I'm sure there are many folks who may have heard of Rudy but never had the pleasure to hear him play. Periodically, a bunch of us local steel players get together for an impromptu jam, playing along with tracks and sometimes, live musicians. Honestly, 4-5 hours of jamming, particularly when Rudy was front and center, seemed like a mere 10 seconds. I met Rudy at the Hunters Lodge like so many other folks, and he always offered some positive reinforcement regarding my hack playing abilities. Fast forward to 30 years later, I'm still hacking and he still had something nice to say. I'm sorry to hear he is gone and for those of you who knew him personally, I hope the video link below brings up some fine Rudy memories. RIP Rudy....
I met Rudy at Hunter's Lodge too. I had just bought my Emmons and had been playing less than a year when our band The Younger Brothers played with The String Dusters. He was very positive and encouraging to me. I'll never forget him playing that green Sho-Bud with 3 fiddles. What a sound! I'll miss ole Rudy.