Gary Primich Music

Gary's new CD is now available in stores across the USA.

I have a new CD coming out this spring on the Electro-Fi label titled Ridin' the Darkhorse. I'm really proud of this one. We went in a small studio in south Austin and tried to capture that raw "live" sound I love so well on my favorite Chess and Sun records from the 50's and 60's. You can find out more information by going to www.electrofi.com.

Blues Review magazine states "Gary Primich clearly stands at the forefront of today's blues harmonica scene." I couldn't agree more, so it was a pleasure to ask Gary about his new album Riding The Darkhorse recently.

"This is my back to the basics 'Blues' blues record, stripped down and bare bones." "Four guys sitting in a garage on the Southside of Austin, Texas." "With the advent of new technology, it's cheaper to record, and that allows people who are knowledgeable about and sympathetic to Blues and Roots music to have studios, like Billy Horton at Fort Horton." "Dave Wesselowski and Jim Starboard on bass and drums have been in my road band for years. I've also worked and written with guitarist Mark Korpi for years, and I'm very comfortable with guitarist Dave Biller and keyboardist Gene Taylor. The cover tunes are all songs I've been doing for years, 'You Got Me' by John Brim, I've been playing that for 20 years. But, I always try to play them my own way." I asked Gary how he balances his reputation as a Harmonica ace with his own work as a songwriter. "In addition to being an instrumentalist, I take pride in trying to write good songs in the blues tradition and do something thematically interesting." When I asked him about the inspiration behind one of his soulful originals "Pray For A Cloudy Day" Gary laughs and tells me "That song was born out of driving all around the country to gigs, and no mattter where you sit in the van the sun gets to you. In Texas that sun can get pretty hot, so I'm always praying for a cloudy day." I ended the interview by asking Gary how he feels Ridin' the Darkhorse fits into his catalog fo recorded work. "It's been a few years simce my last CD, and I really feel I'm evolving as a singer, player and songwriter. Like many things in life, you get better at it the longer you do it." A typically modest assessment of his own work by an extremely talented artist. We are proud to have Gary Primich on the Electro-Fi label and to bring you his new album.
— Andrew Galloway
President, Electo-Fi Records

Buy Ridin' the Dark Horse from CD Universe

View Guest Appearances

Song samples and tracks are in mp3 format.

Want to buy a Gary Primich CD?

To Order Gary Primich CD's, including instructional CD's, check out the following websites:

Amazon.com - product links included below for your convenience
CDUniverse.com
texasmusicroundup.com
electrofi.com
antonesrecords.com

Can't find what you are looking for? Dig through the Blues Bins at your Local Used CD and LP stores!

Dog House Music
Antone's Records ©2002

Song Samples:

Dog House Music, Primich's debut album on the Antone's Records label and his seventh in a series of releases that have previously racked up considerable critical acclaim. The album melds the sweaty feel of an inspired nightclub set with the sharp sonic atmosphere of the studio, resulting in blues music that is vivid and full of life. With his feet firmly planted in musical tradition, Primich creates a signature style marked by versatile musicality, smart songwriting, muscular and evocative vocals, and colorful and potent harp playing. Cut with his road-seasoned band augmented by some of the best players in Austin, TX, it features songs written by Primich both solo and with his longtime collaborator Mark Korpi, as well as by Primich band bassist Jeff Turmes and noted Austin songwriter Michael Fracasso. Dog House Music is indeed a disc that howls and rocks the roof off the joint.

-- Rob Patterson

Buy Dog House Music on CD Universe

Botheration
Black Top Records 1999

Full Length Track: Hardwood Floor

"Lovers of extended jams and pyrotechnics may have to adjust their horizontal hold to appreciate this album. Most songs clock in at less than four minutes. The point seems to be to set up an irresistible groove, tell the story, add a bit more fire and flash on the harp and get out. Yet the album's packed with interesting ideas--probably as many as you'd find in those extended jams. And though Primich doesn't stretch out of harp on most of these tunes, his playing is full of awe-inspiring tonal and textural nuances coloring each lick. He clearly stands at the forefront of today's blues harmonica scene."

--Blues Revue, July 1999

"Texas-based singer, songwriter, and harpist Gary Primich is known for his diverse playlist and willingness to take the blues in new directions. Fans of his earlier recordings for Flying Fish and Black Top will be glad that Botheration finds him sticking with what works--songs with a minimalist backing...that keep the attention on Primich's laid-back vocals and harp. Gary Primich's "less is more" approach is welcome in a world overpopulated with musicians who don't seem to understand the concept."

