Music

I just released my first solo recording, "Grandfather Mountain." This is a collections of original tunes I've written to tell the stories of experiences I've had in the Appalachian mountains, especially the Smoky Mountain area, and what that magical region has taught me. I'm very fortunate to have some terrific musicians work with me on this and for the help of top notch recording engineer, Tom Boyer.

You can order the CD on the "Store" page or from Amazon or iTunes. Tabs are also available for all the tunes for you pickers:)

"Gary's album is exceptional. These are finely crafted songs that lead the listener on a journey through Appalachia and beyond. The collection is authentic, sweet, and sometimes haunting. The music, though diverse in style, flows as if it always belonged together. This CD is more than just a collection of traditional folk songs; it is a sophisticated and poetic expression of Gary's love for the mountains"

John and Linda Bolzenis, owners of Guitar House Workshop

Here are some samples from "Grandfather Mountain" and the stories that go with the tunes.
Enjoy!

"Parkway" is about traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway. I love driving along the Parkway; from the rolling hills in Virginia to the high mountains of the Smoky's, the Parkway guides you through some of the most beautiful places you could imagine. The speed limit is 45, so the song is not too fast. The stop in the middle of the song represents when you see something so awesome you have to stop and try to absorb it all....then you're back on the road again!

If you've ever been fortunate enough to be in the high Appalachian Mountains early in the morning on a sunny fall day you may have witnessed an interesting phenomenon. The dense fog gathers in the valleys below and the mountains poke through the fog like islands. Isles of Appalachia! I used ukulele and an island-like rhythm to reinforce the island idea.

The other idea with this song is the meeting of two isolated cultures with strong musical traditions: Hawaii and Appalachia. What would happen if these two musics intersected? Maybe something like this :)

Jessamine County Kentucky is where my daughter went to college: Asbury University. There she fell in love with a great guy, Daniel Pike, got married, moved all over the country, then settled down in Kentucky. She and Daniel are now farmers, raising organic livestock. So although I lost my daughter to Kentucky, I gained a great son-in-law, three awesome grandkids, and a source of cheap eggs:) All in all, a pretty good deal. (The pic to the left is Kristin and her rock star brother, my son, David.)

Many people outside of Appalachia haven't been on a swinging bridge. That's because other places have building codes to keep us from killing ourselves. Imagine planting a couple telephone poles on either side of a river, suspending cables between the poles, then using whatever materials were handy to build a homemade bridge. That's a swinging bridge. My first experience with one was when I was 12 at my grandfather's funeral. We had to wheel him across a very creaky swinging bridge to get him to the family graveyard on a mountain on the other side. Kind of terrifying yet fun for a 12 year old boy.