Gary Lenaire

Gary Lenaire
Background information
Born	July 29, 1967
Genres	Heavy Metal, Hard rock, Christian metal
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Years active	1985–present
Associated acts	Tourniquet Echo Hollow 2050 Talking Snakes
Website	http://www.garylenaire.org
Notable instruments
Guitar

Gary Lenaire (born July 29, 1967) is a guitarist and composer. He is most known for his work with Tourniquet and the band Echo Hollow. He has released 12 records and was nominated for six GMA Dove Awards. He received HM Magazine's "Guitarist of the Year" award from 1994-1996. He has published over 90 songs world wide. He has more recently self-published a book called Infidel Manifesto.

History

In 1985 he co-founded Eugene Oregon's Christian thrash metal band Holy Danger with vocalist Guy Ritter, drummer Darby Budd, guitarists Dan Larson and Dee Harrington.

In 1986 he relocated to Los Angeles with Ritter to form the famed Christian metal Tourniquet (band) with drummer Ted Kirkpatrick. The trio signed to Frontline Music Group (Intense Records) in 1989. In 1990 Tourniquet signed with Metal Blade / Caroline Records. After 7 CDs and multiple tours Lenaire departed Tourniquet in August, 1996. According to Lenaire, "By that time the band had gone through numerous member changes. My good friends were no longer in the group. I felt that the band had become somewhat a parody of itself; we were now doing piano ballads and pop tunes. Our first few records were considered by most of our fans as our prime. I knew it was over, at least for me."

In October, 1996 Lenaire and Ritter formed a new Christian band Echo Hollow and went on to release 2 CDs. The first record Diet of Worms was released in 1998 featuring drummer Matt Rosenblum and bassist Matt Fallentine. After hearing the Effusion record Impulse, Lenaire petitioned to add vocalist and guitarist Rafik Oganyan to the group in 1999. Lenaire, Ritter, Rosenblum, Fallentine and Oganyan were the lineup for the second and final Echo Hollow release Superficial Intelligence (2000).

Later in 2000 Lenaire published a compilation of previously unheard songs entitled The Lost Years. In 2002, Lenaire, Rosenblum and Oganyan formed Los Angeles rock band Cripple Need Cane with bassist Tim Cason. In 2005 they recorded The Big Dance. The band was nominated by the Los Angeles Music Awards for Best New Band. The band broke up in July, 2005. In 2008 Lenaire began work on a solo project and released a series of songs via iTunes on October 31, 2009. Lenaire has appeared in many Roland / BOSS Corporation videos since 2001. The company has featured his compositions and guitar playing examples in various products such as the Roland VS-2480 and BOSS Micro-BR.

Discography

Solo

• The Lost Years (2004)
• The Lost Years Volume 2 (2007)
• Talking Snakes, Nonogram Zen (2009)

Echo Hollow

• Diet of Worms (1998)
• Superficial Intelligence (2004)

Cripple Need Cane

• The Big Dance (2005)

Tourniquet

• Stop the Bleeding (1990)
• Psycho Surgery (1991) (2001 rerelease titled Psychosurgery)
• Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance (1992)
• Intense Live Series, Vol. 2 (1993) (also known as Recorded Live, Vol. 2)
• Vanishing Lessons (1994)
• Carry the Wounded (1995)
• The Collected Works of Tourniquet (1996)

Musical influences

• Vangelis, The Beatles, David Gilmour, Billie Holiday, David Bowie, Robin Trower, Queen, Elton John, Benny Hill, Maynard James Keenan, James Hetfield

External links

• Secular Web
• Official Myspace
• Official Talking Snakes Myspace