About Gary Hoey
Rock & blues guitar legend Gary Hoey is touring on his new album, Avalanche, his first album since 2019. Avalanche on Wazoo Music Group (Hoey’s own label) features special guest Lita Ford on vocals on “You Know I Would,” and Gary’s son, Ian Hoey, on “Summer’s Here” and “Dear Mama,” which is a tribute to Gary’s mother. Gary says, “Avalanche is a return to my rock roots. It feels great to turn up the volume and have some fun. This album was a therapeutic album for me. I named the album Avalanche because sometimes life feels like one thing after another.
Hoey called on his old friends to help him record, Matt Scurfield (drums), AJ Pappas (bass), Ian Hoey (guitar), and his niece, Tayla Lemieux (background vocals). Hoey is hitting the road with his son Ian Hoey. “I love to travel and see the fans after the show. And having my son Ian playing guitar by my side is a dream come true. We will be playing the new and the old classics, “Hocus Pocus,” Low Rider,” and more.
Hoey’s first break came in 1987 when Ozzy Osbourne showed up in Boston looking for a guitarist. Osborne liked Hoey’s tape enough to fly him to LA for an audition. Ozzy suggested that Gary move to LA. He took Ozzy’s advice and, with the $17,000 he saved from teaching Hoey, loaded the U-Haul and drove across the country to LA. In 1992, Hoey released the album Heavy Bones on Warner Bros., a short-lived band. In 1993, Hoey released Animal Instinct, which included a cover of Focus’ hit “Hocus Pocus.” It rocketed into the Billboard Top 5, outpacing all other singles as the most frequently played rock song of the year. It launched Hoey’s career as an instrumental rock guitar hero and got him listed as one of the top 100 guitarists of all time in Guitar Player Magazine.
In 1994, Hoey scored the surf cult classic Endless Summer II soundtrack and had another radio hit with War’s “Low Rider.” Other clients have included Walt Disney Studios, ESPN, and New Line Cinema, scoring the music to California Screaming (Disney Roller Coaster), Office Space, Deck the Halls (Danny Devito), and Beethoven’s 3rd.
These days, you can find Gary on tour with Lou Gramm
(voice of Foreigner) in the Lou Gramm All Stars as his guitar player. He also recently released a signature beer with AleSmith Brewing Co (San Diego, CA) named after his song “Summer’s Here.” Gary also produced and co-wrote with the queen of metal, Lita Ford, on her soon-to-be-released album as he did in 2012 on her album Living Like A Runaway. Gary has toured with Jeff Beck, Brian May of Queen, Joe Bonamassa, Ted Nugent, Joe Satriani, The Doobie Brothers, Foreigner, Styx, and many more.