He hasn’t looked back.
Over time, his voice and confidence grew, and he developed leadership skills that served him well with various Cleveland groups. With an established cover band, he performed across five states and then began playing his own songs with the Evidence, which landed an opening spot for acts such as Cheap Trick, Belinda Carlisle, Bad English, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Henry Lee Summer and others.
When that band broke up, he performed in a duo with a good friend for a few years. Then, COVID hit in 2020 ,and he used the downtime to tear down, rebuild and
upgrade his studio, which led him to releasing songs on his own.
The DIY influence of artists such as Todd Rundgren and Pete Townshend as well as songwriters like Elvis Costello, Neil Finn and David Bowie all influenced the sound of Gary Willard’s new single, “I’m All Over You,” a track about “experiencing the emotions of a good friend who pulled the plug on a relationship after one too many excuses.”
“The pursuit of getting on a tour bus and playing gigs across the country is no
longer a primary driver, but the flame of writing, recording and creating still burns,” says Willard about the tune, which just came out today.
This article appears in Aug 10-23, 2022.
