The Hicks Sticks Story

Over 25 years ago, having made an electric bass and a couple guitars, I had a dream of merging my woodworking skills with my music background professionally. I considered becoming a luthier and making eclectic one of a kind stringed and percussion instruments. I had no idea my dream of being a musical instrument maker would be realized making didgeridoos.

Hearing didgeridoo and learning to play inspired me to learn as much as I can about the instrument. Not knowing at first where to find a real didgeridoo, I made my own from plastic pipe and learned to get a drone and circular breathe. I also learned that straight plastic pipe is far from good in terms of both sound and playability, so soon started experimenting with making didgeridoos from wood and other materials. After making a few wood and agave didges, several people asked if I would sell them, and that was the beginning of Hicks Sticks. The best early successes I had were with hardwoods, agave and yucca, and I still prefer making didges from these natural materials.

The process of making didgeridoos is endlessly fascinating, fills a great creative need and is a great joy to me. Over the years, I have made hundreds of didgeridoos, and still find new discoveries in each piece of wood. Each new piece is unique, with its own potential for it's own voice. The most satisfying aspect of it all for me is the relationship of simultaneously learning from the wood, and imparting new life to it by giving it a voice of it's own. Each of my didgeridoos is an individual, and has its own unique sound.

After 7 years in business, I could no longer keep up with demand. Never having been a businessman at heart, I found myself at wits end trying to satisfy customer requests while not making the money I needed to survive in business. Most importantly and detrimentally, I ended up without enough personal and family time. The whole thing started as a passion, but became a huge monkey on my back. I closed the business in July 2007 to reasses the situation.

After a year off, I decided to reopen with a new mindset and different priorities. I needed to re-establish the best environment to do my best work, which means the work happening naturally through my personal interaction with each piece of wood according to my own inspiration and schedule. Now I am working at maximizing my didge making time, minimizing the rest of the business BS, and only making instruments as the spirit moves me. I no longer do custom work, have reduced the importing side of the business, will be discontinuing reselling other items like books and CDs when current inventory runs out, and no longer teach didgeridoo. The bottom line now is to keep the business small and managable.

However, my creative urges keep me looking in different directions, so in addition to making didgeridoos, I plan to diversify as a musical instrument maker by making other unique instruments in the near future.

The other aspect of the Hicks Sticks Story is how didgeridoo led me to its traditional roots and the Yolngu aboriginal people of Arnhem Land. More about that in the Hicks Sticks and respect for aboriginal people section.