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Go Ho-Ho-Ho at Hoey's Christmas show

BY SCOTT COX, Contributing writer | Wednesday, Dec 16 2009 06:27 PM

Last Updated Wednesday, Dec 16 2009 06:28 PM

OK, let's assume for the moment that you've never heard of Gary Hoey. Or Fishlips. Or Operation Interdependence. You have a rare opportunity tonight to become intimately familiar with all three.

Let's start with the man himself. Gary Hoey has been a household name (at least in my house) for as long as I can remember. My son actually grew up thinking Hoey's middle name was "freaking," as in Gary Freaking Hoey. Two minutes into tonight's show, and you will understand completely. Hoey has had a remarkable career as a guitarist. Ask someone at work what they think of him and you're likely to get a blank stare. Ask Eric Clapton or Jeff Beck and they'll go on about him for a half hour.

Those of you who rock out to the intro music to my show (weekdays from 6-9 a.m. on KERN AM 1180) may know that that song is played by Hoey, who has 15 albums under his belt, all of which you should own.

You probably already have some albums Hoey has played on as a session musician. If you don't know what a session musician is, here's the short version: There's a band you love. The guitarist wields a $5,000 Les Paul and looks great with his shirt off. He drives Italian cars, dates supermodels, and he's sold a zillion records. But there's a problem -- he kinda sucks. Sure, he's great onstage, but the recording studio is a radically different environment. Studio time is expensive, and record producers have very little sense of humor about mistakes. So if mega-star guy is burning through studio time and can't get it right, they send him off to the Riviera and call in a ringer: Gary Hoey, or someone like him. These guys fly in, plug in, and nail it on the first take. From surf to rock to blues to metal, Gary Hoey is a true guitar master.

One thing that is very obvious to longtime friends/fans is that this guy LOVES Christmas. So it was only natural that, in 1995, he recorded his first Christmas album, "Ho Ho Hoey." He plays every instrument on the album, and it changed my music collection forever. He just shattered the mold for those of us who weren't exactly thrilled with Bing Crosby and Burl Ives. Those guys were great, but I like to fire up my Christmas spirit with some blazing guitar. Then 1997 brought us "Ho Ho Hoey 2," featuring my all-time fave, "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch." Yes, he will play it tonight. Another two years, another Christmas album: 1999's "Ho Ho Hoey 3" actually outdid the first two, displaying a technical diversity that very few guitarists will ever achieve. And all of that technical skill comes into play in his live show.

One of my favorite things about Hoey's live shows is watching the reaction of other guitarists. I saw Hoey play a few years ago with Monty Byrom, probably the best guitar player in town. I watched as Byrom laughed out loud at some of the stuff he was hearing. My son, Brett, is an up-and-coming guitarist who has seen Hoey play many times and is perpetually amazed at his live shows. Every time we see him, Brett spends the next two weeks in the garage, practicing like crazy trying to replicate Hoey's technique. So I apologize to the neighbors in advance. It will be loud. Hoey is also one of the few big-time players who brought my kid up onstage to play with him. There's not a lot of guys at that level who will share the stage with a kid, but Hoey always does, and invariably he brings out the best in my son.

Fishlips: My kind of place

Now, about the show: It's at 8 tonight at Fishlips. We are truly blessed to have a venue like this in Bakersfield. The food is great, the sound is top-notch, and the crowd appreciates good music. This is Hoey's third show there and with any luck he'll keep coming back. Hoey loves the venue and loves Shawna and Andrew (the owner/managers). I'm sure that's a big part of why he keeps coming back. That, and the fact that he's been immortalized in mural form on Fishlips' wall. For those of you who haven't been to Fishlips, the walls are covered with murals of music's all-time greats, from B.B. King to Merle Haggard, and Gary Hoey has earned his spot alongside them. The murals, painted by Bakersfield's resident evil genius Craig Frasier, are worth a trip downtown just to stare (you'll need at least an hour).

Operation Interdependence

The folks at Operation Interdependence ship care packages to troops serving in Iraq. They are a nonprofit organization run by some extraordinarily dedicated volunteers. If you'd like to know more about what they do, check them out at www.oidelivers.com.

Shawna and I have been raising money for the troops for years by raffling off autographed guitars, a tradition started by Gary Hoey at his first show at Fishlips. He donated and signed a guitar for the winner. This time we'll raffle off two, because at Christmas those soldiers need all the good will we can send them. Huge thanks to California Keyboards for donating the guitars.

So it all boils down to this: One of the world's great guitarists performing a totally unique Christmas show in a great venue. Who knows: You might just go home with the ultimate Christmas gift for you or the music lover on your list -- an autographed Gary Hoey guitar! At the very least, you'll be going home amazed and with a huge infusion of Christmas spirit.