In 1987, Craig Goldy faced a terrifying challenge for any young rock guitarist: Filling the shoes of the guitar gods he had idolized. Ronnie James Dio was known as the trusted frontman for elite metal guitarists, and 24-year-old Goldy was being recruited into the eponymous Dio band.

Goldy, who had been playing in pop-oriented rock act, Giuffria, would follow Ritchie Blackmore and Tommy Iommi -- Mount Rushmore of metal guitar-type characters, in a Dio-fronted band. Blackmore's neo-classical hijinks and Iommi's doomy churning established the playbook of heavy guitar, and Goldy was under pressure to play Blackmore and Iommi’s guitar parts live -- Dio made a point to play favorites from his previous iconic bands, Rainbow and Black Sabbath, while touring.

The task was made even more daunting by the exit of guitar whiz kid Vivian Campbell from Dio.

“There was a lot of times when I would first start the concert and (members of the crowd) would be flipping me off,” Goldy said.

Despite the initial hostility, it wasn’t long before Dio fans realized that Goldy could stand with the established pedigree of lead axe-men.

“I started playing guitar because of Ritchie Blackmore, my favorite band was Deep Purple. My favorite record was Rainbow's Rising. My favorite era of Black Sabbath was Ronnie with Black Sabbath,” he said. “I tried to play the albums almost live, not a lot of people would do that. I tried to be one of those guys that would do the album solo live and try to implement (the original guitarist’s) way of playing rather than my way of playing, while placing my stamp on it as well.”

Goldy credits Ronnie James Dio for rescuing him from sleeping in cars in San Diego and Los Angeles. After taking Goldy under his wing, the two musicians connected further through their around-the-clock work ethic, first collaborating on a full length album as bandmates on 1987’s Dream Evil album.

“You just have to love it, that's the one thing about Ronnie and why we got along so good,” he said.”

“We'd start at 11 o'clock in the morning, only because we stayed up until 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning the night before,” Goldy said. “We'd do 12 and 18 and 20 hour days and not even notice because we loved it.”

Ronnie James Dio, who was born in Cortland and attended the University of Buffalo, died of stomach cancer in 2010 at the age of 67.

He was 37 when he debuted with Black Sabbath in 1980, but he had begun his musical career long before that in 1957. There was no heavy metal then -- Dio played in doo-wop and early rock bands like The Vegas Kings and later the Prophets, who would morph into bluesy rockers Elf by 1972.

Since Elf was absorbed by Ritchie Blackmore to become Rainbow in 1975, Dio was unabashedly metal. Despite his dynamic voice and diverse musical background, Dio rarely strayed from the dark and the heavy, especially in his later years with his solo band and his reunions with Black Sabbath (on 1992's overlooked crusher Dehumanizer and as Heaven & Hell on The Devil You Know in 2009).

"(Dio) had mentioned that one of these days he'd like to get together and start writing songs for other bands and other projects just because he has so many other ideas that would never fit well with the Dio sound," he said.

Goldy said Dio's dedication to whatever band he was fronting at the time was so strong that he didn't have much time or energy for other projects, although he would have found them creatively satisfying. "He would branch out into a different look or a different stage prop because it was cool at the time, but as far as his music was concerned it had to be real," Goldy said. "If it was going to have his name on it, it had to be something where people didn't get the impression that he was selling out."

Goldy now plays in Dio Disciples, the official Dio tribute act. The band, which is managed by Ronnie James Dio’s widow, Wendy, consists of musicians who have either previously played in the Dio band; including Goldy, drummer Vinny Appice, and keyboardist Scott Warren, and others who were friends with Dio; like bassist Bjorn Englen and singers Oni Logan and Tim “Ripper” Owens.

Appice, a former member of Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell and Dio, joined Dio Disciples for the first time during the band's current string of concerts. Owens, a former Judas Priest cover band singer, came to fame in 1996 when he took over Rob Halford’s singing duties admirably in the actual Judas Priest.

Dio Disciples have been criticized for cashing in on Ronnie James Dio’s work shortly after the singer’s death, but members have gone on record stating that Dio Disciples is hardly a lucrative venture. The band also contributes to and endorses the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund.

Although acts like Dio Disciples and others from heavy metal's biggest era can still draw crowds, the formula of heavy, yet melodic songs with flashy riffs and solos hasn't come back into style with younger generations of musicians. Today’s guitar heroes are more known for extreme heaviness and breakneck speed rather than soulful precision.

Popular forms of modern metal are practically void of the bluesy underpinnings of hard rock and the first waves of heavy metal. This leaves a void that Goldy would like to see filled soon.

“The Ritchie Blackmore's, the Jimmy Page's and the Jeff Becks are missing from the new (guitar players),” Goldy said.

“(As a child) I couldn’t wait to get home from school and listen to Deep Purple. It's like how some people would say they can't wait to go home and play basketball or football with their friends. It was that kind of a thing, it was that kind of excitement, and that is missing now,” he said.

Goldy, who also works within the music industry, has found it challenging to discover newer bands that capture the exciting sights and sounds of classic metal, although working with established musicians in the genre can also be difficult.

Many of Goldy’s peers who became well known in the 70’s and 80’s have huge egos and are unwilling to put in the effort to find success at this point, he said.

“A lot of guys who do original material who are from the 80’s do a regurgitation of the same thing, so it becomes the same old same old,” He said. “It lets down the fans and waters down the whole principle.”

Goldy’s career has brought him to a lot of interesting places, but he has never played at a winery. He’ll get his chance when Dio Disciples perform at the Willow Creek Winery in Silver Creek July 20.

Willow Creek Winery are hosting “Rockin The Grapes IIII” as part of a series of summer concerts. Country stars Mark Wills and Marty Stewart played the winery last weekend.

Regardless of the type of venue or size of the crowd, Dio Disciples always work to live up to Ronnie James Dio’s reputation for stage presence and dedication at every show.

“You know how people say it doesn't matter if there is one person or 1,000 or 10,000? People usually say that but they hardly ever mean it,” Goldy said. “(Dio) played some pretty small places and he just put out 100 percent effort no matter where we were, and I really loved that about him.”

“Rockin The Grapes IIII” with Dio Disciples takes place July 20 at the Willow Creek Winery, 2627 Chapin Road, Silver Creek. Tickets are $15 pre-sale and $20 at the door. Pre-sale tickets can be purchased at the venue or through Tickets.com.