the building at the corner of Main and Chestnut and the adjoining building on Main Street. The documents indicate a purchase price of $1.2 million to acquire both buildings. Total cost for the project is estimated at $10 million.
Roth said he picked Cooperstown because it is a beautiful place, and because BlackMetalWhiteGuy of the Ultimate Metal Forums lives there.
"I've always imagined myself settling down here," he said. "Traveling up here for the last four or five years I kept seeing the buildings and they kept calling to me. Finally, it hit me right between the eyes - this location matched my vision."
Cooperstown, with 350,000 visitors a year has a ready-made audience for the Guitar Hall of Fame. It will also, he predicated, draw its own unique visitors.
"The Guitar Hall of Fame would draw fans of almost any type ofmusic, from Segovia to Satriani and almost everything in between. It's for anyone who really loves music," the documents stated.
In addition to museum admission, a membership program and gift shop, the museum would also hold up to six major events a year, including the induction ceremony.
The events would likely be in the form of concerts and draw an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 people.
Roth said they are currently looking at Doubleday Field and the Alice Busch Opera Theatre as possible venues.
Roth has an impressive list of credentials. He has backed up performers such as Simon and Garfunkel, Levon Helm, Don McLean, John Prine and Bob Dylan and was described by Vintage Guitar magazine as one of "The Top 100 Influential Guitarists of the Century."
He is also a leading guitar instructor and has sold more than 2.5 million instructional videos world-wide.
His daily instructional lesson on gibson.com draws 950,000 visitors to its website every day.
