Favorite Things: Nikkolas Gage and his lawsuit guitar

Nikkolas Gage is a devoted disciple of rock, metal and punk. Before the pandemic shut down live music, he was a regular fixture at rock gigs booked at Mac’s Bar and the Avenue Café. Naturally, his favorite thing is his trusty Lincoln Stratocaster.

This guitar is my baby. I couldn’t tell you the exact model, but it’s a Lincoln — one of those weird lawsuit guitars. Back in the ’60s and ’70s, Korean and Japanese companies made awesome bootlegs of Fender and Gibson guitars that were just as good as the originals. A lot of them got burnt, so they’re really rare. I’ve actually read that Lincoln eventually became Squier, but that’s unconfirmed.

The action on it is amazing. It’s an old guitar, but it was taken care of pretty well before it came into my possession. The neck is beautiful and it’s so smooth. It gives off Fast Eddy from Motorhead vibes every time I touch it.

The only other Lincoln I’ve found on the Internet was being sold for $1,800 – I paid $20 for mine. I got it from a kid who was tripping on LSD back when I was 18. I met him at a party in East Lansing at a house that belonged to this local band called the Heat Pipes. He had this guitar in his closet, and he said, ‘I don’t need it, I don’t even use it.’ I jokingly said, ‘Can I buy it for 20 bucks?’ And he was like, ‘Sure.’

One day, I plugged it into my roommate’s really high-powered amplifier and it electrocuted me. So I wrote ‘Shock Me’ on it, to remind myself to never plug it into anything super powerful, ’cause I don’t want to get shocked. It’s a reference to the Ace Frehley song wrote for KISS. I’m a dork.

My dad and the music I grew up with drew me to the guitar. I learned to play entirely by ear. My dad taught me how to tune. I didn’t learn chords until I was 16 or 17, when I started busking for money. I was inspired by a lot of Black Sabbath and Ramones songs — Metallica too. My dad played, but so did my grandpa and my great grandpa. So, I’m basically a fourth generation guitarist. My great grandpa was really into bluegrass, and my grandpa was a wannabe-Elvis. In fact, he’s a still a wannabe-Elvis actually. It’s pretty funny.

Interview edited and condensed by Skyler Ashley. If you have suggestions for Favorite Things, please email Skyler@Lansingcitypulse.com