George Gibson: Singer, Songwriter and Band Leader

A ny musician who’s been around a while has an interesting story about how it all began. George Gibson, leader of the popular local band Georgetowne, has several.
His early musical career, while he was still in college, was so successful that his band Buckwheat opened for Sonny and Cher at UOP; then for Tower of Power at Edison High School. The same management group that directed the Monkees approached Buckwheat for a possible deal, but they didn’t come to terms when the band was asked to change its lineup.

“They said, ‘What the group really needs is a female singer,’” said George. “We told them that’s not really what we’re about. We were working on Crosby, Stills and Poco music. So, it never went anywhere.”

When it was time for a more serious career, George was off to Pepperdine Law School. That led to two impressive careers, 13 years in private law practice and then 35 years as vice president and counsel for FCB Homes. Music became mostly a thing of the past. “Other than maybe a happy birthday for my mom or my wife, I didn’t pull my guitar out. I didn’t play for 43 years.”

It was a health scare that drove George to pick up that guitar again. A growth on a vocal cord meant the possibility of surgery and even the possibility of voice damage. While George thought to record himself reading books for his grandchildren for the sake of posterity, his wife, Cherie, took the idea a step further, suggesting he record songs for those little ones as well.

“I ended up recording two or three songs into a recording device. And my wife said, ‘You sound pretty good. Have you been practicing?’ I said no, but it hit me, it’s like getting back on a bicycle once you’ve been on it. It woke that musical part of my brain up again.” Throat surgery went well; George had the music bug again, and, at this stage of his life, the time to seriously pursue it.

George wasn’t just a singer and guitar player; as a young musician, he’d written his own songs and was ready to explore that skill again. A Stockton songwriting contest victory landed George in a regional showcase in Berkeley, where he also shined for judges. He then had the courage to take his original tunes to a week-long songwriting camp in Monterey, where he performed for industry giants like Rodney Crowell and Bernie Taupin. With more than 100 songwriters attending the same camp looking for guidance, those professionals had George ranked in the top five.

He’s not only back on the bike; he’s riding in the Tour de France. “I’ve partially written 300 songs and 75 have been finished. Rodney Crowell said for every ten minutes the best songwriters spend writing a song, they’ll spend 30 minutes editing their songs. I have songs I’ve edited more than 60 and 70 times, finding just the right word, or it might be hard to harmonize. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle set to music.”

And that leads to the current musical adventure for George Gibson, leading the six-piece band Georgetowne. George, Doug Carruesco (bass); Brandon Kyle (keyboards); Peter Hackett (drums); Zach Silver (fiddle) and Matthew Hackett (lead guitar) are busy every spring through early winter now with their mix of folk, country, pop and originals. While each player is accomplished on his instrument, George is especially proud of the group’s vocal skills, with three- and four-part harmonies a regular feature during their three-hour performances.

“What the audience doesn’t know when we start playing is that I’ve got these great harmonic voices coming in right behind me, and it can be a shock. When that hits, it’s just euphoria. When we sing and I can tell we’re connecting with people, that’s what makes me tick,” George smiled.

Georgetowne is most often found at one of the many local wineries that offer music, performing roughly 50 gigs a year. Local music fans clearly like that arrangement, with Georgetowne winning the Lodi News-Sentinel readers’ choice for best Live Entertainment three years in a row.

I am always looking for new and exciting gigs to showcase musicians in our community who deserve recognition. Stay tuned!
Feel free to reach out: tim@dalyvideoservices.com.