Gary Paul is a consummate performing songwriter and compelling storyteller, writing with cinematic detail, an actor's character insight & the craft of a poet. His broad musical & personal journey bring life to his songs. 2-time winner, New Mexico Music Award with 8 additional nominations and 2006 Xtreme Folk Scene's Song Contest winner, he melds the songwriting traditions of his Northeast roots w/influences from the South & Southwest. His work is a travelogue across both the American landscape & its music history, from traditional & celtic to knock-down blues, bebop & everything in between.

Gary split his formative years between the slums of Brownsville, Brooklyn,NY and Deware County's Dairy Country; poor, but surrounded by music, theater & poetry. Piano at age 5 taught him a love for melody. Summers on his grandparent's farm taught him to love bucolic settings & bluegrass, but it was around Boy Scout council fires that he grew to love storytelling.

Known for acoustic work, Gary played rock guitar in his teens while studying acting at NYC's High School of Performing Arts. It was drama by day & music by night at many of NYC's hot spots. He continued acting Off-Off Broadway while playing the Greenwich Village folk scene. To help pay the bills, Gary Paul also played fender bass on club dates, learning the American songbook. He studied with famed Latin bassist, Victor Venegas, while also studying ragtime guitar and banjo with Jack Baker. Later he studied lap slide with Pat Wictor.

He has played bass in many genres; swamprock, bluegrass, Brazilo-Cuban fusion, world music, country and classic rock, all while working by day with the developmentally disabled, completing degrees in Psychology, Public Administration and Computer Science.

It wasn’t until 2001 that Gary began writing in earnest and not until the following year that he began performing his original songs. A Northeasterner by birth, he moved to Santa Fe, NM in 2010, where his writing took on a deeper perspective, focusing on his experiences on the road and incorporating influences from the American Southwest.

His debut CD, "Sid's Gaseteria," was released in 2007 on the Big Moose Music label (available through cdbaby.com) and his 2nd CD, "American Road," will be released on March 2nd 2018 under the Storm Canyon Music label (available for digital distribution through Electron Farm Records).

Gary Paul is the current Western Region representative to Local 1000's Executive Board. He is a member of the Southwest Regional Folk Alliance (SWRFA) and Folk Alliance Region West (chapters of Folk Alliance International) & a founding member of the SWRFA New Mexico subcommittee.

Links
Website     Music     Appearances    

Contact Info
Location: Santa Fe County, NM
Website: www.gary-paulmusic.com
Email

Videos
Hot Coffee


The Winds of Oklahoma
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRZ5TMKMUIQ

CDs by Gary Paul

		American Road 2018 Singer-Songwriter, Blues, and Contemporary A collection of 12 songs in different classic American Genres, filled with stories that are funny, sad, and sweet.
		Sid's Gaseteria 2007 Acoustic, Singer-Songwriter, and Contemporary A collection of 13 short story songs by one of the masters of the genre. You'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll come to love all the characters you meet along the way.

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