We’ve been chatting to Gary, who works at BEAT Music Academy East, and several schools in Barnet. Read on to find what Gary does at BEAT.
What do you do at BEAT? I teach guitar, bass and drums
What else do you do? I am mainly a recording artist and occasionally perform live.
What do you play? I play lead guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and sing.
What made you choose your instrument? I was inspired to take up the guitar at a young age after hearing the likes of Jimmy Hendrix, Deep Purple and bands that were around in the early 70s.
What’s your favourite music? I like a range of music styles, especially Jazz and love to hear Kenny Burrell and Wes Montgomery who are amazing guitarists, with my favourite piece of music being Midnight Blue by Kenny Burrell, which I never tire of listening to. However, it is very hard to narrow it down to one style.
What’s on your playlist? I like a range of musical styles varying from Flamenco guitar through to Rock and Jazz. So, I would include (but not exclusively) artists such as Juan Martin (Flamenco), Kenny Burrell, Wes Montogomery, Black Country Communion (with Joe Bonamasa and Glenn Hughes)
What’s your favourite memory of music lessons when you were at school?
I used to enter a number of music competitions, playing songs such as Time by Pink Floyd with home-made guitars and amplifiers built by my brother-in-law!
Tell us a random fact about you:
I am a keen golfer! I like to spend time with my family. I really enjoy traveling, especially around the UK and abroad.
Gary has a new album ‘Battle Cry’ with his band Classix Nouveaux, which is released on Cherry Red Records. It is available on ‘band camp’ at
https://classixnouveaux.bandcamp.com/album/battle-cry
