My autographed copy of John Taylor's bio "In The Pleasure Groove - Love, Death and Duran Duran"

There have been so many deaths of friends and acquaintances lately, which remind me just how precious the gift of life is. Some friends had passed away unexpectedly and others after long bouts with various illnesses. There's a saying that goes, "When one door closes another opens" – that's truly been my life's pattern.

I've gotten an unusually large amount of calls, emails, and visits from people I've not seen or heard from in a long time this week. Though I have high regard for them all, it's especially rewarding when I hear from someone that I've worked with. Working with artists locked away in a recording studio, sometimes for months, creates an almost military type of bond.

This evening I've spent the night catching up with one of my all time closest platoon-mates - John Taylor, from Duran Duran. We talked about everything and everyone. The first words out of his mouth were, "This is long overdue."

I hadn't seen JT for a couple of years and one of my longest recording relationships has been with Duran Duran. This week spanned the gamut of work relationship linkages - folks I've worked with on everything, from Madonna to Adam Lambert.