I saw him 25 yrs ago,four piece band and his sound set up was the best.bass and guitar and drums were on 80 % and he was 100%.in your face harp the whole show and you don`t see that very often...doittoit...
Maybe he just connected with me, but I always feel that Gary played with the overt enthusiasm of a novice, and there was something innately "honest" about his approach, not to mention the sheer brilliance of especially his little quick, precise passing runs.
Gary and I went way back. We both hit austin around the same time and shared drummers (jimmy carl black) and guitarists (mark korpi). Gary did good for himself with building a solid reputation in austin. We did numerous gigs together, hung out often, and man you never thought those days would end. I lost touch with him around 96 when we left austin. Something most don't know is he played a mean lead guitar! I hope he is at peace. Walter
Here is how I remember him. He is at the 1:08 mark in this video putting some $ in my case. That is the Gary I remember.
---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
+1 on missing Gary. First met him in the late 90's when he was playing at a BBQ place in northwest Arkansas. I walked up to him at the bar before the show, shook his hand, and said something to the effect of "I've been stealing licks from your albums left and right, thanks for the material." He seemed amused... then when he was counting off the first number up on stage a bit later, he glanced at me like "check this out, kid", then he launched into the wildest night of harp-slinging that I would ever witness from him(saw him play maybe a dozen more shows after that).
On top of being a monster musician and showman, Gary was a very friendly and accessible guy (as most of you know I'm sure). He would always recognize my wife (she's quite recognizable - a tall blonde goddess) and me when we would come out to his gigs, give us a wave hello from the stage if we came in late, and often would come sit down with us and chat during set breaks.
