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Gary Pihl | |
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 Gary Pihl performing with Boston in 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | November 21, 1950 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, keyboards |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Labels | Epic, CBS |
Gary O. Pihl (pronounced "peel") (born November 21, 1950) is an American rock musician and guitarist best known for playing with Sammy Hagar and the hard rock band Boston. [1]
Gary Pihl was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he lived the first 12 years of his life. [1] In 1963 his family relocated to San Mateo, California, where Pihl would become active in music and a participant in a number of local bands. Gary graduated from Hillsdale High School. [1]
At his home recording studio, Pihl worked with the founding members of a band that would eventually be called "Night Ranger." They recorded demos for their first and second albums ( Dawn Patrol and Midnight Madness , respectively) at his home studio. Night Ranger was initially called "Ranger," but the band found that the name was already being used by another band and changed it prior to the first album release.
He also played with several other bands including Day Blindness, Fox, Crossfire (Steve Jones, Mitchell Froom, David Froom, Phil Marshall with Jeff Dorenfeld as manager; Crossfire also performed with Norman Greenbaum as lead singer for several years.), Stark Raving Mad (Gary on lead vocals and guitar, Donovan Stark, Paul Taylor (later of Winger), Jay Causbrook, and David Payne, with Eric Martin of Mr. Big joining after Gary left, among other players), and Alliance. (Note: There have been several different bands named Alliance.)
Crossfire featured an ARP Odyssey and ARP String Ensemble played by Mitchell Froom (who would later become known for the soundtrack to "La Bamba" and other films while also producing bands in LA). Crossfire's seminal moment was their performance at the Stop the Dam Concert held at Sonoma State College, (now Sonoma State University). The concert was to raise awareness and funds to stop the Army Corps of Engineers construction of the Lake Sonoma Dam project in Geyserville's Dry Creek Valley.
Before leaving Stark Raving Mad to join Sammy Hagar, he was known for songs such as "Olga on the Volga."
Sammy Hagar was the opening act at the end of Boston's first tour in 1977 and opened the whole second tour in 1978/79. It was on those tours that Pihl met Tom Scholz. The two of them found out how much they had in common with their extensive home studios and techniques. It set up a lifelong bond and a few years later Tom asked Pihl to join Boston, after Hagar decided to join Van Halen.
After Jeff Dorenfeld became manager for Boston, Pihl made other introductions including Doug Huffman, another drummer from Sebastopol in Sonoma County when Boston needed a replacement, and still later, bassist David Sikes from Fairfield, California near Sonoma County.
Boston is an American rock band formed by Tom Scholz in Boston, Massachusetts, that had its most commercial successes during the 1970s and 1980s. The band's core members include multi-instrumentalist, founder and leader Scholz, who played the majority of instruments on the band's 1976 self-titled debut album, and former lead vocalist Brad Delp, among a number of other musicians who varied from album to album. Boston's best-known songs include: "More Than a Feeling", "Peace of Mind", "Foreplay/Long Time", "Rock and Roll Band", "Smokin'", "Don't Look Back", "A Man I'll Never Be", "Hitch a Ride", "Party", "Amanda" and "Feelin' Satisfied". The band has sold more than 75 million records worldwide, including 31 million units sold in the United States, of which 17 million were the band's debut album and seven million copies of the band's second studio album, Don't Look Back (1978), placing the group amongst the world's best-selling music artists. Altogether, the band has released six studio albums in a career spanning over 48 years. Boston was ranked the 63rd-best hard rock artist by VH1.
Michael Anthony Sobolewski is an American musician who was the bassist and backing vocalist for the hard rock band Van Halen from 1974 to 2006. He performed on Van Halen's first 11 albums and was their longest-tenured bassist. Following his 2006 departure, Anthony has collaborated with fellow former Van Halen bandmate Sammy Hagar for the supergroups Chickenfoot and Sammy Hagar and the Circle. In addition to his music career, he markets a line of hot sauces named Mad Anthony and related products. Anthony was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Van Halen in 2007.
Sam Roy Hagar, also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo career, scoring a hit in 1984 with "I Can't Drive 55". He enjoyed commercial success when he replaced David Lee Roth as the second lead vocalist of Van Halen in 1985, but left in 1996. He returned to the band from 2003 to 2005. In 2007, Hagar was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Van Halen. His musical style primarily consists of hard rock and heavy metal.
