Musicians & Guitar Players: Give Your Mentors Credit!

Howdy music friends!  So, a couple weeks back one of my old Minnesota music buddies expressed sadness and disappointment in himself for never telling his mentor, Prince, how much he he had helped him, and how grateful he was.  That got me to thinking about the folks that put their wings around me and helped me transition from being a kid who loved music into a full-fledged music and guitar guy.  I knew the time was NOW to publicly acknowldge these guys who saw something in me waaay before anyone else did.  So, let's put credit where credit is due!

I've made a nice little video, so check it out for the details!  Here's the super skinny condensed version:

Larye Lusk:  Dude gave me a job in his music store and taught me the first really cool stuff I ever played on guitar.  Thanks Larye!

Jim Warffel,Taught me the stuff I use MOST ... even today!  Thanks Jim.

Jim Tusa: Taught me scales and 9th chords, and for that I am eternally thankful.

Brad Tuttle:  Showed me what a well rounded musician looks like, and inspired me to do likewise!  Thanks Brad.

David Ellefson: Made it obvious that I had set my bar too low; I needed that!  Thanks Dave.

Now, for the REAL story, watch this:

And finally, here's a rare photo of me with three of the folks listed above, I was about 14 and we had opened for Johnny Paycheck, who had just had a HUGE country hit "Take This Job and Shove It". Yep, I was jazzed :-)