Aqus Music
Saturday Sept 8th
10:30am - 12:30pm


Tony Gagarin

TonyGagarin.com

Tony Gagarin began playing flute and guitar in various rock bands at the age of 17. 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 lean 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 is one of the many fine artists on the Jackalope Records Label with the CD "One Lifetime's Not Enough".