Tony Gagarin began his musical career playing
flute and guitar in various rock bands at the age of 17, heavily
influenced by groups such as Jethro Tull, Mountain and Cream.
In the early 1970’s, he attended a Santana concert in which John Lee
Hooker was the opening act. Tony was amazed how a solo performer could
keep an audience spellbound with the sound of a single guitar. Shortly
after, he left his band to concentrate as a solo acoustic performer.
Growing up on the East Coast, he began writing
original songs and performed as a street musician in Boston and NYC as
well as various small clubs from Pennsylvania to New Hampshire. He
continued his studies by attending the Berklee College of Music in
Boston, while also getting guitar tips from John Fahey, John Hammond and
Bruce Cockburn.
While performing at the New England Folk
Festival, he met folk artist Kate Wolf and decided to see what the music
scene in California was all about. In 1977, Tony moved out to Sonoma
County. The creative energy in the area was enough for him to decide to
stay for good. In those days, he could be seen performing frequently at
the West of the Laguna in Sebastopol, becoming good friends with Nina
Gerber. At certain shows, Nina would show up and join him on stage and
the combination always left the audience wanting more.
Still concentrating as a solo performer, Tony
usually carries an arsenal of guitars. “This way the Audience gets to
hear the different textures and styles of music.” he explains. His stage
set-up usually consists of his 12 string guitar, 2 Guild 6 strings
various harmonicas and his trusty baby blue Dobro steel guitar. This way
he can switch from a quiet instrumental to a searing blues tune
combining the harmonica and slide guitar that’s sure to rock the house.
Tony has opened for artists including Jean Ritchie, Tom Rush, Melissa
Ferrick while also teaching guitar workshops at the Sonoma County Folk
Festival. His instrumental “Sliding on the 12” was chosen as the theme
song for the Local TV show Snapshots. He has won best performance awards
from the West Coast Songwriters Association including Best Song for the
hilarious environmental gem “Cow Farts”. He is one of the many
fine artists on the Jackalope Records Label with the CD “One Lifetime’s
Not Enough”. He is currently working on an instrumental cd titled
“Silence for the Strings” and and a new lyrical cd “Hideaway” both to be
released in 2007.
