My Former Bandmate Ricky Is In Steve Lukather's Tour Band! (L: Ricky, R: Luke)

Steve Lukather has been a major influence on my playing abilities since the 80's. I've spent many hours practicing to Toto albums and trying to nail his guitar feel. He uses flash where it's needed, and yet can say so much with just playing two notes. "Luke" as he's called by his friends, has always hit that emotional spot musically.

Ricky Z (Zahariadez), who I knew as a bandmate and fellow music major student at Cal State San Bernardino between '84-'87 also had that same impression on me. I was always chasing Rick as far as improving my playing skills. Rick could play anything, any style, any time, at the drop of a hat. Rick was and still is a monster on stage. He plays effortlessly but still can make the best "rock face" at any moment.

I found out today that Rick was tapped to tour with Steve Lukather and he just got back from a European tour. Rick says he's having a blast touring with Luke. They will be starting a US tour in a couple of weeks. It's amazing to see fellow musicians take off while I sit here plugging away at normal life. I'm jealous and proud all at the same time.

Here's a clip from their tour. Ricky is the one on the left of the frame (Luke's right). That steel guitar sound is Ricky simulating a pedal steel on guitar. Nice. Beware, Luke drops the "F" bomb near the end of the song so watch out for kiddies ears.

Combining Work and Art.

Yep, I took this xray. In fact at the lower left corner is my lead initial marker. This is just for fun, not something I'm seriously seeking out. Cool huh?

This is for Brian... (click on the image to enlarge)

Just because I know you wanted some up close shots.

It's Finished!

I don't even know what to say. It's way better than I expected.

Fun At The Beach.

The family decided to spend a few days at the beach while I was off this week. 87 degrees was much nicer than 107. The water temp was slightly chilly but fine once you spent some time in the water. Here's some highlights and views.

I Love Flickr!

Flickr has some great premium effects package that really make me look like a professional. Check these out. Makes me want to start designing album covers.


Original image.


Aged with some vignetting.


Heat Map using variable strength percentages.

We Said Goodby To Doris.

Yesterday was Doris' memorial. Not much celebrating on my part. I met family that I have not seen since my wedding in 1990, as well as other family that I have never met. All 40 of us crammed into her small 800 square foot home. It was a beautiful day, which was appropriate.

It's so hard to be pleasant and upbeat especially around strangers when I just could not help but to notice the chair that Doris would sit in every day. Nobody sat there our of respect I'm sure.



We all shared memories and funny stories. My observation was whenever we would spend the weekend at her house, I'd offer to head to Starbucks for coffee and Doris would say, "I have some Taster's Choice in the cupboard if you want coffee". She didn't get that it was just fun going there. For coffee??

When almost everyone said their goodbyes and exchanged email addresses, my brother-in-law walked her urn down to the water's edge near the tide pools and interred her ashes into the sea. The same was done 21 years ago with her husband passed. We all shared a moment of silence, like we all instinctively knew that was proper procedure. I stood for a good solid 15 minutes without saying a word. And honestly, I have no words. Just a deep sense of loss.

I miss her so much. In spite of the fact that she was 93, dealing with pain from aging everyday, was going to remain bedridden for the rest of her life after her massive stroke, I can't help feeling the sorrow for what was.

Unfortunately this will not be the last painful event for our family. We received some more bad news Friday, but I choose not to post at this time. So is it 2009 yet?