When I heard the news of the fire at the Great White concert I was at my job and I was very saddened by the horror of the tragedy. Soon after I learned that the guitarist from the band, Ty Longley, was missing and presumed to have perished in the fire. At this point the tragedy took on a personal aspect as I was a casual friend of Ty's. First off, all the good things you may have heard or read about him are ABSOLUTELY true. He was truly one of the nice guys in rock.

I met Ty at the NAMM show a couple of years ago when I saw him putting an amp through its paces in the booth next to me. I was so impressed by his playing that I had to introduce myself and ask him whom he played for. In a rather shy voice he said Great White. After impressing him that I was a mega-reporter he invited me out to a few shows with Great White and also with the Jack Russell Band. His enthusiasm for life and his incredible energy came through in his performances, as did his mastery of the fretboard, which was phenomenal. The next couple of years we hooked up at the NAMM Show and had lunch, discussing Industry, music and other matters. Always a great guy, he was quick to laugh and was not impressed with his own rock stature, always remaining down to earth.

The finger pointing and lawsuits are beginning now, but none of this will bring back those that perished. Lets move on and keep the fond memories of those we knew in our hearts. I know that Ty is shredding the heavens now and those that knew him are blessed by that. To learn a little more about Ty visit his website www.tylongley.com and pay your respects.