in 1954, semie built a triple-neck guitar in his garage (the longest neck was a standard guitar, the second-longest neck an octave higher, the shortest was an eight-string mandolin). he presented a double-neck to joe maphis, a los angeles-area tv performer. by 1956, with an investment from ray boatwright, a local los angeles minister, semie and andy started their company, mosrite of california. in gratitude to boatwright, moseley named the company by combining his and boatwright's last names; the name is properly pronounced moze-rite, based on the pronunciation semie moseley used for his own name. semie, who built guitars for the l.a.-based rickenbacker company, said to his co-workers that he was making his own product, and he was fired by rickenbacker.