aer - Gary Mullins - Professional Guitarist

’13’ at the Radlett Centre

February 25, 2015PermalinkTheate Work13, 16, 3120, acoustic, aer, albans, blues, bucks, centre, electric, guitar, guitarist, ibanez, junior, martin, musical, omc, radlett, repair, rg, st., teacher, theatre Leave a comment

Last week I played guiyar for the ‘Sticks and Stones’ production of ’13’ – a youth show about a Jewish lad moving from New York to a sleepy town, and the trials and tribulations of coming-of-age and making friends in a new place.

The music is very eclectic, covering a number of different genres including Death Metal, Reggae, Funk, and beautiful acoustic ballads.

Electric and acoustic guitars are required for this show, and quite fortunately there are not many rapid guitar changes as these are mainly done between numbers.

There are two guitar parts, and as on similar shows I had to compile both into one, reading from both pads and using a series of post-it notes to indicate what to read from which pad. It’s pretty rapid at times, but I relish the challenge to concentrate so much throughout a show. I also really enjoyed the diversity of the music and trying hard to play as authentically as possible with the tools at my disposal.

Most of the sonic variation was was modified via the selector switch on my electric guitar. The switching on the Ibanez RG3120 is really versatile, giving you power and delicacy with ease.

I did the show a few years back and really enjoyed it, and it’s nice to get my hands around it again with more experience under my belt. I look forward to doing it again too!

Avenue Q with Berkhamsted Theatre Company

November 10, 2014PermalinkTheate Work60, aer, avenue, berkhamsted, compact, fender, group, guitar, ibanez, line6, nigel, plaskitt, q, theatre, Variax Leave a comment

This week I’ve been playing on Avenue Q in Tring for the Berkhamsted Theatre Company. It’s been a real pleasure to be involved in the show, and a particular privilege because of the calibre of the performances. Reviews have compared this production to a similar if not better level than pro touring shows, so congrats to all involved.

Guitar-wise the part is very interesting. It’s pretty pacey throughout, so you need to be well prepared and have your wits about you, and it’s well written with lots of interesting voicings of chords to get your fingers around.

It also has a banjo and acoustic requirement alongside the electric guitar, and some of the changes can be a bit tight! To make life a bit easier I’ve used my Variax Acoustic to cover those bases, and my Ibanez RG3120 for the electric stuff. Very trusty!

Apparently the pro show will be touring next year, so be sure to get your tickets!

This is the puppet man himself – Nigel Plaskitt – with the cast. Nigel is the man who makes the puppets and is also the man behind the monkey from the PG Tips commercials amongst many other credits. Amazing!

Sweet Charity with Abingdon Operatic Society

November 2, 2014PermalinkTheate Work60, abingdon, aer, amey, band, big, blues, charity, classical, compact, electric, fender, guitar, junior, les, musical, operatic, paul, raimundo, society, sweet, tango, theatre Leave a comment

I’ve just come to the end of a run of Sweet Charity at the Amey Theatre with the Abingdon Operatic Society. This is the second time I’ve done the show, and I had a real blast doing it.

The music is really interesting, and in many ways quite unlike any other show that I’ve done. The pad is quite unhelpful, really, since it has some directions for the guitarist (such as ‘no amp’ or ‘all on highs’) which aren’t straightforward to interpret! Having said that there are a variety of different styles (big band and tango are the highlights for me) that you have to cover, as well as interesting time signature changes.

A lot of the show is in 2, so quite rapid for much of it, and this requires a good knowledge of lots of chord shapes in each area of the neck.

I mainly used my Les Paul and Raimundo classical for the run, and these guitars did a great job to cover the disciplines required. Playing the Raimundo with a Tango feel was great fun, and sounded pretty raunchy to my ears!

The theatre appeared to be packed every night which was exciting to see, and all appeared to enjoy the production.

It’s now time for me to concentrate my energies into a completely different show, as next week I’ll be playing in Avenue Q at the Court Theatre in Tring. The writing and instrumentation is very different to Charity, so it’s going to be good fun and a good challenge.

Variety is the Spice of Life

June 21, 2014PermalinkGigs, Jazz, Live Work, Solo Work175, 60, acoustic, aer, band, chicheley, compact, es175, gibson, guitarist, hall, hotels, jazz, juice, quartet, severe, wedding Leave a comment

Over the last few weeks I have been doing a great deal of different types of work, each with different responsibilities. It has been a real thrill too, because I feel like I’ve succeeded in doing a good job with each of the challenges in front of me – particularly with the time I’ve had to prepare – and that gives me the sort of buzz I am looking for.

Since playing in Grease at the New Theatre in Oxford, I’ve spent quite a bit of time with the Denmark Street Big Band, playing three gigs with two of them being a bit of a trek, including ventures to Inverness (at the castle where Madonna got married), and to Great Yarmouth to play in a Big Band festival. All three gigs were fantastic fun with material ranging from Glenn Miller to Sinatra, Buble, and Basie, as well as two shows dedicated to the work of Bobby Darin.

I had the privilege to be able to play solo at my brother’s wedding, and also as a special part of his wedding speech, a solo gig for Team GB Triathlete, plus a jazz performance with my quartet to relaunch a stately home/hotel for DeVere Hotels.

Things are fairly relentless at the moment with final rehearsals on Monday for this year’s Live at the Rose event, as well as an Irish-themed recording session coming up where I need to get the mandolin out. Coupled with new ukulele and bass students it’s a very busy time!

Sweet Charity

June 23, 2012PermalinkGigs, Theate Work175, 60, aer, charity, compact, court, es, gibson, musical, sweet, theatre, tring Leave a comment

I’m currently playing on Sweet Charity for the Tring Festival Company at the Court Theatre in Tring.

The score requires me to play a Jazz semi acoustic, and a classical guitar since it’s largely made up of big band and flamenco style parts. It’s quite a challenging pad because a lot of is counted in two which makes reading it a bit tricky at times. There are some uptempo pieces in 3/4 too which are quite exciting!

I’m running my Gibson ES175 and my Manuel Raimundo classical through my AER compact sixty. I’ve got a touch of slap-back delay on the 175 for a 60’s vibe and that’s about it! It’s a nice, practical set up that sounds great and is really easy for the sound guys to work with. Lovely!