--Peter R. Aschoff, Living Blues, July/August 1999

COMPANY MAN
Black Top Records 1997

Full Length Track: Company Man

Buy Company Man at Amazon.com

Primich's recording career has been indeed a work in progress, with his earliest efforts showing much promise with a workmanlike aura to them, with each new release heading into some mighty cool terrain, taking -- as always -- the path less traveled. And Company Man is certainly the most adventurous of his releases to date, taking his fine songwriting craft and huge harp tone in a multitude of directions. Needless to say, the highlights abound throughout, but most notable in passing are a pair of Smiley Lewis numbers, "Jail Bird" and "Hook, Line, and Sinker," with the former getting the jug-band romp of its life, the Big Walter-borrows- Little Walter's-band instrumental "Varmint," or the jazzy-as-hell "Ain't You Trouble." Or that eerie minor-key voodoo piece, "What's It Gonna Be," or the lowdown "Dry County Blues," which is probably the dirtiest sounding vocal Primich has ever laid down, pure gravel all the way.

-- All-Music Guide

Blues with an infusion of rock and a touch of southern soul -- that's what Gary Primich offers in his debut album on Black Top. Primich plays harmonica, which he has done as sideman on recordings by Steve James, Omar and the Howlers, and Tish Hinojosa. On his own, he keeps his harp by turns wailing and laughing on the mostly original tunes, and turns in solid vocal work on several cuts as well.

-- Kerry Dexter © Dirty Linen, Ltd.

MR. FREEZE
Flying Fish Records 1995

Full Length Track: Dallas Texas

"Easily the most syncretic player on the scene today, Primich has located the Holy Grail of tone on the instrument."

-- Jazziz

"...Gary Primich is a tonemaster; it's his harp sound, always richly textured and supple, that makes his brand of Texas blues so inviting. At times on MR. FREEZE Primich blows his harp like it was a saxophone, inviting comparisons to Charlie Musselwhite and Little Walter..."

-- Living Blues, January 1996

Buy Mr. Freeze from CD Universe

TRAVELIN' MOOD
Flying Fish Records 1994

Buy Travelin' Mood from Amazon.com

Buy Travelin' Mood from CD Universe

"In addition to radiating plenty of harp and soul, blues harmonicist Gary Primich's new album . . . is clever, playful and unpredictable."

-- The Washington Post

"One of the best harp players alive."

-- Spotlight Magazine

MY PLEASURE
Amazing Records 1992

Buy My Pleasure from Amazon.com

Reviews currently not available.

GARY PRIMICH
Amazing Records 1990
[Out of Print]

Buy Gary Primich from Amazon.com

The recording opens with "Sweet Fine Angel," an easy-rolling Primich original spiced up with sharp and satisfying guitar runs. All manner of rocking blues follow, highlighted by a full force Southside Chicago harp workout on the down-and-dirty "Cadillac Blues," concluding with the tasty instrumental "Cookin' At Sam's." Primich has long since proven he's tough enough to hold his own in the thick of the best blues scene in the country. This recording proves for all that Primich deserves to be heard far beyond the city limits of Austin, Gary and Chicago.

-- Michael Point, 1991

Blues Harmonica The Basics and Beyond

Product Description
America’s favorite Blues-Harp course! Lessons include: Holding • getting single notes • pursing the lips • tongue blocking • bending notes • theory • bending exercises vibrato • positions • 12-bar blues structure • the art of soloing • warble-trill • licks • runs • intros • turnarounds endings • microphone use • amplifiers • overblows & much more.

Audio CD - 2 discs

"I recently recorded a couple tracks with a fine band from Finland called the Wentus Blues Band. it's part of a compilation that includes a number of American and European blues artists that I'm sure most of you are familiar with. The cd can be ordered by contacting Blue Light Records in Finland."

Guest Appearances include:

Omar & The Howlers -- Muddy Springs Road
Omar & The Howlers -- World Wide Open
Omar & The Howlers -- Swingfille
Steve James -- Art And Grit
Steve James -- Boom Chang
Steve James -- American Primitive
Tish Hinojosa -- Homeland
Tish Hinojosa -- Culture Swing
Libbi Bosworth -- Outskirts of You
Libbi Bosworth -- Austin Country Nights Compilation
Libbi Bosworth -- Libbiville
Starline Rhythm Boys -- Better Luck Is A Barroom Away
Candye Kane -- White Trash Girl
Doyle Bramhall, Sr. -- Fitchburg Street
Jesse Dayton -- Country Soul Brother

Compilations:
Rhino Blues Masters Volume #17 -- "Masters of the Blues Harmonica"
Threadgill's Supper Sessions Volume I and II
US Blues: Back On Track - 3 tracks on this European release that also includes Lazy Lester and Charlie Musselwhite.

Gary has also rubbed elbows with the stars, doing a stint as harmonica coach for one of those actor types on the Merchant/Ivory film, "Sad Cafe," and coach to Ethan Hawke in "The Newton Boys."

If you have a problem with any of the audio files email the webmaster