Gary Husband: Drum To Your Own Beat

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“I’m in awe of what we all are as human beings and what we all have the capacity to do.”

Gary Husband has had an interesting and varied career, it would seem. He began playing with Allan Holdsworth in the late ’70s — ’79 if I am not mistaken — John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, Todd Sucherman, Randy Brecker and the list goes on and on. The man has experienced so much as a musician, so to have him on this podcast was certainly an honor.

Gary began playing piano at a young age and was classically trained. There was a lot of theory, practice, and no shortage of confinement. It wasn’t until he found the drums that he saw freedom. I wonder if freedom to express came more easily on the piano after he had spent time learning the drums? Either way, he is brilliant on both instruments and is recognized for his ability, which is apparent given the company he keeps.

Aside from being a sideman for so many unbelievable artists, Gary is also a bandleader and has released many works under his name and other project-based recordings. One such band was Gary Husband’s Drive, which released a record called Hotwired. On that record, Gary wanted to give a nod to some of his influences: the drumming greats who were bandleaders as well. He also recorded an album where he interpreted Allan Holdsworth’s music and one where he interpreted John McLaughlin. I highly recommend checking these out as well as the album A Meeting of Spirits.

In this episode:

You will hear about…

• Gary’s new video cast series, why he decided to make it, and some of the philosophies within it
• Not seeing yourself for who you really are
• Using our intuition to be responsible but also free in music
• Why having a personality prone to serving others makes for a better musician
• If there are aspects of being a musician that can’t be taught
• How musicians can find enjoyment in music they don’t enjoy playing
• Managing our expectations

Why you should listen

This is a conversation with one of the finest musicians in the world. With that being said, I think that this is more than worth your time to check out. We get deep with topics that are hard to quantify and explain but we try to make sense of what he and (to a lesser extent) I understand. It is nice to have this type of conversation with someone as warm and thoughtful as Gary. This conversation encourages us to think more for ourselves.

That is what I feel this episode brings forward. It’s a couple of perspectives about some things that we as musicians experience but may find difficulty expressing into words. But what is important is that we decide for ourselves what we want out of this and pursue it with honest intentions.

Music used in this episode:

Gary Husband’s Drive: Hotwired
“Angels Over City Square”
“Heaven In My Hands”

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