Guitarist Was Living Out His Dream

Great White guitarist Ty Longley lived for his music.

“At least at the end of his life he was very happy and was doing what he loved to do,” said friend Kamille Flack, 28, as she reminisced Saturday about the 31-year-old Northridge musician who was missing and presumed to be among the 96 people killed in Thursday’s Rhode Island nightclub fire.

Longley was living his fantasy of being a heavy metal band member, but his daily life didn’t fit a boisterous hard rock image. Friends said the wavy-tressed, muscular musician was polite, always grinning and reluctant to draw attention to himself.

“He was quiet, very quiet. He was generous, nice, easygoing,” said Mark Zacari, 26, his roommate of three years.

After coming to Los Angeles seeking fame and fortune five years ago, Longley was past the point of having to work as a waiter or music store clerk to make ends meet.

“He didn’t have a day job. He hasn’t had one in years because he had so many gigs,” Zacari said.

Born in Sharon, Pa., he honed his musical aptitude by mimicking the styles of his idols Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page. He then drifted west, landing in Los Angeles.

He was the proverbial penniless musician, paying the rent by teaching guitar and taking a clerical job with a San Fernando Valley video distributor. All the while, he put out feelers and sent out audition tapes, waiting patiently for callbacks, Zacari said.

And he practiced his guitar endlessly in his room, often all day long.

“He did it acoustically, with the guitar unplugged, so he wouldn’t bother anyone,” Zacari recalled.

Three years ago, Longley got a call from the manager for Great White, a hard rock band that has had a loyal following since its heyday in the 1980s. One of the band’s biggest hits was “Once Bitten, Twice Shy,” released in 1989 and nominated for a Grammy for best hard rock performance.

“They said they had his tape and they called him in. They said they needed another band member to play guitar. And they hired him,” Zacari said.

Friends said Longley remained modest about his break. He didn’t brag to anyone about it and never mentioned it to people except in passing, said Flack, who was also his landlord.

“When he came to apply for the apartment, he was very strait-laced and had his hair pulled back so he didn’t look like a typical rock music player,” she said. “I asked him what he did and he said, ‘Have you heard of Great White?’ and I said, ‘Of course.’ I was kind of amazed that he did that for a living.”

Longley was conscientious about paying the $1,300 a month rent he and Zacari shared, making sure to pay a month or two in advance if he thought he would be on the road with the band, Flack said.

“In fact, he’s paid through March.”

Neighbors frequently saw Longley jogging, one of his non-musical passions that was part of a health-conscious lifestyle.

“He didn’t smoke and hardly drank alcohol,” Zacari said.

Longley’s girlfriend, Heidi, who lives in Chicago and is expecting the couple’s child, visited often and the two were always laughing together, Zacari said.

Pictures of Longley’s father, who lives in Ohio; his mother, who lives in Georgia; and his 28-year-old sister Audrey, adorn several walls of the apartment in a well-tended three-story building with security entrances.

“Ty was a real family guy. He was in constant touch with them,” Zacari said.