Gary Hoey

Gary Hoey - Bug Alley - 1996 - Surfdog

Bug Alley is a Gary Hoey album released in 1996. Arguably one of Hoey's finest recordings, Bug Alley was named after a Volkswagen-specializing repair garage where he rented a room to write the album. It was produced and engineered by veteran rock producer Roy Thomas Baker, notable for having worked with classic rock acts such as Queen, Foreigner, Journey, The Cars, and one of Hoey's idols, Ozzy Osbourne. The album contained Hoey's biggest radio hit based on an original composition in "Peace Pipe", as opposed to the various covers that have crossed over. "Wipeout" had been previously released on the M.O.M.: Music For Our Mother Ocean compilation album, in its usual edited form. The hidden bonus track on Bug Alley is the full-length version. The album features guest guitarists Brian Setzer of Stray Cats and Brian Setzer Orchestra fame on the title track, and Donavon Frankenreiter of Sunchild, and his own successful solo career, on the hidden cover of "Wipeout". The album marked a series of firsts for the guitarist: It was Hoey's first - and thus far only - album recorded with a producer other than himself and regular co-producer Dave Kaplan. The album marked his debut as a vocalist, on two songs, "Black Magic Woman" and "Gotta Serve Somebody". Both are cover songs, as despite the fact that Hoey claims he was experimenting writing lyrics by this point, he felt more comfortable making his debut with covers. The disc was recorded at Baker's RTB Studios in Lake Havasu, Arizona. It is dedicated to the loving memory of David Joncas. The cover for Bug Alley was composed by Walberg Design. Gary sez “The album was recorded in Lake Havasu, Arizona in 120-degree weather. The sun visor on my car melted one day in the scorching heat. The title Bug Alley was the name of an auto repair garage where I rented a room to write the album. It’s also where I first hung with Brian Setzer”. © http://hoeypedia.wikia.com/wiki/Bug_Alley_(album

Bug Alley is another showcase for Gary Hoey's exceptional instrumental skills, but it falls short of being the crossover breakthrough he is capable of. Part of the problem is Hoey is more interested in playing guitar than recording an album. He hauls out classic rock chestnuts like "Black Magic Woman" and "Gotta Serve Somebody," "reinterpreting" them by making them blues-rock and hard-rock guitar workouts. Granted, his technique is frequently startling, but too often it sounds like a mutant hybrid of Joe Satriani and Stevie Ray Vaughan's worst tendencies. And both of those guitarists knew how to make albums that appealed to musicians, not just guitarists. Perhaps Hoey could learn something from his idols. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine © 2013 AllMusic, a division of All Media Network, LLC. | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/bug-alley-mw0000087072

Gary Hoey from Lowell, Massachusetts is probably best known as a surfer-rock guitarist, which doesn’t mean he specializes in Beach Boys’ covers! (lol). Gary covers many music genres including heavy rock, pop rock, ballads, surf, blues, funk, and acoustic. And like many musicians, he has even covered a few Christmas tunes. Guitar Nine (@ http://www.guitar9.com/bugalley.html) says that “"Bug Alley" continues the line of great Gary Hoey instrumental guitar albums and the production is superb (the drums and guitar sounding particularly strong). "Bug Alley" is solid from top to bottom, and contains another phenomenal trio of cover tunes, the Peter Green/Santana classic, "Black Magic Woman", Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody" and a slammin' version of "Wipe Out"”. “The Lofty Oaks” (@ http://theloftyoaks.com/2012/04/12/cd-review-gary-hoey-utopia/) says “There is a very small class of instrumental guitarist that can create an entire collection of songs that are diverse enough , entertaining enough and just plain good enough to be considered viable. Immediately you think Joe Satriani, Steve Vai or Eric Johnson. Fair enough but there is another name that has been around for a long time making strong album after strong album. Gary Hoey has recorded 18 studio albums dating back to the phenomenal ”Animal Instinct” of 1993 which contained a fabulous cover of “Hocus Pocus” Gary has had 5 top 20 Billboard hits. As an instrumental guitarist that is stratospheric. If you want to step back in time and find a lost gem in the Hoey collection try 1996′s “Bug Alley”. Most likely my favorite over all collection of Hoey tunes. Gary and guest artist Brian Setzer go off crazy on a spirited rockabilly affair called “Bug Alley”. There is “Desire” which is a smoking hard rock version of the classical Bach wedding song “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” Plus “Peace Pipe”, “Coasting” and a smart version of “Black Magic Women.”” Gary is a very underrated guitarist. Growing up in Lowell, Massachusetts he used to hang around outside Boston's Berkelee School of Music, where he became acquainted with a few good guitarists who gave him guitar lessons. When he felt competent enough to play well, he decided to make a full-time career from music. He left high school early and started gigging around some of Boston’s local music clubs, while teaching guitar on the side. “Bug Alley” is one of Gary’s best recordings and demonstrates his fretboard abilities very well. One well known music critic writing about this album said that, “Part of the problem is Hoey is more interested in playing guitar than recording an album. He hauls out classic rock chestnuts like "Black Magic Woman" and "Gotta Serve Somebody," "reinterpreting" them by making them blues-rock and hard-rock guitar workouts. Granted, his technique is frequently startling, but too often it sounds like a mutant hybrid of Joe Satriani and Stevie Ray Vaughan's worst tendencies. And both of those guitarists knew how to make albums that appealed to musicians, not just guitarists. Perhaps Hoey could learn something from his idols”. A.O.O.F.C would like you all to write an essay on “Stevie Ray Vaughan's worst tendencies” and have it on my desk by 9.00 a.m tomorrow morning! (lol)! Best essay wins a copy of “The Best Of The X-Factor” DVD signed by all this years’ judges. Don’t miss out on this golden chance to win a genuine collector’s item! (lol). Buy Gary's great "Animal Instinct" album and promote this outstanding guitarist [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 131 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 Desire - Based on "Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring" - J.S. Bach 3:18
2 Tribal War Babies - G.Hoey 4:35
3 Black Magic Woman - P.Green 6:22
4 Yeah - G.Hoey 3:53
5 Bug Alley - G.Hoey 3:32
6 Peace Pipe - G.Hoey 5:08
7 Gotta Serve Somebody - B.Dylan 4:44
8 Karma Climb - G.Hoey 5:25
9 Moustache Muchacho - G.Hoey & T.Franklin 4:18
10 Coasting - G.Hoey 5:21
11 The Green Room - G.Hoey 4:19
12 Wipeout (Hidden Bonus Track) - B.Berryhill, P.Connolly, J.Fuller, R.Wilson 4:21

