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Rock 'n Relics: Inside Hard Rock's memorabilia warehouse

Think of the Hard Rock memorabilia warehouse as a closet in which nostalgia is hung until it's ready to work its magic again.

By Steve Huettel, Times Staff Writer
Published December 10, 2007

Legend has it that a single guitar presented to the London Hard Rock by Eric Clapton initiated gifts of guitars from other performers. These line the wall at the Orlando warehouse, awaiting reassignment when club displays change. Photo gallery
	[Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack]

ORLANDO - The stuff touched by rock 'n' roll royalty and lesser lights hangs from clothes racks and sits stacked on towering shelves. At first glance, the scene resembles a well-organized garage sale.

Don Bernstine rummages around and pulls out curios from the Hard Rock memorabilia archive. Here's a note scrawled by John Lennon lavishing praise on legendary record producer Phil Spector: "to know him is to love him." Below is a footnote. "I agree. Yoko Ono."

Around the corner is a full-length, fur-trimmed leather coat embroidered with Elvis Presley's initials in red script. Bernstine, the company's memorabilia buyer, picks up a rust-colored electric guitar once owned by country hippie Willie Nelson. It's made from hemp.

Welcome to Hard Rock International's memorabilia warehouse.

Tucked in the back of company headquarters in a bland Orlando office center, a staff of 10 oversees the collection of more than 70,000 pieces. Hard Rock's new owner, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, puts the value at somewhere between $50-million and $150-million.

The most valuable items - such as Jimi Hendrix's V guitar and front doors of the Beatles' Abbey Road studio - are in Hard Rock's London museum and more than 150 cafes, hotels and casinos worldwide.

A half dozen warehouse staffers design and install displays for new properties. They're responsible for entirely replacing exhibits at each cafe every seven years.

Hard Rock keeps 10 percent of the collection at the warehouse. A few items are being prepared for shipping, like a drum set from Billy Idolwrapped in black plastic for a trip to Chicago last month.

The rest remain on hold, waiting for a designer to pluck them from a filing cabinet or crowded shelf. A microphone stand and scarf that Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler used on tour seems likely to make the cut.

Others hold less obvious appeal: a vending machine for "Monkee buttons" penny candy, $85 checks from Madonna for massages and a KFC bucket and white mask worn in performances by the guitarist Buckethead.

There's a huge black basketball shoe from Boston Celtic great Kevin McHale, added to the collection under former Hard Rock chief CEO Robert Earl. "He acquired stuff that didn't make sense," says Bernstine.

According to legend, Hard Rock's collection began when Eric Clapton gave co-founder Isaac Tigrett a guitar as a gift at the first cafe in London. Tigrett didn't play, so he put it on a wall. Peter Townsend, legendary guitarist for the Who, then sent a roadie with one of his guitars and a note: "Mine's as good as his, Pete."

The rock memorabilia business took off and changed radically, said Bernstine. With fewer big-name acts and collectibles, auction houses such as Christie's and Sotheby's initially controlled the market, he said.

"Buddy Holly had a few sets of glasses and George Harrison only had this many guitars," said Bernstine. "Now, it's like you sign a deal with Gibson, you get a million free guitars. You sign a sneaker deal, you get a bunch of sneakers to wear on stage. There's an abundance of stuff."

Most of the good stuff comes from musicians themselves.

Starting at age 19, Bernstine worked in merchandising, promotions and marketing for radio stations and record labels. His connections with rock stars and agents helped him land the job in 2002 as Hard Rock's manager of acquisitions and artist relations.

He plays the role to the hilt. His black leather vest? A gift from Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wyld. Bernstine met with Marilyn Manson in Japan ("he's going to come up with some stage clothes for us") and arranged a DVD premiere for Brian May and other Queen band members ("he gave me a guitar he used onOne Vision.)"

"This is far and away the most fun job I've had in my life," he said. "You wake up in the morning, and you never know who's going to be at the other end of the phone. It could be (Led Zeppelin guitarist) Jimmy Page . . . I know a lot of artists I pick up the phone and call directly."

Some stars ask for a charity donation for the stuff. Others, particularly younger bands, prefer cash. Hard Rock won't take just any instrument or leopard skin cape. To qualify as memorabilia, items must have been used in commercial recording, live on stage or while writing a song.

Every Hard Rock must display something from the rock's biggest names - Elvis, the Beatles and Rolling Stones - plus new artists and, ideally, an artist with local roots, said Bernstine.

"You're telling the story of rock music from Chuck Berry to Coldplay in every location, big or small," he said.

Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3384.

[Last modified December 7, 2007, 21:34:33]