I wouldn't normally write about such things, but the following story is the only way to illustrate one of the reasons I consider Joe Bonamassa such a great guy and someone worthy of praise.

I would have given almost anything to see the Joe Bonamassa Band perform their entire set down at Humphrey's By The Bay Friday night. The Fates conspired against me, but I didn't let circumstances stand in the way of getting my son down to the venue to meet Joe, Bogie, and Mark. No, I did what any good mother would do: I broke every rule in my "Dealing With Bands" handbook and managed to arrange a meet and greet for my nine-year-old child, the adoring fan boy that he is.

Despite the pre-Padres game traffic, we managed to arrive before official load-in for the band and spent a few moments with the guys poolside. My son, we call him Little Dude, was eager to meet his guitar hero (sure, he also worships Roy Book Binder, but Joe Bonamassa is, in LD's words, "The Man") and didn't hesitate for a minute to rush over to get close to Joe. However, Little Dude was a bit tongue-tied and shy. Nevertheless, his hand was thrust forward for the initial handshake, the handshake that would later cause him to proclaim all Marcia-Brady-meets-Davy-Jones-like, "I'm never washing my hand again!" I begged to differ and did, of course, prevail – it's a mother's right to demand such horrible things of her child, isn't it?

I carefully led my offspring through the initial conversation and, after Joe prompted me to retrieve my boy's guitar from the car, I left him in the band's care for a couple of moments. When I returned, they were chatting like old friends. God bless these wonderful musicians for reaching out to an enthusiastic kid! Bassist Mark Epstein was the first to sign the guitar – he hesitated, but my son was insistent he sign. When it was Joe's turn, he carefully tuned the little Washburn Rover (it desperately needed it as we'd allowed the guitar to sit for many months while we pursued other activities) before signing it. Bogie Bowles (drummer) was off on an errand at the time, so we held the drumstick for later (and yes, Bogie signed it).

Joe headed off to tend to business and Mark kindly sat with us, talking about the nature of life on the road (this will be covered later in depth). Little Dude looked at Mark, first with a sort of star struck awe and then with comfortable admiration, and Mark was quite at ease talking with him. Again, I can't thank the band enough for their kindness – my son will be one fan who'll remain loyal for years to come.