So this good friend calls the Deke and asks if he'd mind drving Larry Carlton and Robben Ford from their hotel to Saratoga's beautiful outside stage at the Montalvo Center. This leads to listening to both guitar deities do a rousing sound check for the benefit of the soundman and one guy in the audience . . . me. Talk about spoiled. I took a shot of the band's 1604 VLZ Pro, forgot to shoot the SRM450's being used as monitors, and well, had a fantastic time listening to two of the best pickers in the whole wide world play the most amazing stuff.

The best news? A live album will be released after this tour. Can't wait!

And now for the tour mixers of choice . . .