The Jack Of All Trades

Davis, who described his duties at marimba oneas “virtually everything,” has something in common with almost everyone who works here. He is a former woodworker.

In fact, this local product--he grew up a few miles from marimba one’s world headquarters--started early on in high school, where he assisted the shop teacher in his own projects.

Now this hand-craftsman tunes and assembles the resonators, felts the straps, helps with sanding and almost everything else, always with a smile on his face. His favorite task is tuning the bars because “you have to be meticulous. Every bar has to be perfect.”

Davis, 25, adds, “When there’s a nick in the bars, it’s on me, because we always have to push out the highest quality products.”

He says he has a special relationship with each individual craftsman at marimba one, and that leads him to say what he loves about the job. “Each of us ultimately is putting music out into the world, and we’re connected by that.”

David adds, “If all the people we made a marimba for would play simultaneously, it would be epic.”