I vividly remember the very moment I started yearning to play guitar; it was when I was 8 years old and saw The Beatles on Ed Sullivan in early February, 1964. But it wasn't until four years later that I finally learned how to play guitar. To this very day I owe it all to my childhood best friend and guitarist extraordinaire, Dean Cholakis, for teaching me how to play all of the essential guitar chords and lead guitar patterns needed to become a rock guitar virtuoso. And the guitar he used? A cherry red Gibson ES-330 which played like butter. So when I had the opportunity to buy a refinished cherry red ES-335 body a few years ago for $600, I snatched it up, bought all of the needed hardware and gave it to my client and fantastic guitar luthier, Ron Bolduc, to put it all together. Every time I pick up this guitar I can't help but think of Dean and the gift of friendship and guitar mentorship he unselfishly gave me throughout our teenage years. I lost touch with Dean during our college years, but reconnected with him just a couple of years ago right before we each lost a parent. During these difficult times it's been so sweet to find one another again, as we were best of friends, virtually inseparable, and played the same great music of our youth: Beatles, Stones, Tull, Beck, Zappa, Mahavishnu, Santana, and on and on. I'm so pleased to report that Dean has made a living playing guitar in New York City, and we've promised to get together sometime real soon. There's an old saying: "New friends are silver, but old friends are gold". Dean Cholakis is 24-karat through and through.