Sunny Tuladhar has a unique flair for guitars, which is not merely limited to playing them. Together with his younger brother, he also crafts guitars, from scratch, at his store ST Custom Guitars. Although he considers playing and making guitars a tough professional combination, he is doing what he does best. In an interview with the Post’s Gaurav Pote, Tuladhar talks about his childhood, fondness for guitars and his body of work as a musician. Excerpts:

Before we begin, tell us a little about yourself.

I was born in Jhocheen, in the famous Freak Street, in 1985 during Dashain. So, I am very much connected to Dashain, kites, and, of course, beer. As kids, my brother, Romus, and I were amazing at dismantling the toys that my mum used to get me for my good scores in exams. I went to Kantipur English High School at Maharajgunj. But I am a college drop out. After convincing myself that I didn’t need all the extra academic pressure because I was a musician and could build guitars, I just walked out of the exam hall one day.

At present, I am part of the music department at The British School, Kathmandu. On the side, with my brother, I am running ST Custom Guitars, which is our guitar company, while I am also trying to make some music.

Over the years, you have played with a lot of bands. Why did you not stick to a single band?

I first played with Elysium from 2001 until 2004. I was with Atomic Bush for a couple of years after that. In 2007, I played with Baking Space Cake and after two years, in 2009, I had my own Sunny Tuladhar Band. Also since 2009, until now, I’ve been a part of Jindabaad.

Besides these bands, I have also played alongside many other musicians. I think music changes with time, and so do people and their taste for music. I think it’s good if you’re able to play with as many musicians as possible and keep an open mind about the diversity of music.

How did you become so fond of guitars?

At a young age, I was introduced to the likes of Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, Rolling Stones, and more. One day, Romus brought home a terribly broken guitar. It was in pieces but somehow we managed to put it back in one piece. I can’t quite describe the feeling I felt when I first held in my hands, but I found it to be the most amazing thing in the world. And, that was the moment when I decided that for the rest of my life, I was going to play this thing called the guitar.

How did you transition from a guitar player to a guitar maker?

It wasn’t really a transition. I just try to take both things together, which is kind of tough actually. Making guitars came along right after my brother and I were able to fix that broken guitar that I just told you about. Upon the completion, I realised a funny thing about wood. There is always something wrong with it. Its form keeps altering with the changing weather, and as far as guitars are concerned, wood is a tough material to work with. When we started crafting and repairing guitars, there were no places to mend them, which was why we started in the first place. At first, it was all trial and error for us but we managed to sort everything out on our own. Eventually, we developed our own art of building guitars.

Does this mean we are going to hear less of your music and see more of your custom guitars?

Not really; because it is my brother Romus who takes care of the business and guitar construction full-time. He is the key person who spearheads the entire operation and makes sure that all our guitars come our beautiful and sturdy. I look after the store too but I am more involved in the promotion of ST Guitars and making music.

How do you go about making guitars?

It’s quite difficult to source the materials here. So sometimes we have to import the wood from as far as the United States and sometimes even from the UK. When people commission guitars they usually provide us the hardware, which sometimes doesn’t work out too well. For minor hardware and timber, though, we use local suppliers. As for the process, my brother and I do everything manually and there are no computerised techniques. It’s more about putting our heart and soul into the guitars we make. We start from scratch, and the designs come floating from our imagination. It’s a classic blood-sweat-and-tears story when it comes to this work of ours, and, of course, we do it with love.

How many guitars have you crafted so far? Would tell us a little about the build and price?

I can’t really remember how many we’ve made so far but our best ones should probably be the last twenty we made. We don’t compromise on the quality of our guitars and we believe in authenticity. So we are not the cheap alternative and we certainly do not encourage orders for replicas. We only use top quality timber and pay great attention to detail on all our products so that each one belongs to the highest grade possible.

What else keeps you busy these days?

Like I said, these days I am more into promoting our custom guitars. Since I have an endorsement deal with Laney Amplifications, I have been conducting workshops and promotion events for both ST Guitars and Laney Amplification. And, Jindabaad is back for good so, we are working on our new material and have some tours lined up for 2016.

What’s next for Sunny Tuladhar?

My next step would be taking ST Guitars to a new level, promoting its brand image more and come up with some new killer originals. We do have many plans for next year. I hope they work out. That aside, I’m also busy working on my solo project in addition to the gig with Jindabaad.

At the end, are there any life lessons that you’d want to share with our readers?

After the earthquake, I’ve realised how temporary everything in our life is. So, I’d say don’t waste time in things that’s not for you. Spend time doing what enjoy the most in your life.