Guitarist Les Dudek plays Brewery tonight

Some rockers fade away over he years; other just keep mellowing out and pleasing audiences. Guitarist Les Dudek is in the latter category.

You can check him out at the Brewery's Performance hall tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Dudek has plays with some of the biggies " Stevie Nicks, Steve Miller, Dave Mason, Cher, Boz Scaggs and the Allman Brothers Band in addition to issuing solo albums.

His great guitar work and raw, yet polished sound mesmerizes audiences and has done so for over 30 years.

Born in Rhode Island and raised in Florida, Dudek played in bands as early as age 14. He said in an interview with Gannett News Service he didn't really aspire to perform for a living.

"I really had no idea," he said. "It was kind of strange. The only things that seemed to interest me were playing guitar and riding motorcycles."

His first professional experience came with the Allman Brothers Band, with which he played on the 1972 "Brothers and Sisters" album, which featured the hits "Ramblin' Man" and "Jessica."

"I went to jam with Dickey (Betts, former Allman Brothers singer and guitarist), I mean, literally just a few months after Duane Allman passed away," Dudek said. "When I think back on it, I didn't realize how short a period of time it was after Duane died. So there I was, standing where he would have been, recording what would really be their first big hit tune."

At the same time, the guitarist joined rock-soul singer Boz Scaggs' band, and he later appeared on Scaggs' breakthrough record "Silk Degrees," featuring the hits "Lido Shuffle" and "Lowdown."

Dudek also did session work for Steve Miller, which led to Dudek forming his own band, Polar Bear, with members of the Scaggs and Miller bands.

He later was offered a solo album deal with Columbia Records, which released four of his albums between 1976 and 1981.

Toward the end of the '70s, Dudek was asked by Cher to form a hard-rock band called Black Rose. The short-lived band released its self-titled album in 1980. Later, his friendship with Cher would lead to Dudek writing some songs for her film "Mask" and appearing in a cameo.

The Brewery show is a KOZZ (105.7) Grand Slam event (511 W. King St.) with reserved tickets a modest $23 " $3 off for BAC members, seniors and students.

The show opens with local favorite Max Volume Band.

Call 883-1976 for tickets.