Gman and Keeney: Bio
Gman and Keeney
About the Music
Gman Blues sizzles with intelligent lyrics, zany humor, spirited musicality and scrumptious harmony. The recipe for this delectable concoction are the blended solo talents of Gary Wesselhoff and David Keeney.
Their live performances continue to please Chicagoland audiences. “Gman is taking Chicago by storm” Says Heather Burke of Raven Entertainment Promotions. Insiders expect the duo to go far. Heather McDonald writer of About.com Music Careers Guide (NY Times) adds “It’s nice to hear someone playing music who is clearly having a lot of fun!”
Gman Blues' live shows get people up and even singing along. The duo brings a rare blend of spontaneity and intimacy to their performances, often developing hilarious exchanges among themselves and with the audience. The duo's musical diversity extends to their instrumentation, including a variety of guitar stylings, harp, bass, and various percussion instruments. The focus, however, is always engaging the audience.
Both are talented solo performers with recordings of their own in addition to Gman Blues’ “G-force” album David has won local acclaim as a top finalist in Chicago Tribune’s best Irish Song Contest. Dave is best known for satirical humor in their adult shows and imaginative musical play in their all ages performances. Gman Blues serves up a piping hot stew of original and traditional...tunes like no one else in the business. As they focus on a lively give and take of lead vocals and group harmonizing, the duo keeps it's music fresh and displays its talents with varied instrumentation.... The end result is a dazzling, intimate live performance that has earned praise from audiences around Chicagoland .
Discography
Wheels
G-force Sout Side (2006)
In Truth Lies Destiny (working title (2008))
BIO - Gary "gman" Wesselhoff
"Music is what happens between the Notes..."
Welcome to a world of happy times, clicking glasses, applause, and laughter--g-man's world. "Gman Blues"
is Gary Wesselhoff, a solo acoustic rocker with a genuine love for entertaining people and showing them a good time!
Gman and his partner David Keeney have been making music on and off for over 30 years from garage bands to huge production extravaganzas.
Like David, Gman is a
native Chicagoan; he began his musical career in the seventies during rock music's
classic era. The genera that gman loved and performed back then was acoustic rock--Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Dylan, Paul Simon and many others.
In college G-man and his
rocking band Woodlind recorded a album of songs at Chicagolands famous "Pumpkin Recording Studio" (under the direction and guidance of renown producer Gary Loizzo known for his production of several Styx albums). Woodlind's album had the tonal colors and flavors of
The Moody Blues. gman learned the art of multi-tracking his music by watching Loizzo do his magic.
Woodlind performed all over the Chi-town metropolitan area treating patrons to country rock and original material. They were local favorites at many South-Side clubs. As it unfortunately sometimes happens the band members developed new interests and drifted different directions. The great thing is though almost all of them are still performing and delighting audiences these days.
In the interim, g-man migrated to SIU at Carbondale Ill.
PARTY Capitol of the Midwest. 'nuff said.
Oddly enough, it wasn't in Chicago--the blues capitol of the world, but Carbondale that gman fell in love with the blues. There were many great artists in town including the legendary
Big Twist and the Mellow Fellows.
gman tells a story about the time
Twist ducked out the back door of a local joint called
The Club and dropped in to play a "set" with gman at one of his roof rocking house parties. The set lasted the rest of the night and eight kegs of beer were consumed in the process with hundreds of college kids out on the lawn waiting to chance to get into the house. "We shouda sold tickets!" Twist said.
gman returned to Chicago in 1976 to raise a family. During that time he reconnected with Woodlind's sound technician Jerry Musica. Jerry had purchased a recording studio in Alsip, Illinois (now called ARS studios). Jerry hired gman as 2nd engineer. It was at this time that gman not only signal routing and how to mike instruments, but in time he
learned to produce music; taking bands that had a good song and packaging it into a polished format.
In 2003 g-man sat in with some friends and immediately decided to return to music.
Quotes g-man:
"When I returned to performing, I discovered something forceful about myself; I found that I had new abilities that were not present when I was a kid—it’s much more than the synergy of practice and focus.
I discovered that I could sing more dynamically, play more powerfully, and write better than ever". He began to haunt the clubs, and worked a blues harp into his act.
In 2005 he launched his Website: http://www.gmanblues.com . gmanblues.com is a successful Website with
hits from over seventy countries around the world. It’s at this site that you can sample some of g-man’s music offerings, and see photos of him in action.
In 2006 and 2007 g-man was a
top qualifier in the Acoustic Solo category of Suburban Nitelife’s Readers Poll finishing third in the extremely competitive Chicago Suburban Club scene. g-man currently is traveling to Chicagoland venues, playing for audiences large and small at music festivals, folk clubs, and concert halls building his fan base and his brand identity. .
g-man Blues is hard to categorize. He is a link between the traditional Chicagoland Blues and Adult Contemporary Rock – a singer-songwriter living down the reputation of a rocker. g-man isn't concerned about how everyone labels his style, he would he would rather just play. That is what he does.
When asked what was his favorite moment performing a smile quickly breaks on gman's face. "It has to be back in the early '70's. I was doing a CSN&Y kinda thing with two other guys. We were playing at a College Bar down in Normal IL. I didn't realize it at the time that my stool was creeping closer and closer to the edge of the stage. Suddenly the world dropped out from under me! On the way down I crossed the Microphone lines and sucked six mikes on boom stands down with me... Talk about embarassing! I was laying on the floor in front of the stage all tangled up in wires with stands randomly strewn over me.
