– Drummer/Vocals
Gary is one of those guys who has been involved with music pretty much his whole life. Starting on drums around the age of 8. Even then, he seemed like a natural at it. “I remember hearing Van Halen’s song Jump as a kid & just knowing that I wanted to play drums.” His first taste on stage behind a drum set came at his 8th grade Christmas concert. Once he was in High School, he put together a few different bands and began playing anywhere & everywhere he could.
Playing other people’s songs always came easy & was fun, but Gary has always had a passion for writing music. It’s because of that, he taught himself guitar and bass so he would be well equipped with the right tools for writing. Gary also realized his vocal ability early on when his band was having a hard time finding the right singer. Finally, Gary said, “Give me a mic…” From that point on, he realized that he could do what many have tried and failed. He could actually carry a tune while playing the drums. To this day, he and only a select few in the area can do this and do it well. Of course Gary, not to be outdone, loves to throw sticks tricks in the mix by flipping, twirling & doing some of the craziest things you can imagine with the drum sticks. “Anything to entertain & have fun”, he says.
Over the years, Gary has written a number of songs that he records & produces all by his self. This way, it enables him to expand his creative freedom at his own pace. He has collectively put out several songs though out the years that have been on a number of compilation discs as well been in many different successful bands. Gary went by the musical alias of “ZD2” for several years before finally just going with “Gary Shaine”. Below is a list of noteworthy details.
• First “gigging” band was named Ratz Nest (Ressless) based out of the Fairbury, IL area. The guitar player was DJ ASHBA (Sixx:AM / formerly Guns ‘n Roses).
• Releasing several songs independently through MySpace, Reverb Nation, and official website, www.GaryShaine.com. Also, 2 great songs available on iTunes here!
• Gary wrote & recorded songs on all 3 “Localmotive” CDs which were compilation CDs from local talent that were distributed all through Illinois in the late 90’s to early 2000’s. Songs include: V1: Hate Me, V2: Step Inside, V3: Fossil.
• Another one of Gary’s former band mates, Tony Higbee, currently plays in the Tom Keifer Band (Cinderella) in Nashville.
• In January, 2009, played drums for British singer Carina Lirola on her first American show in Redondo Beach, CA, supporting George Lynch. Also in that show was Tracii Guns (LA Guns), Joe Allen (Warrant), and Faster Pussycat.
Former Drummer of Hot Action Cop which were signed to Lava Records (Atlantic) in which he toured with them for almost a year 2007-2008. You’ve probably heard them on several movies!
• Played drums on “Liberty & Justice” song “Another Nail” which featured Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) on Vocals, Tim Gains (Stryper) on Bass & Kerri Kelli (Vince Neil, Alice Cooper, Slash’s Snake Pit) featured on their album “Soundtrack of a Soul.” – Checkout the Blabbermouth article here!
Former drummer of Cemetery Gatez (Pantera Tribute band).
• Past local bands:
– StepDown: 2yrs Drummer/Singer – Variety Cover/Original band (105.7 the X – Peoria, IL Houseband)
– The Shake: 1yr Drummer – Cover/Party band
– Braille – 3pc Drummer/Singer – Cover band
– Some other include: The Bar Flys, Nevyds Krest, Dirty Little Mimes, HedSprung, Wunderkind, KRANKINSTEIN, Ruby Max, Ressless (w/ Sixx:AM/GnR guitarist DJ Ashba)