MUSICIANS

Gary Hoey - Guitar, Vocals
Brian Setzer - Guitar on Track 5
Donovan Frankenreiter - Guitar on Track 12
Tony Franklin - Bass
Gregg Bissonette - Drums (Except Track 12)
Myron Grombacher - Drums on Track 12

BIO

Just as alternative rock was signaling the death knell for many of the "guitar shredders' of the late '80s, a few instrumentalists were able to sneak in under the radar, such as Gary Hoey -- who attracted some attention via his 1993 debut, Animal Instinct. Hailing from Boston, MA, Hoey was first a music fan before picking up the guitar -- following such renowned rock bands that hailed from the area (Aerosmith, J. Geils Band, Boston, etc.). It wasn't long after that Hoey decided to give the guitar a try, initially inspired by the usual guitar greats (especially Jimi Hendrix, whom he dug initially because of his "cool clothes"). Hoey was not entirely self-taught, however, as he would often hang around outside of Boston's renowned Berkelee School of Music, make friends, and then offer to pay them for lessons. Sensing that he should devote all of his time to music, Hoey dropped out of high school and began playing Boston's local clubs, making ends meet by teaching guitar to others. Hoey's big break appeared to come his way in 1982, when Ozzy Osbourne began looking for a replacement for his recently deceased guitarist, Randy Rhoads. Despite a series of auditions (including Hoey being asked to fly out to Los Angeles), Hoey failed to land the gig, but in the process, he decided to relocate permanently to the West Coast. Packing up all his belongings into a U-Haul, Hoey arrived with $17,000 in his pocket (saved from his playing and teaching gigs). Years later, Hoey eventually came to the attention of manager Dave Kaplan, who helped get the guitarist's career moving forward. Although it wasn't the best of times to launch a career for a "guitar hero" in 1993 (with Nirvana and Pearl Jam being all the rage), Hoey did just that and, surprisingly, scored a sizeable MTV/radio hit with his cover of the early-'70s prog rock gem "Hocus Pocus" by the Netherlands-based group Focus. The album it was taken from, the aforementioned Animal Instinct, also featured contributions from a few notable names of '80s hard rock -- bassist Tony Franklin (ex-Firm), keyboardist Claude Schnell (ex-Dio), and drummer Frankie Banali (ex-Quiet Riot). Hoey never managed to scale the same heights commercially, but it didn't prevent him from carving a niche for himself, as his albums got progressively more surf-based and rootsy. A friendship with surf guitar great Dick Dale soon blossomed, with Dale going as far as declaring Hoey as one of his all-time favorite players, alongside the likes of Eric Clapton, B.B. King, and Andrés Segovia (in Guitar Player magazine), which led to the two working together. The two talented guitarists went toe to toe on a remake of "Miserlou" (titled "Miserlou '97") for the 1997 benefit album M.O.M., Vol. 2: Music for Our Mother Ocean, which also saw Hoey produce and play on another track for the collection, "V-12 Cadillac," by a then still unknown Jewel. Hoey continues to issue solo albums on a regular basis (including a series of Christmas-themed releases), as well as being a regular guest on several nationally syndicated radio shows (Mancow, Mark & Brian, etc.). He also has worked with various musical instrument and electronics companies creating his own signature gear for retail. In 2006, Hoey released American Made on Surfdog Records. © Greg Prato © 2013 AllMusic, a division of All Media Network, LLC. | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/gary-hoey-mn0000741158/biography