Sadly, blues great and longtime friend Dave Shorey passed away on May 8, 2009, in Los Angeles. He was suffering from "4-level" cancer, whatever dreadful thing that is, and I was fortunate to have had a couple of good conversations with him before he became too weak. Dave was a true original - uninterested in doing things that had been done before, or in the pursuit of commercial success except insofar as allowing him to continue to play. He also wrote terrific, image-filled poetry, and wrote and illustrated several books. Rest in peace my brother.