Yusef wrote this note to me during one of my composition lessons. It’s in the front of his method book.

Backstage at Iron City’s first gig playing after The Pat Martino Trio at Chris’ Jazz Cafe in Philadelphia, 2013.

The following year Pat invited me to start taking guitar lessons after one of his concerts at Blue Note in NYC.

Jimi’s performance at Woodstock inspired my musical journey.

I visited the Jimi Hendrix Museum, a permanent exhibit at the MoPop in Seattle. It also is home to the original engineering console from his Electric Lady Studios in NYC, on which he created my favorite recordings made in the final months before his passing.

Pat Azzara (Pat Martino) was just 17 years old as a member of Willis Jackson’s band.

This was his first recording session and Iron City played the opener, Brother Elijah, on our 2019 CD Groove Machine.

I met BB King in 1999 and he signed my first Guild, a 1977 Starfire IV. He was incredibly gracious and offered me some wonderful encouragement in my fledgling music career.

I began playing vintage Guild guitars in 2018 and I love collecting vintage materials like catalogs, magazine ads, etc.

I met the legendary pickup designer at NAMM in California in January of 2018. The Seymour Duncan Phat Cat is my favorite guitar pickup.