Gary at the 2012 La Honda Fair
by craig eddy
It's always a challenge to pick the next person to be interviewed for The Face of Local Music. This month I decided to feature Gary McArthur because he plays around the area as much if not more than just about anyone. Gary has been in La Honda for ten years and in that ten years has established himself as a go to player who more than likely will make himself available to play. Gary plays currently with Saxyman and the Ladds, Pel and the Pelicans, and Claddagh. He will sit in with just about anyone, anytime. Gary started out playing flute as he was a big fan of Jethro Tull. He started learning to play at 19. Just about the time he made the move to La Honda he decided to pick up sax. Didn't take him long before he was jamming with La Honda friends at the Bill Seright jams. I asked how he was able to pick it up so fast. "Oh, I bought a book" is his reply. His first musical connections in La Honda were Lisa Kelly and David Elias. Gary is smart enough when asked if there is a favorite local musician he likes to play with to say there are too many great local players to pick just one. I asked Gary to tell one memorable gig story good or bad. He tells of playing a gig in Tapai where a woman yells "play Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Old Oak Tree and I'll give you a hunderd bucks!" They conferred and decided to give it a try. Halfway through the first verse Gary left the stage, walked up to the woman, reached into his pocket, took out the 100 dollars and apologized saying they didn't think they could get through the whole song. WhenI asked Gary which of the local venues he likes playing most he claims the San Gregorio Store has great acoustics and the Cafe Cuesta has the great patio and stage setting. Gary can be seen all over the area playing at the local venues. July 28th Gary will be playing with The Remnants at the San Gregorio store at 2pm. Saxyman and the Ladds will be at Applejacks on August 25th.
This blog is the only one which I like to visit regularly
Posted by: in picking | December 01, 2012 at 05:57 AM