[Rick Lee]

The only true Ed-head I knew in high school was a guy who graduated my freshman year, so I didn't get to see him much. But he always played Eruption at the talent shows that one year and he totally crushed it, used a Kramer Pacer and a GK like mine. Another buddy one year behind him also used a Pacer and GK like mine, but he was more into Ozzy and Rush. He got me into Rush. How cool it was to see them play all of 2112 at a talent show. They also played Push Come to Shove, which I didn't appreciate much at the time, but really grew to understand how awesome one has to be to pull that off. Somewhere I have some photos of my first-ever performance at a talent show with some buddies. We played In a Simple Rhyme.

My guitar teacher in junior high was a serious Ed-head, but was also Ed's age and had been playing a lot longer. I lived in NJ then and CA seemed like a world away. But he got to go to NAMM a few times and brought back some cool photos of Ed at the Kramer booth and just got to hang out with everyone you ever heard of.

My teacher was also a lucky soul who got one of the very first Kramer Barettas, you know with the hockey stick headstock and the old Kramer script on it? Back then the execs from Kramer were literally driving around to music stores in NJ to promote their stuff. One of them came in one night after closing where my teacher was holding lessons (Dave Phillips Music and Sound in NJ). They had that Baretta, but wouldn't sell it. My teacher begged and finally got it for $500 right then and there. I have some photos of myself playing it somewhere.

Did I ever post the story about when I got to tour the Kramer factory during the 5150 tour and got a shot of one of Ed's guitars there making for him?