You know, when I think of Brian May, I invariably think of Freddie Mercury and when I think of Freddie, I don't think about his afflictions, I think of his talent. What a voice this man had and a command of the stage! Who writes such songs I think? Of course, this line of thinking led me to my first encounter with this group. They (Queen) found me in the aisles of K-Mart, with that now- famous album art of "News of the World" staring back at me. Now you gotta believe me when I say money was scarce back in the day; I mean, if I had the extra 7 duckets, I would, of course spend my hard- earned grass cutting money on Kiss. But, for whatever the reason, I just had to have this album because our local rock station, 96 Rock would play "We Will Rock You" on a constant rotation, somewhere between Nick Gilder's "Hot Child in the City," and Jay Ferguson's "Thunder Island." Back then, fun for a teenage boy would consist of an open field, rolling the windows down on your '74 Camaro, cranking the Clarion stereo to the max and of course, ice cold beer for the main course. What we discussed was of no consequence whatsoever, like we hardly had the world figured out. No matter, the boys and I were just enjoying life as we knew it and those sacred songs were the soundtrack of our adolescence. After all these years I wonder on how Brian achieved such a full tone? I mean, listen to "Death on Two Legs," or the harmony solo in "Bohemian Rhapsody." I just scratch my head when I hear a master like that at work. Do you remember the opening track on Queen's  "Live Killers?" When they break into "We Will Rock You?" Sometimes, when Ray and I are driving to God- knows- where, we put on a live album: Either "Kiss Alive" or Aerosmith "Live- Bootleg" or you guessed it- Queen "Live Killers." Might I add, that live album may also be Iron Maiden's "Live after Death," all solid choices. All of those records bring back found childhood memories and since I'm listening to more Country these days, any of them is a welcome addition for Ray. Why do I speak of all this you say? Well, it's about the indelible memories we all have for those sacred bands. As guitarists, where would we be without our youthful influences? 'Elks, don't ever lose this or you'll lose your childhood and then you'll lose yourself. Look back often like Ray and I do and smile, because we belong to the greatest era of musical history- if not only for the history of the greatest bands ever assembled. Believe it people...