'Twisted Minds' is about a toxic relationship and finally at the breaking point the partner calls it quits. This is a hard-hitting rock song with exciting solos by both Gary Dranow and Chris Zoupa (Teramaze, Melbourne, Australia). Arranged by Dranow, it doesn't follow your typical rock blues progression. Bass is played by Jerry Manfredi when Dranow was based out of Los Angeles, Keyboards by Tommy Mars (Frank Zappa Band) and Jethro Defries (Sly and the Family Stone).
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey Gary Dranow, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. How has the time gone for you since our last interview?
Been surprisingly busy during the Holidays. But have had a bit more time to spend with my wife and our three Goldendoodles. It's been snowing quite a lot up here. We live at 7,000 feet in Park City, UT. So I'm getting my exercise cleasring our very long and steep driveway. Had a foot just yesterday. Happy New Year!
What role does the artist have in society?
Tough question. I would say it starts with touching people in a positive and profound way. Get people to see things, feel things, think about or question things in ways that they have not before. To shine a light on issues and even personal struggles and leave them understanding that they are not alone.
Your latest release is 'Twisted Minds'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
This song came from a personal experience I had in one of my relationships. It was going on while I was transitioning from Los Angeles to Park City, UT. While I was launching my Ski Racing academy, Modern Ski Racing. And beginning to pursue my music again I was not only not getting the support I needed but was being interfered with my endeavors. Fortunately that relationship ended organically and a year later I met the love of my life which I wrote about in the prescient song Destiny Road, my latest release.
What’s your strongest memory of your childhood?
One of two. When I stuck my finger in a wall socket, quite the shock and at the earl age, three or four I learned a big lesson about electricity, which left me with a lot of respect for capacitors during my older age dealing with Amplifiers. I let my techs deal with them, lol. Or there was the time my first elementary school was having a Halloween pageant and my mother made me a computer costume out of cardboard, film reels, and dials, this was 1959 and to say she was ahead of her time was an understatement. I won a prize.
What’s your most embarrassing moment?
Hah! Good one. I’ve had so many. When I was performing in one of my very early band, Ultra Manic run by a interesting kid named Karl Macura (wonder what happened to him, can’t find him on Facebook). Anyway I was kind of nuts in those days and did things like play the guitar over my head or behind my back (I had not seen Hendrix perform live at this point but knew his music very well). On this occasion I was playing on my back and Karl decided to stand over my head and lower his butt down. I got up quickly. A friend of mine after the show, Chris Riddle, asked me how embarrassed I was,. I just turned red and dropped the whole incident, but I calmed down my stage performance a bit after that. Lol.
Is the artistic life lonely? What do you do to counteract it?
Fortunately for me I am surrounded by great band members, friends and a very supportive wife. I do not feel isolated at all.
What is your dream project?
Two-fold. To gain notoriety from Destiny Road album then increase my following with the release in the fall of 2023 of my next album Never Give Up and have a big enough following so I can headline my own shows on western eleven state tours, especially at venues like Eccles Theater in Salt Lake and Red Rock in Denver.
To collaborate with Joe Bonamassa, Kenny Wayne Sheperd and Gary Clark. Jr.
What advice would you have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?
Get the best teacher and coach you can find, practice relentlessly, learn to sing, start writing right away and never give up on your dreams.
When were you generally fulfilled in your position as an artist?
It’s still an ongoing process, I am just now starting to develop a hard cire following. I have a great marketing and promotion team and my followers are growing daily.
What can we expect from Gary Dranow soon?
The release of several more singles, then the release of mt Destiny Road album on May 12, 2023, and right behind that the release of my newest album Never Give up in the Fall pr Winter of 2023. Hopefully I will have outgrown the local venue scene and be performing in front of thousands of fans at much bigger venues.