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Known to some as the “Rock ‘n’ Roll Detective,” Gary
Hirstius continues to perform and record some of his amazing songs solo
or with a talented backing band. The longtime singer/songwriting son of New Orleans
brought his Crescent City brand of soulful adult rock to the stage and
to listeners on his debut album, “Temporary Secret.”
On the album, Gary is backed by an all-star band of mostly
veteran musicians, background singers and a string session led by
Gary’s own rough and vibrant voice, hard strumming acoustic guitar,
and soon-to-be classic songs set on fire with energy.
On the solo side of things, besides his engaging live presence,
Gary has recorded a new set of demo material entitled, "Down
River," with Los Angeles based French Producer Freddie Koella.
This project is mostly acoustic and focuses on the essence and
roots of the song - something special when it’s a songwriter like
Gary. Guests on the album
include Theresa Andersson and Tommy Malone (Tiny Town, subdudes) - who
is a former roommate and grew up with Gary.
There is also a very special duet with Bruce Hirstius, Gary's
father who sounds like one of the last of the singing cowboys.
Besides a very brilliant and unique production approach, Freddie
also contributes by playing any one of the instruments he’s an expert
on - be it violin, electric guitar, lapsteel, mandolin, bass, accordian,
banjo, ducilar or percussion.
Gary was recently seen as a member of Levon Helm's all-star house
band at Levon's Classic American Café in New Orleans (closed May,
1999), including a New Year's Eve '98 performance at the club by The
Band. On that night, Gary
played guitar and sang vocals with The Band - one of the most
influential and talented groups of all time. FOR
2000, Gary is working with multi-Grammy Award winning producer Dennis
Walker. They have recorded a number of rocking tracks for an
upcoming album in Los Angeles with some of the best session musicians
the city of angles has to offer.
A
Little Background
The people of New Orleans have always been surrounded by music,
especially Gary. Besides
the natural influence of being born and raised in a city so rich in
musical heritage and style, his father is a trumpet player in the
real-deal Storyville Dixieland Jazz Band.
There were always combinations of guitars, trumpets, and drums
lying around the house and at age 14, Gary started to gig with his
guitar. By 17 he was
playing on Bourbon Street, holding musical residence at the world famous
strip club Big Daddy’s. It
wasn’t long before Gary found himself playing what he calls the
“Bayou Circuit,” the small cities and towns of the swampy and wild
Cajun country south of New Orleans.
It is an easy and characteristic process to become jaded with
such consistent playing and it didn’t take long for Gary to realize he
needed something else to happen, something new.
An ex-cop cousin who was employed as a detective gave Gary an
introduction to the alternative that he sought.
At the age of 21, with no experience and no training, Gary
Hirstius began his other calling - private investigation.
Like music, detective work came naturally.
He soon had himself dual careers - his songs and stage energy
often a byproduct of the stress involved with surveillance and other
modes of anonymously meddling in others’ lives, hired by sometimes
strange and insidious individuals to watch other strange and insidious
individuals.
He only left New Orleans to reside and play music in New Jersey
for a year but found the Big Easy - with its people, diversity, and
music - a place he couldn’t stay away from. In 1986, Gary became the
front man of the original Continental Drifters who later became the
subdudes. The “Rock
‘n’ Roll Detective” also fronted his own Junior Mays Band and
rounded out the trio going by the name My Three Sons of Bitches, along
with Tommy Malone and his brother Dave Malone who plays with the
Radiators. He and Tommy
also perform as the Disaster Brothers on occasion with a full acoustic
band. It’s an entirely new story now with his band performances and solo work, and Mr. Hirstius is ready to emerge from the clandestine nature of his investigations for good. There will be no doubting the legitimacy and talent of Gary's live and recorded performances of his timeless songs. Just be prepared for a roller coaster ride of emotions and to find yourself humming formerly unfamiliar songs.
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Live Highlights & Critical PraiseFor
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“HHHH”
“On
his long-anticipated debut Temporary
Secret, Hirstius has come up with one of the most adventurous
roots-rock records in recent memory, stacked with an A-list of his local
friends and musicians.” OffBeat,
January 1998
“...the
jumble of styles on Secret,
from the R&B of “Fool” to the soulful sing-along “Hands of the
Angels,” mix like concrete. The whole is grounded in Hirstius’
sandpaper voice, which places the tunes firmly in the American heartland
of such roots-rockers as John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen while
basically retaining a New Orleans sensibility.”
GambitWeekly, November 4, 1997
“Now
that he’s up in front for good, with a set of mature, polished tunes
steeped in the musical traditions he loves, it seems only a matter of
time before the rock ‘n’ roll detective’s “secrecy” is a thing
of the past.”
GambitWeekly, November 4, 1997
“The
warmth of Hirstius’ ‘52 Gibson guitar and sandpapered vocals keeps
the Americana roots rock grounded [and the] songs’ mature point of
view reflects their creator’s perspective.”
Times-Picayune/Lagniappe, Oct. 17, 1997
“[Hirstius’]
vocal phrasing, songwriting and bandleading shows supreme confidence,
and a mixture of hook-filled rockers balances the raw emotions of
ballads like the haunting title track.”
OffBeat,
January
1998
“... A
reflective, introspective set of tunes...competent, soulful
roots-rock....”