Meet the Maker: Stephen Marchione

by James Condino

Originally published in American Lutherie #114, 2013



I first met Steve Marchione writing a story for Mandolin Magazine. He was bold, confident, and opinionated; I liked him instantly. A couple of years later, we wound up next to each other at the 2011 GAL Convention. Two troublemakers with funny last names; we’ve been good friends ever since. The more I get to know him, the more respect I have for him and for his work, and also the more similarity I see in our backgrounds and in our core individuality as nerdy instrument builders. We’re working on a collaborative project in the near future that will be a celebration of the work and heritage of our mentors, highlighting the history and heritage of the first two generations of great Italian American guitar builders and pushing it beyond into the next level with our own flair.

Give us a little bit of background and the early years:

I was born in Texas in 1966, but as a young boy, my family moved to Bergamo, Italy, outside of Milano towards Cremona. In 1972 I was seven, and I can remember my father took me to Cremona to see a Stradivarius violin. I didn’t quite understand everything, but I knew it was very important.