Mitchell Froom is an American musician and record producer. He was a member of the bands Gamma and Latin Playboys, and is currently the keyboardist for Crowded House. He has produced albums for several artists, including Richard Thompson, Los Lobos, Suzanne Vega, and Vonda Shepard.
Ronald Douglas Montrose was an American musician who founded and led the rock bands Montrose and Gamma. He is also known for his session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morrison, Herbie Hancock, Beaver & Krause, Boz Scaggs, Edgar Winter, Gary Wright, The Beau Brummels, Dan Hartman, Tony Williams, The Neville Brothers, Marc Bonilla and Sammy Hagar.
Denny Carmassi is an American drummer most notable for playing with many rock bands.
Jim Hodder was an American drummer, best known as an early member of Steely Dan. After leading the Boston-based group The Bead Game, Hodder moved to Los Angeles to join the first lineup of Steely Dan. He appeared on their first three albums before leaving the group in 1974. He worked as a session musician before his 1990 death.
Planet Us was a short-lived supergroup that formed in 2002 with Sammy Hagar on lead vocals, Neal Schon on guitar, Michael Anthony on bass, and Deen Castronovo on drums. The band later recruited a fifth member—famed guitarist Joe Satriani—when their original choice, Slash, turned them down. The band's name Planet Us has been alternatively spelled as Planet US in various publications.
Texxas Jam was the informal nickname of an annual summer rock concert called the Texxas World Music Festival (1978–1988). It was held in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl, and in Houston, at either the Astrodome or the Rice Stadium on the campus of Rice University.
"Dreams" is a song by Van Halen released in 1986 from the album 5150. It was the second single from that album, and it reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that year. It was released in 7" and 12" single formats. The 7" single features the album version, while the 12" features a slightly extended one. Nine years after its original release, "Dreams" introduced the band to a new generation of fans when it appeared in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie and on its soundtrack album.
VOA is the eighth studio album by American rock musician Sammy Hagar, released on July 23, 1984 by Geffen Records.
Danger Zone is the fifth studio album by American rock vocalist Sammy Hagar, released on June 21, 1980 by Capitol Records. This is his last studio album during his tenure with Capitol Records. The album includes appearances by then Journey singer Steve Perry and guitarist Neal Schon. The album peaked at number 85 on the Billboard 200 album charts on July 12, 1980.
Street Machine is the fourth studio album by American rock vocalist Sammy Hagar, released in September 1979 by Capitol Records. The album peaked at number 71 on the Billboard 200 album charts on October 20, 1979.
All Night Long is Sammy Hagar's first live album, released in 1978. The album was recorded during concerts in San Francisco, San Antonio, San Bernardino, Santa Cruz and Santa Monica.
Live 1980 is a live album by American rock musician Sammy Hagar, recorded in 1980 on tour for his then-newest album, Danger Zone and released in 1983.
Jesse Harms is an American musician and songwriter. He has worked with Sammy Hagar, David Lee Roth, Eddie Money, REO Speedwagon, Bad English, Guitar Shorty, Patty Smyth, and McAuley Schenker Group.
Robert Berry is an American guitarist, bassist, vocalist and record producer, best known for his work with Hush, 3 with Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer, Ambrosia, Alliance, and Los Tres Gusanos. He was previously with The Greg Kihn Band, and as of 2022, he is with progressive band Six By Six, a super group composed of musicians from Saga, Saxon, and GTR.
Rematch is the first US-released Sammy Hagar compilation album. After Sammy left Capitol Records for Geffen in 1981, and after Rick Springfield had a hit with the Hagar-penned "I've Done Everything for You", this collection was released to capitalize on that momentum.
Paul Taylor, formerly credited as Paul Horowitz, is an American musician, who is best known as the keyboardist/guitarist for the hard rock band Winger. Although he is perhaps most frequently associated with Winger, Taylor has also played with numerous other prominent musicians, including future Sammy Hagar and Boston guitarist Gary Pihl, Eric Martin, Aldo Nova, Steve Perry of Journey, Alice Cooper and Tommy Shaw.
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