WorlBoy here....

Hi Friends, It's been awhile since my last post. It's definitely a time of reflection. My friend Scott Sorkin lost his Dad two weeks ago and I just received the disturbing news that a friend and a former student took his life last week. Boy, they weren't kidding when they said that it comes in groups of three's. Gilbert Shih was a nice cat. Took life a bit too seriously at times and needed to leave the planet in a quick way. He was one of my "cherries" during his tenure with me. I remember when my teacher and mentor John Coppola gave me free lessons because I lost my job at Whitney Band Instruments. My parents didn't have the dough to pay for my lessons and I got a job studying brass repair with James Galway's repair person, Bob Gilchrist. I lost my job because of the other apprentices cutting a few corners and wasn't able to pay for my lessons. I mentioned it to Johnny and he said, "Don't worry about the money, just sweep my porch and we're ok". He also said that if I did everything he told me to, I'd be a professional musician by the age of 16. I remember after the lessons I'd ask John what could I do for him and he'd just say "practice!". That I did and I played my first gig at the ripe age of 15 years young. I never forgot Johnny's generosity and since then, I have at least one "cherry" every school year. Gilbert was one of them as well as a student of Johnny's. He worked hard and was tough on himself if he didn't feel up to snuff. I remember telling him to be easy on yourself. I'd always use the analogy..."How much do you have in your bank of self esteem?....Everytime you get down on yourself, it's like punching a $20 outta the ATM of self esteem and you have to ask yourself..how much you got in there?" Gilbert helped me with my record project. He meant a lot to me. I lost touch with him for awhile till his friends called me to tell me the news. I hope he finds a better place the next time around. I will miss you my friend. I will dedicate my performance to you at Monterey this year. Gilbert Shih 1978-2006 RIP