Monday, March 7, 2022
It all began in 1988, not long after graduating from Texas A&M. A recruiter placed me at a company called AEHR Test Systems in Richardson, Texas. Their company headquarters was located in Menlo Park, California, in the bay area. I met Brad Shirley and all the other employees in the small Richardson office of just 24 people.
Brad was just 30, with a mustache and long sideburns. Even before I really got to know him, his personality stood out as someone who found the comedic irony in life. Brad was the king of the comebacks, and had us all laughing at the way he could see humor in everyday situations. The office had a ping pong table, and almost everyone would participate in tournaments during our lunch break, which would sometimes last 2 hours or more! Brad was pretty good at ping pong, since he had his own table at home. Very few could handle the backspin he could put on the ball.
It wasn’t long before I had to travel to the AEHR Test production facility in Menlo Park. On one occasion, Brad’s engineering services were also required out west at the same time. Staying at the hotel, Brad and I went to eat dinner in the restaurant. It was then I discovered that Brad also played the guitar. We talked about our influences and the songs we could play.
When we got back in Texas, Brad and I would bring our acoustic guitars to work, and play on the back loading dock during lunch. I told Brad that I was in a band I started a few years earlier, called “Dryver”, but our drummer and female singer had recently quit. Brad said he had a band named “No Cover” or “Free Beer”, and that it was not going in the direction he wanted. We both agreed to get our bands together. One evening in a warehouse, we got them together and jammed. At the end of the night, we could tell we had something, musically. When we became a new group, it was suggested that since the Dryver name had already been promoted in public quite a bit, we should keep it for the new band name.
In 1991, the new Dryver was born, with Ray, Brad, Dan, Mike and Joe! With Brad on lead guitar, we were able to expand in a musical direction that we hadn’t been able to do previously. Brad brought many guitar styles into focus for us, like those of Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Billy Gibbons, Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore, George Harrison, Robin Trower, Alex Lifeson, Keith Richards, Carlos Santana, Elliot Easton, Ted Nugent, David Gilmour, Jimi Hendrix, Angus Young, Joe Walsh and Eric Johnson. The most prominent guitar influence in Brad’s style was from Southern Rock, and perhaps none more than that of Duane Allman and Dickie Betts of the Allman Brothers Band. Brad mentioned “At Fillmore East” and “Eat A Peach” were highly influential albums on his playing style, and we could tell.
Dryver was always a part-time band, while keeping our day jobs. On some occasions, playing a weeknight gig, and getting up the next morning to go to work. In 1992, Dryver was featured on Q102’s Texas Tapes, playing a song that Brad wrote. In 1996, we played in front of 3000 people at a 10K Fun Run in downtown Dallas, only to lose the same gig one year later to The Dixie Chicks. In 1998, Dryver rocked out on stage with Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit, literally by chance. Fred just happened to be in the bar where we were playing that night, and asked us if he could come up on stage to sing.
In 2000, Dryver played its last gig, but it was not the end of my musical journey with Brad. He and I would play acoustic guitars in the evenings during holiday weekends at Lake Limestone. We were able to expand beyond just two acoustic guitars when our friends Bob and Sheri Frazier contributed their talents. Brad knew Bob from Convex, and Bob and Sheri became followers of Dryver in the late 90’s, and were on the band’s mailing list. We quickly became close friends. Bob had played drums before. After talking with Brad, Sheri decided she’d like to learn to play the bass. Brad gave Sheri pointers and insight on playing songs. After months of practice, Bob and Sheri were part of the band. We were called the Limestone Rats.
In the years that followed, Brad contributed his guitar talents to our other bands we formed: Disconnected and Dallas Sound Project, in which Marc, Skip and Ryan added their musical skills to these groups. We gigged at private events, rather than clubs. Disconnected would frequently headline The CHILI COOKOFF in Parker, Texas every August – not because we were considered the best, but rather we provided our PA system for all the bands to use.
Brad and I did more than play music together. We went to sporting events, including hockey games, festivals and concerts. We met Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson backstage at a Rush show in 2010. Brad hosted one of the wildest Halloween parties I can recall at his Plano home in 2005. Another party from across the street came over. That night, we called our band “The Hateful Dead”. After a several noise complaints, the police eventually showed up to cap off the night. Camping, Jet skis, restaurants, wine tastings, and just talking about life around his kitchen table before band practice, are some of my best memories.
Brad was a friend to many, but he played several roles in his life: Son, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, husband, father, step-father, grandfather, cousin, co-worker, engineer, deer hunter, fisherman, comedian, conservative republican, guitar player, singer, song writer, best man, the joker, the smoker and the midnight toker!
I think we’ll all agree that age 63 is way too young to leave this earth. God had other plans for Brad, and called him home. It’s times like these that we realize that life is short. You just don’t have as much time as you think.
Don’t waste the years you have left, that Brad never got to have. Life is a gift. Be strong for your country. Uplift others when they need help so they can eventually stand on their own. Show kindness, even to strangers. Tell your family and friends that you love them. And never lose faith in God. We all miss Brad, but I have comfort in knowing that he is surrounded by love, and that I will see him again. He’s saving a place for me to play with him on that heavenly stage.
