Gary's biography: Gary started playing guitar before the British Invasion hit America in the mid 60's. In 1972, he saw former Jimi Hendrix bassist Billy Cox perform with his new trio called Nitro Function and met Billy about ten years later at a Music Row recording studio while playing guitar on a session. In 1985, Billy called Gary about forming a band and he still continues to this day to play live and on recording sessions on guitar with him from time to time. He credits Billy for taking the time to show him the true inside working knowledge of Jimi's music. Earlier that same year during a visit to New York City, Gary was welcomed at Electric Lady Studios with an open invitation by the staff as a guest. Oddly enough, a photo of him waiting at the front entrance to get into the studio is shown on Univibes.com's Electric Lady Studios Webpage. Over the years Gary has endorsed and worked with many various guitar effect pedal manufacturers as an evaluation consultant for their research and developement. While in New York, he spent most of his time playing guitar while trying out different effect pedals made by Roger Mayer who had custom built an Octavia for him. It was during this time that he encouraged Roger to design his own Uni-Vibe, Wah-Wah pedal and reissue his original Jimi Hendrix style fuzz boxes in his Rocket FX series. About a year later, Roger presented Gary one of the first Classic Fuzz pedals at a Jimi Hendrix Birthday Tribute in Woodstock, NY. In November of 1986, Billy Cox's new group with Gary on guitar headlined Jimi-Fest at the Metro in Chicago. WBBM TV reported on the event and the band on their afternoon magazine show. Gary and Billy also played the very last Jimi-Fest in 1994 at Legends in Chicago as Billy Cox and the Gypsy Suns. In 1990, Gary was contacted by Jim Dunlop to try out prototypes of their new line of Jimi Hendrix style effects. A few years later when their Wah-Wah and Uni-Vibe pedals were released, Gary demonstated them at the Dunlop Booth for several years at the Summer NAMM show. Gary had input on the current Experience pedal and the Face-Lift for Presctiption Electronics and he tested out one of the first Captain Coconut prototypes for Dave Fox of Foxrox Electronics. Actually, Gary had the same idea for this pedal years ago and some of Gary's upgrade ideas are found on the Captain Coconut 2. He also named and co-designed the Billy Cox signature model Freedom Bass. Gary plays Gibson and Fender Stratocaster guitars through Marshall amplification exclusively. In the summer of 1991, Gary was contacted by the Allman Brothers Band to stage tech for keyboard player Gregg Allman and bassist Allen Woody on the "Shades Of Two Worlds" tour. Being influenced by Duane Allman who Gary met in July of 1971 at an Allman Bros. show in Florida, made it very easy to accept their offer.In 1998, at the request of Billy and drummer Buddy Miles, Gary played guitar for the Band Of Gypsys reunion in Seattle at the Jimi Hendrix Electric Guitar Festival. Gary played a set with Eric Gales and Gary Hoey. Slash was also added on as a special guest guitarist and they played "Stone Free" and "I Don't Live Today" with Gary on lead vocals. In May of 1998, Gary, Billy and original Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell got together at Treasure Isle Recording Studio for an evening session of Jimi's songs mixed in with some Curtis Mayfield and blues covers. Within the following year, they went back in to Treasure Isle with keyboard player Gene Golden to cut some more tracks and produced two mixed masters. That same year, Mitch Mitchell joined forces with Billy, Gary and three background singers in a group called the Gypsy Sun Experience. The band made their debut at the 1999 Summer NAMM Show Jam at the Exit/In in Nashville and followed that gig as one of the headliners at the Itchycoo Park Music Festival on the 30th anniversary of their legendary Woodstock performance. Included in their set was the classic "Manic Depression" featuring drummer Mitch Mitchell and Gary on vocals. Itchycoo Park was the first festival recorded in HDTV and took place on the site where the Bonnoroo Festival is now held. Gary was invited back to play at the Itchycoo Park All Star Jam with Mike Pinera of Blues Image ("Ride Captain Ride"), Ramatam (with Mitch Mitchell), Iron Butterfly and Alice Cooper. Peter Rivera of Rare Earth. Jock Bartley of Firefall and John Jorgenson of Elton John's band. In September of 2001, Gary and Billy Cox were guest lecturers at the Jimi Hendrix classes in Indianapolis and Bloomington, Indiana. During the lecture they demonstrated how some of Jimi's songs were created. These two college stops were part of the Experience Music Project Museum's Electric Bus Tour. In 2003, Gary and Billy played a concert in Florida with the Gypsy Sun Experience at the Pensacola International Film Festival."With the recent passing of Noel Redding, Nashvillian Cox is the last surviving bassist to have been linked primarily with Jimi Hendrix, an association that remains his calling card. Joined by former Hendrix drummer Mitch Mitchell and guitarist Gary Serkin, Cox leads a unit whose moniker "Billy Cox & The Gypsy Sun Experience" is an amalgam of Hendrix band references. ~Nashville Scene" Gary's contributions to the world of Jimi started with photos from the Jimi Hendrix Experience concert on April 18, 1969 which he also recorded in Memphis. He has unearthed two live concert tapes from 1969 & 1970 and also studio material mixed by Jimi at the Record Plant. He has been a part of Guitar Player, Straight Ahead, Voodoo Child, Univibes and Experience Hendrix magazines and did research for the three part series "Jimi Hendrix Nashville Years" for SHAKE! magazine. He has researched information for the Early Hendrix website and an interview he conducted with Billy Cox was published in the book, "Black Gold-The Lost Archives Of Jimi Hendrix." Gary also contributed research and information about Jimi's Nashville session work last year for the Jimi Hendrix book, "Room Full Of Mirrors" by Charles Cross. On the 2006 release of "Billy Cox & Buddy Miles-The Band Of Gypsys Return" CD, Gary is playing guitar on the two original Billy Cox songs, "You Are The Best In Town" and "Let Your Word Be Your Bond." Currently Gary teaches guitar in Nashville and has recently reformed the "Gypsy Sun Experience."A Musical Tribute to Jimi Hendrix (From: Nashville Scene)GYPSY SUN EXPERIENCE You’d be hard-pressed to find another Nashvillian more dedicated to keeping the spirit of Jimi Hendrix alive than guitarist Gary Serkin. Over the past two decades, Serkin has performed in bands with almost every living connection to Jimi, including Band of Gypsys rhythm section Billy Cox (bass) and Buddy Miles (drums), not to mention Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell—in fact, Serkin was the house guitarist for the 1998 Band of Gypsys reunion show at the Jimi Hendrix Electric Guitar Festival in Seattle. That same year, Serkin did a recording session with Cox and Mitchell, the first time those two had played together since the very last Jimi Hendrix concert, on Sept. 6, 1970 in Germany. (Cue Twilight Zone music.) Serkin’s current group, Gypsy Sun Experience, features drummer John Froeschauer and bassist Barney Evers. This celebration of Jimi’s music will feature special guests. Are you experienced? —JACK SILVERMAN
