Gary Hoey Deja Blues (CD)

(Wazoo Music) 10 tracks, digipack

“It's great to hear Gary sing and play the blues with his own intensity, feeling and authenticity. And the guitar sounds are vintage and modern at the same time.” - Joe Satriani Gary Hoey (born August 23, 1960) is an American hard rock and later blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has recorded over 20 albums. Hoey was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, United States. At the age of fourteen, Hoey often spent time in front of the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston. He dropped out of high school to devote himself to music and began playing in Boston clubs and giving guitar lessons to other young musicians.

The world-famous rock guitarist's first breakthrough came in 1987, when Ozzy Osbourne liked Hoey's tape so much that he flew him to LA for an audition and encouraged him to move to the West Coast. In 1990, he teamed up with singer Joel Ellis, bassist Rex Tennyson and drummer Frankie Banali to form Heavy Bones. The band released their debut album in 1992, but disbanded shortly afterwards. This great album was reissued by Bad Reputation in 2022. In 1993, he recorded the album Animal Instinct, which included a cover version of the Focus hit “Hocus Pocus”.

The single reached the top five of the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart. He went on to compose the successful soundtrack to “Endless Summer II” for New Line Cinema and in 1995 began a trilogy of “Ho!Ho! Hoey”, a collection of instrumental Christmas classics that continues each year in his Rockin Holiday shows. In 2012, he co-produced and co-wrote with the Queen Of Metal, Lita Ford, whose latest release “Living Like Runaway” for SPV Records was met with rave reviews. As musical director of the Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp, he has worked with legends such as Joe Perry, Roger Daltrey, Yes, blues icon Johnny Winter, Robben Ford, Leslie West and KISS drummer Peter Criss. He has toured and traded licks with Jeff Beck, Brian May, Ted Nugent, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Peter Frampton and Dick Dale. And with 2013's “Deja Blues”, he returned to the blues. Gary's 2016 release, “Dust & Bones”, featured an exuberant fusion of blues and rock. But no matter what style he plays, one thing is certain: Gary Hoey is a fiery, charismatic musician who carries the audience away.

Whether he's playing blistering originals or classic rock covers, his solos are infectious and reminiscent of Clapton or Stevie Ray in their fiery youth. One thing that always remains the same is Hoey's passionate command of the guitar. He can attack his instrument with ferocious intensity and then play something very soft and achingly beautiful. This ability to blend feeling, phrasing, technique and tone is the true mark of a master guitarist. Gary Hoey is listed as one of the top 100 guitarists of all time.