I am a traveling, solo musician (12-string acoustic guitar and vocal). My repertoire consists mostly of music from the 1960's & 1970's era. I've toured Scandinavia / Europe many times, released two CD's. Both feature a full band and have a "seasonal" theme ("Autumn" and "Summer").
I was born and raised in New York City. Two things that have remained constant in my world are laughter and music.
Mom and Dad were both huge fans of all types of good music. On any Saturday afternoon you could hear the sounds of the Boston Pops, Scott Joplin or Bing Crosby. The favorite band of my brothers and I are the Beatles. One thing is for sure we NEVER complained about having all this great music in our lives! So one day in May, 1983 I thought, You know, I think I would like to learn to play guitar
And so I did.
I took lessons for less than one month and realized I was learning more by strumming along with my Beatles albums. So I would come home from school and lock myself away in my room until I learned whatever song it was I wanted to conquer. Apologies to my neighbors.
Then as the years rolled by, I was noticing that perhaps the notion of following my dream of being a full time musician could possibly become fact. So one day in 1991, I went to see a solo performer named Will Hoppey. I thought, That looks like fun! I think I will try that!
And so I did and have not looked back since.
So for most of the 1990’s I performed as a solo act, 12 string acoustic and vocal, in local pubs in the tri state area. Most of the tunes I perform are from that 1960’s-1970’s era that I grew up on.
In February, 2000, I was offered a chance to perform in Scandinavia. It was quite frightening going at it alone but it was the greatest thing I could ever have done. Since then, I have toured Scandinavia and Europe many times. It was incredible visiting such countries as Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Austria, Poland, England, Ireland, Scotland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain.
In the end, music is the universal solvent.
Of course!
The Beatles, The Monkees, The Rolling Stones, The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Creedence Clearwater Revival, various British Invasion bands, Gordon Lightfoot, Gilbert O'Sullivan, The Allman Brothers, etc.
Guild JF-30, JF-65, F-512 jumbo 12-string acoustics, 1967 Gretsch Viking, 2008 Gretsch White Falcon, 1988 Roger McGuinn Limited Edition 12-string Rickenbacker, 1972 Fender Twin Reverb amplifier.
Download my music at CD Baby, Apple Music, Spotify etc!
http://cdbaby.com/cd/garyowen1
http://cdbaby.com/cd/garyowen2
http://cdbaby.com/cd/garyowen3
http://cdbaby.com/cd/garyowen4
