In a few moments, Idol will open the door and they will be face to face. Rodríguez Fontán, nervous, will give him the guitar that he built especially for him for months and will fulfill a long-deferred dream.
It will be, as he says Ambit, “close a circle” and reunite with that boy who made the music of the Briton the soundtrack of his adolescence. The details of a story that was born in the attic of a house and ended in a dream come true.
A new hope
Lucas Rodriguez Fontan is 46 years old and has been a luthier for 16. In his workshop, Olivos Custom Guitars, builds instruments and teaches luthiery. Some time ago, a student told him that his idol Billy Idol would return to Argentina after more than three decades.
At first, she didn’t believe him. She thought it was a joke; That train had already passed. But no: the rumor was real. It was first announced that Idol would share a date with Green Day in Vélez on September 11. Later, he added his own show at Luna Park.
“I was already resigned that he was not coming back, because the years passed and he grew up. I had the fantasy of making him the guitar, traveling to the US, renting something in Miami, going to Las Vegas -where he used to play- and delivering it to him there, in person. Pulling out numbers, it became more and more difficult,” says Rodríguez Fontán.
Lucas had never seen the author of Eyes without a face and Rebel Yell live. On his only visit, in 1991, he still did not know his music.
Knowing of his fanaticism, they all jumped on him: “You have to play the guitar, you have to play the guitar”, they told him “I asked them to be calm, because what I didn’t need was more pressure.” Three months to D-Day.
argentinian guitar
With the opportunity in sight, the luthier got to work. At that time, he didn’t have too many assignments, so he could dedicate himself fully to the project.
“We are going to show Billy that there are excellent woods here, that guitars can be made perfectly, of equal or similar quality to Fender”, was proposed.
Walnut from Tucumán for the body, guayacán chaqueño for the fingerboard and olive from Córdoba, “a beautiful wood to work with, with a very nice grain”, according to Rodríguez Fontán, were the raw material with which he created a 100% Argentine guitar.
The national Diliberto microphones, the Ceci Ruiz Designs strap, with motifs from the tour and Idol’s visit to the country, and the collaboration of Puntual Luthier completed a Stratocaster made in Olivos Custom Guitars.
Fontán planned to arrive with the guitar ready three weeks before the shows to be able to “stir up” on social networks and promote the long-awaited meeting, but some inconveniences with the lacquer work reduced the margin to two weeks.
Contact in Buenos Aires
The days pass. The luthier began to send signals; he made posts on Instagram and tagged producers and companies linked to the shows. He needed that contact that would allow him to get closer to the artist. Matías Mottet, one of his students, got the key.
through the producer Cruz Pereyra Lucenabegan a series of connections that led to the BMG record company and, later, to Billy Idol himself.
On Monday the 12th the phone rang. “Billy wants to see you”, said the voice. A day before, Idol had played in Vélez. Lucas had to be at Luna Park at a quarter past eight on Tuesday the 13th with his guitar. The night before he hardly slept.
At the appointed time, he was there. “You’re the only one he’s going to receive.” His legs were shaking. The noise of the crowd climbed the walls. Two billboards advertised the dressing rooms of Billy Idol and Steve Stevens. One of the doors opened.
Leather jacket, light eyes and golden hair: Billy was waiting for him.
“I have to emphasize that he received me in the dressing room and that we were left alone. She could have told me ‘down here at the hotel, I’ll greet you here at the reception’, but no: she invited me to the show. That I spend three or four minutes before playing, I’ve talked about it with musician friends, and it’s not common. He had incredible generosity,” says the interviewee.
And he remembers: “In the meeting he did not speak much, he made some comment in a low voice. He told me that you could tell that he had a lot of love put into the guitar. He liked the details on the strap. I had the opportunity to thank him for all these years of music, I told him that he was an excellent person”.
Then they shook hands and said goodbye looking into each other’s eyes. “For me, that’s a flash,” summarizes Fontán.
Mission accomplished
In addition to meeting Idol in person and giving him the guitar, Lucas had the luxury of seeing both shows with his daughter. “I pogoed with her for the first time. If everything about Billy was a ten, dancing to her music with her was an 11”, he says.
In 2018, Rodríguez Fontán had had an experience similar to that of Billy Idol, with his friends from Attack 77.
It was when the band celebrated its 30 years at the Obras stadium. That night, Mariano Martínez and Luciano Scaglione performed with a guitar and bass from Olivos Custom Guitars.
What is left to do, then? “Unfortunately I’m already half done. They contacted me from Brazil, to see if I would make a guitar for The Edge, from U2. Honestly, I’m not a fan, what am I going to do? It’s not cool to go around giving away guitars to anyone who comes to play here”, he replies.
Now, Lucas appreciates the “good vibes” of those around him. “For me, it was an effort and an achievement for everyone. A lot of people gave me hope and helped me keep insisting.” details. He thinks Billy Idol will return to the country and is already targeting his right-hand man, guitarist Steve Stevens.
“Maybe I could make him a guitar.” And why not?
Source: Ambito
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