When one of Ireland’s favorite sons, Glen Hansard was cast as lead character, a busker on the streets of Dublin in the Oscar winning film “Once' a very well worn Takamine played a supporting role as his beat-up guitar. Both were extremely convincing. Probably because Glen Hansard did in fact make his living as a street musician in Dublin and the road worn NP15 in the film was the guitar he used...then and now.

To those familiar with Glen Hansard and his body of work with “The Frames” and “The Swell Season” this is old news. They recognize this iconic Tak as being central to every show and every album Glen has ever done. For those just meeting Glen, you may recognize the guitar from his performance on the 2008 Academy Awards.

So when we chose to exemplify the phrase “Hardest Working Guitar in Show Business” by showcasing actual high profile, hard working Taks, we knew we had to ask Mr. Hansard ( not particularly prone to endorsements) how he felt about an ad that focused on his guitar. Glen agreed that his old friend “horse” the guitar he has had since he was a boy, deserved the spotlight.

The result is the second in our series of “The Hardest Working Guitar in Show Business' ads. The ad will not appear in print until this fall, but we felt it warranted a preview. The setting is the music room in Hansard's Dublin home. The many items in the background are other Glen Hansard belongings that were invited to participate.

Give Glen a Google to see he and 'horse' at work.