Well the audience roared and
couldn't settle down so I took a break to let everything chill. When I got back the place was packed! Everyone came in to try and catch me falling again! It's all part of the show I told them--I do it every time."
As for his old band members in Woodlind, he bumps into them on the road from time to time. Ken Zemanek plays
American English; Scott Bonshire plays with the legenday
Heartsfield, Jim Williams plays with a country band called
Crossfyre. and Joey Drada currently plays with contemporary Chicago Blues Royalty--a band called
The Jaywalkers.
BIO - David Keeney
David was born at a very early age (0) back when the earth was flat and Greasers roamed the continent foraging for "Lucky Strikes".
In Grammar school began his musical odyssey by playing the coronet. He played from Fourth Grade (when he hooked up with Gman) all the way through high school (during which time Dave and Gman played together (and apart) in various bands).
In College David switch from Trumpet to Saxophone stating “It’s so much easier”—pure Keeney. David was a music major at the U of I where he graduated and became a school band director. He’s been directing ever since.
Some evenings however you can catch him spinning a parody song, or a great bass line.
gman Blues "g-force" Midwest Pub Tour 2005-2007
• The Abbey Pub, Chicago, IL
• Anita Margarita, Tinley Park, IL
• A Taste of Westmont, Westmont IL
• Ballydoyle, Downers Grove, IL
• Beggars Pizza, Blue Island, IL
• Beggars Pizza, Oak Forrest, IL
• Bono's Pub, Lisle, IL
• Carraig Pub, Oak Forrest, IL
• The Chocolate Cafe & Museum, St. Joseph MI
• Dan McGuinness, Memphis, TN
• Downers Grove Heritage Festival, Downers Grove, IL
• Durty Nellies, Palatine, IL
• Ed & Joe's Pizza, Tinley Park, IL
• Fat Bean Coffee House and Bistro Naperville, IL
• Fitzgeralds, Berwyn, IL
• Gilhooley's Grande Saloon, Chicago, IL
• Irish Mill Inn, Mundelein, IL
• Lassens Sports Bar, Homewood, IL
• Mokena Farm and Barn Fest, Mokena, IL
• Mrs. O'Brien's Pub, Oak Forrest, IL
• Mulchrones, Evergreen Park, IL
• Muse Coffee House, Lansing IL
• O'Sullivan's Pub, Plainfield, IL
• Potbelly Sandwich Works, Orland Park, IL
• Pub 47, Yorkville, IL
• 605 North Avenue Bar and Restaurant, Glendale Heights IL
• Riverdale Marina, Riverdale, IL
• Sandwich Concert Series, Sandwich, IL
• Shannon’s Landing, Lansing, IL
• Shanahan's Irish Pub, Livonia, MI
• Sizzle on Broadway, Chicago, IL
• Woodstock Katrina Relief Concert, Woodstock, IL
• St.Baldrick's Benefit
Set List
The gman Blues Show is three hours of Acoustic Rock and Blues, featuring a combination of fresh originals and exciting new arrangements of your classic rock favorites.
gman can also play a forty-five minute set of new material.
gman fills the gap between covers and original music, arranging legacy material and putting my his special touches on it. His unique interpretations of classic rock and blues songs give the listeners something familiar to hold onto, but also something fresh and new.
gman does not drone like many other acoustic artists, but keeps the atmosphere energized and charged, and the audience hungry for more. Many club owners have reported that gman has audience holding power. He can fill the bill, having a show that commands attention, at a lower cost than a full band
Technical Requirements
The gman Blues show is self contained and has the equipment, and sound reinforcement to accommodate a venue of up to 300 people. Larger venues typically prefer to supply sound reinforcement to accommodate the size and characteristics of the room. If he uses the house sound system, here are his technical requirements for an optimal performance:
Mic Input list:
gman will need Two Vocal MICs, each set 1 foot apart from the other @ Stage Center; Standing height:
1 (Left MIC) Harp Mic (Shure SM57, or equivalent) Mounted on a standard Mic Boom Stand
2 (Right MIC) Vocal Mic (Shure SM58, or equivalent) Mounted on a standard Mic Boom Stand
3 David will need a Vocal Mic (Shure SM58, or equivalent) Mounted on a standard Mic Boom Stand
4 An Instrument Mic for Davids guitar or Saxophone
5 In addition for large venues David will need a Mic for his bass amp.
Instrument Input List:
Please Provide 1 XLR input for gman guitar. gman plays a Takamine EG540C Acoustic-Electric Guitar w/sound hole plug and native electronics run directly into the mixer via an Aphex 1401 Acoustic Exciter DI output.
Infrastructure
2 Full Size Floor Monitor Wedge (no stand mounted mini’s please).
Standard 110 outlets or cord for his effects processor foot pedals.
1 Stereo Reverb.
Desirable, but not a requirement: BBE Sonic Maximizer, or Aphex Exciter for vocals.
Giving Back...
Gman and Dave will play Gratis for Charitable, Not-For-Profit, and Worthy Causes (such as benefits for people in need...).
Music is a gift to be shared, and given with love. Compassion toward others is a gift we give to ourselves.
