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Bill
Gabriel
 I
was a sophomore in college the first time I picked up a guitar.
My guitar heroes back then were The Kingston Trio; Peter, Paul &
Mary; and my personal favorite Glen Campbell, who I still admire.
After learning some chords and playing around the campfire, I heard
a new group from England called the Beatles and everything changed
- real fast. No more folk guitar - I wanted to plug in. George Harrison
became my man then, and that remains largely true today.
Shortly after graduating from college I was “invited”
by the government to spend some time in the military, and wound
up being stationed in Fort Riley, Kansas where I was fortunate enough
to be assigned to the U.S. Army Band playing clarinet, saxophone
and guitar. As far as being in the army goes, it was a pretty good
gig because the army band was my "day job" and in the
evenings I was in a local band that played around town. If you want
to play in Junction City, Kansas you’d better play country
and that’s just what we did. Setting modesty aside, I thought
we were pretty good, but you’ll have to take my word for it.
One thing that came out of that experience was a fondness for country
music (real country, not Shania Twain) that I still haven’t
been able to shake.
Following the army I returned to the real world and found myself
in law school, which is how I make my living. It’s a good
profession, and as half of Gabriel & McCartney, P.C. things
have gone well in the legal profession. My partner and I have been
together for a very long time and it's been an interesting and rewarding
career.
But the guitar habit doesn’t go away easily and I kept coming
back to it. If not always with my hands, my ears were constantly
connected to the instrument. Finally, I surrendered and began studying
guitar - slowly at first, then more and more purposefully.
At the present I’m studying with two guitarists, Tom Byrne
and Corey Christiansen (listed alphabetically!). Tom and Corey are
jazz guitarists based in St. Louis and have taken my playing to
a level I never would have dreamed of a few years ago, while showing
me how much more there is to learn. Tom is a full time professional
player, as well as an adjunct professor with the music program at
Webster University in St. Louis. Corey is the guitar editor for
Mel Bay Publications, for which he travels frequently giving concerts
and clinics, and the author of a number of guitar
publications. I am extremely fortunate to be tutored by these
guys!
To state the obvious, all of the members of City Heat influence
our sound. My jazz interests and personal musical history have had
a large influence on City Heat. As apparent from our eclectic song
list, stylistically our music is all over the place. That’s
visually obvious when we perform, by the fact that I use 3 different
guitars. But beyond that, all the songs we play are more chordally
and harmonically enhanced from what I’ve learned through jazz
studies. That’s what I bring to City Heat and my contribution
to our unique sound.
As the song goes - "I get by with a little help from my friends”
and that’s certainly been true for me. I have benefitted greatly
from the support and advice of many people, both friends as well
as musicians and members of the St. Louis music community, and I
would like to thank all of them for helping to make City Heat a
reality. Certainly my bandmates, who are truly excellent in what
they do and how they do it, but particularly my wife Mary Kay who
has patience beyond normal human capacity. There are bunches more
and I hope you know who you are.
Bill Gabriel
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