Gary McGill- Bio Notes, by Bill Durst
Since 1974, Gary McGill has been playing in front of
people all throughout Ontario and Quebec as a drummer, bassist, keyboardist,
guitarist, & singer/front man for such bands as Stuttz, Applause, the Dublin
Corporation, & Joey Hollingsworth.
Since 1982, however, Gary has been performing for audiences all over
Ontario, and his venues range from Universities & Colleges, to corporate
functions, Industrial "perk" parties, and night clubs to Large venues,
opening for Midge Ure, Al Stewart, Dave Mason, Spice, and Trooper. Along with session work on
guitar, and voice-overs for commercials, he is a busy, busy, man.
Armed with a computer and sound modules, or even just an acoustic guitar, pumped through a
modern hi-fidelity self-contained P.A. system with up-to-date effects & lights, Gary
McGill is a formidable solo act.
In fact, Gary's musical skills in general, and especially on the guitar, are one of
Canada's best kept secrets. This degree of musicianship is rarely seen in a solo act.
Versatility is one of Gary's audience-winning and management-pleasing qualities. Yes, he
is one of those performers who is able to feel out an audience and give them what they
want. Besides having a huge repertoire of songs, Gary plays the songs very much like the
original recording, and that includes the voice, folks!
He has been billed as "the 'Rich Little' of Rock and Roll!" (Personal Note-When
I saw his act, he blew me away with his versions of songs that had more than one voice
featured, -the Wilbury's "Handle me With Care"-complete with imitations of
George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, and Bob Dylan, all in one song!) Awesome! And,
the crowd loved it, along with many other vocal impressions, such as the Tragically Hip,
Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Dwight Yoakum, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffet,
Stompin Tom Connors, Jimi Hendrix, Hootie, Dire Straits, Green Day, Peter Gabriel, David
Wilcox, and the list goes on, and on...
All in all, Gary McGill is a highly talented, very versatile and experienced
musician/entertainer, who is a "Must See!"
Bill Durst-Thundermug
Matthew Osborne, special to the Cord
Gary McGill.
Ever heard of him? No? That's not surprising.
That's also quite a tragedy, because he is one of the most talented
singer/songwriter/guitar gods to entertain at Laurier's fair campus in a long time. I
don't exaggerate when I say that his playing ability far outshines that of any other
guitarist that I've ever seen here, (including Jeff Healey and Wild T in my first year).
Yet, Gary has been coming here all
these years and still is not known as well as the ubiquitous Cliff Erickson or the ever
smilin' Mike Woods. Why is that? Is he one of those snobby musicians with
"integrity" who only play their own compositions (like me)? No, he happily takes
requests and usually adds something to the song to make it more interesting for
everyone-(ever wonder where I got the idea for "country roads" reggae style?
Gary's the man.) He can do vocal impressions of just about any singer (how about a DEAD ON
Willie Nelson doing the Taco Bell commercial?), and with the help of a friendly sequencer,
he turns himself into a true one-man band-(the sequencer plays full band arrangements,
allowing Gary to concentrate on electric lead and rythmn guitar, while singing in the
style of whatever group he's covering). Obviously Gary isn't one to bore listeners with
the usual tepid musical fare most solo pub acts tend to dish out. So again, the question:
Why isn't he famous here on campus?
Gary is
philosophical about the whole situation. "The way I used to do shows had me sitting
immobile in a high stool, playing my foot bass (a bass guitar configured device used to
facilitate the playing of bass lines with the feet), more or less surrounded by equipment.
The technical and musical buffs appreciated it, but I felt that if I wasn't free to move
around, I wasn't free to communicate fully to the crowd."
So now, Gary splits his show into two basic parts - the
first being the normal solo musician setting of one acoustic guitar; the second being more
electronically based for the proper rendition of "bigger sounding" songs (Crazy
Train, Black Hole Sun, Silent Lucidity)
CD? Yes. He has his album both on disc and tape, and
whenever he plays he has them on available from the stage. If you see me in the halls
sometime (I'm the big guy with the shaggy hair and ever present black satchel) let me know
and I can order you a copy or two from Gary. There is no reason for Gary McGill to remain
unknown any longer. He is an entertaining performer, and incredible guitar player and an
engaging vocalist who truly deserves recognition. Please check him out the next time he's
here. I guarantee that you won't be disappointed.
Matthew Osbourne