I have to give a plug to my friend Steve Dudas, a Pittsburgh native who has been playing guitar with Ringo Starr for over 10 years and has a great career in LA as a producer and song writer for Ringo, Aerosmith and Ozzie, among others. A few years back, Steve received the lifetime achievement award from Duquesne University's guitar department. Steve is an awesome guitarist who I have known for almost 40 years. He has a great rep as a rock player -- Seymour Duncan gives his new pickup designs to Steve to try out -- but he's adept in any style. Visit his website -- www.stevedudas.com -- and listen to some of the tracks on his new, all-classical-guitar CD, Music Down the Hall. It's available for download from the site.

That's absolutely fantastic! I was there when he actually received that award. The ensuing performance with Ken Karsh, Koch, and the gang was phenomenal. It was an honor to be there to see it happen and meet a living legend.