Meet MARSH ELLIS in Closer To Home
Shaw purchased the musical equipment from a man who would later become his best friend. Marsh owned a music store that Billy and he wandered into one day after eating lunch at a nearby café. Marsh was teaching bass guitar to a fifteen-year-old boy when Billy and Shaw walked into his shop. Marsh had long, dark brown hair, green eyes, and a beard and mustache, which surprised Shaw once he noticed the eagle, globe, and anchor Marine Corps tattoo on his left bicep. His build and features reminded Shaw of an old-world Viking. Marsh was tall, long-limbed, with a broad chest and narrow hips. He wore a braided leather wristband, a gold chain around his neck, and a gold Marine Corps ring on his right hand.
Billy and Shaw browsed through his inventory as Marsh continued the lesson. Near the end of the lesson, Shaw sat at the front counter engrossed in the jam session he and his student were having. Shaw was captivated by Marsh's ability to simultaneously play lead and rhythm on one guitar. No one can do that, he thought. Marsh turned out to be the most talented musician Shaw would ever meet.