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In Memory

Gary MacIntyre

 
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03/21/23 07:47 AM #1    

Rita Napoli

Gary was a very nice person, friendly as well. I am sorry to hear about his passing

 


03/25/23 12:03 PM #2    

Pete Surowski

I have a Gary McIntyre story that some of you might find interesting. It’s kinda long; please bear with me! 

So, I never really knew Gary well in high school, and I don’t recall ever having more than one or two “one on one” interactions (conversations) with him, if even that many. I’m pretty sure we probably had a couple classes together…maybe a gym class, maybe a history class- - I don’t really recall for sure. I just recall that Gary had kind of a “tough guy” reputation, and/or a reputation of him being someone that you didn’t want to mess with.  This was in spite of the fact that I never actually saw him in a fight, never saw him pick a fight, and never even saw him be confrontational with anybody.  As a matter of fact, on the few times that I actually observed him from afar, he seemed to be kind of a jovial, happy-go-lucky kind of guy. In retrospect, maybe I was just intimidated because he was so much taller than everyone else in our class.  

Fast forward about eight or 10 years, to the late 70’s:  As I was blissfully pursuing my career as a starving musician, somehow Gary’s name popped up on my “radar” when one of my bands was looking for a bass player. I don’t really recall the details- - maybe we found his name on a music store bulletin board, or maybe we met up through an organization called the “Musician’s Contact Service” which was sort of a prehistoric version of “LinkedIn” for musicians. Anyway, long story short (for now), Gary and I connected, we had a few rehearsals, and did a couple of gigs (if I remember correctly), and that was that.  At least for the time being.  

But wait, there’s more!! 

About a year or so after that, I had heard that he put together his own little trio, around the same time that I had the brilliant idea of starting a “side hustle” of becoming a “booking agent” to supplement my “starving musician career” .

So, shortly after that, I booked Gary’s band for a small wedding reception in Brea, which went fine (or so I was told).  

Not too long after that, a friend-of-a-friend contacted me and asked me if I knew a band that could play for their backyard wedding reception, and I told them “yes”, thinking of Gary’s band.  

So, I booked Gary’s band for this wedding reception, which, unfortunately, turned into a bit of a bruhaha-brawl-fracas- - you get the picture.   In addition, it also turned into a bit of a pool party.  Except it wasn’t supposed to be a pool party.  It was, indeed, a backyard wedding reception, but apparently, at one point somebody got mad at somebody else, and people started pushing each other into the pool, fully dressed, including, from my recollection, the bride in her full wedding regalia, some of the wedding party, the mother of the bride, along with the mother-of-the-bride’s expensive camera.  According to the reports, some of the wedding party said the band started the brawl, but, of course, the band said one of the guests, or one of the wedding party started the brawl. We’ll never know for sure.

But wait, there’s still more! 

Not too long after that, I had heard that Gary was playing in a club across from the Los Alamitos race track at a place called the “Starting Gate”.  I believe he may have had a slightly larger band this time, called the “Gary MacIntyre Show”.  I popped into the club one night, very briefly, for just a few minutes, and Gary seem to be doing well, and the crowd seem to enjoy his band. That was the last time I had ever seen or heard from Gary from that point on.  I’m hoping he did well after that.  

R.I.P. Gary! Love you, bro!


03/26/23 08:51 AM #3    

Debbie Anderson (Soloway)

What a great story, Pete! Thanks for sharing it.

03/26/23 09:47 AM #4    

Maureen Jaroscak

Pete - I loved your story about Gary who I did not really know in high school.  Just remember the face and that he was quite tall.  Its amazing that the two of you would cross paths later in your life, and not just once.  We leave the halls of high school and rarely have contact with all of the kids we shared 4 years of school with.  I hope lotsof us can come to the "pre-reunion" and actual reunion


03/30/23 07:28 PM #5    

Pete Surowski

Thanks, Debbie & Maureen; I couldn't help but share.  It seemed so random at the time, and it still does, even now, so many years later.  Hope you and your families are well !

 

 


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