guitar - Gary Mullins - Professional Guitarist

What a Weekend – Frankie Valli, Richard Shelton, Waddesdon Manor

October 12, 2015PermalinkBye Bye Baby, Denmark Street Big Band, Gigs, Jazz, Live Work, Solo Workaylesbury, baby, band, big, bye, club, dean, denmark, express, film, four, frankie, guitar, jazz, london, manor, pizza, seasons, solo, street, themes, valli, waddeson Leave a comment

This weekend has been a really varied, interesting and fun set of gigs, covering over 700 miles!

On Friday I was in Whitley Bay with Bye Bye Baby – a Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons tribute show. This took place at the Playhouse where we played to 500 people, and had many of them dancing in the aisles!

This is a great production – incredible music, faithfully recreated by myself and my colleagues. It’s loads of fun and I really look forward to these gigs, partly because I get to play my Gibson double neck!

I also take my Gibson Les Paul Gold Top as a back up, and I needed it this time as I snapped the high E on the six string on the double neck!

600 miles later, and I was in central London with the Denmark Street Big Band for the Richard Sheltpn album review show at the Pizza Express Jazz Club on Dean Street, London.

Amongst some original tunes arranged specifically for the big band, we also played a lot of Sinatra classics. My highlight of the gig was an instrumental performance of Under My Skin, where bass and tenor sax were largely playing together, and they were incredible!

Richard was great too – entertaining the crowd with great stories and anecdotes, and his voice is fantastic too. I particularly enjoyed his duos with pianist Ben who was loving it!

The weekend got wrapped up with a solo performance at Waddesdon Manor, playing during Afternoon Tea. This is a bit of a slog (4.5hrs!!) but it’s wonderful to share my arrangements and performances of tunes like Li’l Darlin’, Pure Imagination, Misty and more!

Like the big band gig the night before, I played my Gibson ES175, which was exquisite! I used the AER Compact 60, and have started using a little bit more gain on the first channel with the guitar which has been great – it gives the guitar more presence and sounds really full.

Needless to say, the food was great, and it was really busy! You should check it out – one more week to go – next Sunday is my last slot, 12:00-16:30.

The coming weekend is going to be just as hectic, with a workshop from Clive Carroll at the Aylesbury Music Centre to facilitate, a gig with Rollacoaster and the final Waddesdon Manor performance. Before then, prep and practice! Bring it on!

’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!

Christmas at Cliveden House

December 30, 2014PermalinkBig Mama Funk, Gigs, Jazz, Jazz Juice, Solo Workband, berks, big, bucks, cliveden, function, funk, guitar, herts, house, jazz, juice, london, mama, oxford, party, solo, trio Leave a comment

Christmas has been a pretty hectic time for gigs this year, with a performance on Christmas Day, and 3 on Boxing Day. Still, with them all being at Cliveden House it made for a very special couple of days.

In her regular attire, Cliveden is spectacular, but during Christmas she is even more resplendent in no small part due to the Christmas trees, and general extra decoration throughout the place.

It has been quite busy there this year, and myself and my musical colleagues have worked hard to provide the best quality jazz music possible in our time there. We’ve received a great number of positive comments, and hope to hear back from the business cards that have been handed out.

It’s now time for a quick rest before another clutch of New Year gigs, and then back into some sort of routine!

I wish you all the best for the New Year, and hope to grace a stage alongside, or in front of you sooner rather than later!

Live on Radio Blackfrog

November 18, 2014PermalinkLive Work, Solo Work175, acoustic, aylesbury, blackfrog, bucks, electric, gary, gibson, guitar, internet, jazz, london, martin, mullins, radio, solo, taylor, thame, theatre, work Leave a comment

On Sunday 15th November I had the privilege to be interviewed on Radio Blackfrog – Thame’s internet radio station. I also performed a few tunes and talk about a couple of my favourite songs and a few stories from my musical life so far!

If you missed it, you can catch up with the link here… http://www.radioblackfrog.co.uk/catch-up.html

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.

A new venture – Aylesbury Guitar Setups and Repairs

October 7, 2014PermalinkUncategorizedaction, ayleabury, bucks, electeics, fret stone, guitar, intonation, pickups, recrown, repairs, replacement, setup Leave a comment

Since mid-August I have started offering a number of guitar repair and maintenance services to the musicians of my local area, in addition to my performances and tuition.

I’ve started off quietly but I’ve already had a number of repairs and services to do, and I feel it’s time to let my wider circle of friends, colleagues, and connections know about what I’m up to!

The main area of work I do is in general setups – reviving an instrument and refreshing elements such as action, intonation, pickup heights, and work to do with the fretboard including cleaning and fret profiling. I can also offer electrical repairs including pickup replacement and switch/control cleaning and modification.

Don’t be afraid to ask if I can cover other obscure aspects of repair – I’ve also had to recently re-glue a broken headstock, replace a classical bridge, cut deeper nut slots, and more besides.

My prices are competitive and I’m handily in the centre of Aylesbury, so quite easy to find. Please do pass on my details if you think anyone else could make use my services – I really appreciate your support and for thinking of me! Have a browse of my website and check out the Facebook page to see some of the work I’ve been doing recently.

Some recent testimonials…

“Oh my god it’s just amazing! Feels brand new, great job mate. Thank you! ” – Ross S, General overhaul, October 2014

“Hi Gary, …(I) got on very very well thanks – really loving the low action! Makes it even more fun to play now 🙂 Thanks again!” – Daryl G, Nut repair, October 2014

“Gary checked over a few problems with an old guitar of mine and had it good as new in no time. I highly recommend him – great guy and great service, cheers!” – Dan G, Electric problem, August 2014

Thanks for reading, and I hope to breathe a bit more life into a guitar of yours soon!

Jesus Christ Superstar

April 23, 2014PermalinkTheate Work24, acoustic, andrew, christ, custom, electric, guitar, jesus, line6, lloyd, martin, musical, paul, pod, reed, royal, slough, smith, superstar, theatre, webber, windsor Leave a comment

Just before Easter I was involved in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Theatre Royal, Windsor. While I didn’t get to see the production itself, it sounded fantastic as the band were great musicians directed by a fantastic musical director. We were left largely to interpret the music how we saw fit, which gave me a lot of room to express myself and put my own stamp on this iconic musical.

I used my Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 Artist pack guitar for the majority of the run, along with my trusty Martin acoustic.

The music is consistent throughout the show, and there are no natural opportunities to change from electric to acoustic, therefore I had have my acoustic mounted in a playing position beside me so I could play it still wearing my electric. This system worked ok, although it wasn’t ideal! Still, I’d have rather have a true acoustic sound than compromise, so it was worth the stretch!

I had to use my POD as an amp sim to keep the volume down in the pit, and I thought it sounded lovely, and took the sound of my pedal board well.

I felt the run was brilliant – really consistent and a great show with fun music to dig into, be expressive and delicate in equal measure. I can’t wait to do it again!