Gary Ogan

At a very early age, not long after discovering I could sing, I started teaching myself to play instruments. Some floundering and ill-fated lessons certainly played a part, but I knew I was driven in the realms of music. I started on drums, then soon got into guitar and piano, teaching myself by ear. Then I discovered songwriting, and ever since, it’s been a battle for my time and attention between those five great loves (bass making six). I am deeply connected and responsible to each, and because I’ve been blessed with what I consider a comparatively deep knowledge of each, it becomes important that I’m good at the nurturing of each. The cumulative effect of this is something unique in me. I like to think my audiences arrive knowing they’re about to be put at ease, that they’re about to be able to sit back and shamelessly enjoy something extremely direct, meaningful, powerful, compelling, entertaining, personal, and true. And this is not to say my shows have no hijinks, only that any given show of mine will also see me doing my best to honor my platform and my connection to the people.

I’m the storyteller. And when the story is put to music, I believe you can get the purest form of “church.” I’ve been happily at this 45 years and counting. It started two years out of high school, when I was signed to Elektra Records in a duo called Portland. We made one album, toured a little with the Hollies and Harry Chapin, and had a great first run at the big time. I soon chose to move on as a solo artist though.

Before kicking into solo-artist mode, I squeezed in two years of music theory, composition, and orchestration at Mt. Hood Community College. Then, in 1977, one of my demos got hand-delivered to the offices of Warner Brothers Records in Burbank, and to the desk of Diane Sullivan at Paradise Records, Leon Russell’s new boutique label. Leon soon heard the tape, liked what I was doing, and phoned with an invitation. Not long after, I was the first signed artist on his label. Within a year, my self-titled debut solo album was released. I also co-produced Leon and Mary’s second duet album, Make Love To The Music. We then toured the US for most of the next year and a half. Lots of wonderful times like meeting and spending an evening with George Harrison.

“As an artist, you row your own boat in a way that is pleasing and rewarding to the soul. I think you’re a great artist and a quality record maker.” Leon Russell

What followed after my time with Leon was a return to Portland where I immediately got busy for several years, putting in thousands of performances that reflect the 200+ venues I’ve played in the area. Through several incarnations of my own band and playing in friend’s bands, this was another productive time. In 1982, I got a Willamette Week cover story (Leading the Charge of Locally-Produced Music) with my award-winning first indie album, Let Go The Heart. Around this time other artists like Nicolette Larson, Maria Muldaur and This Mortal Coil began to cover my songs. In 1991, I released a compilation of my songs, each sung by a different Portland vocal icon. The CD, called Voices, brought awareness and funding to the child-abuse program at Emanuel Hospital in Portland. I was happy the CD sold out, and that the follow-up concert went so well, where Tenley Holway and Carlton Jackson brought down the house with their duet of my song, “How Come You So Ugly?”!

In the mid-90’s, I lived briefly in Nashville, where I was signed as a staff songwriter with Sony/ATV Tree, who published over 60 of my songs. Nonetheless, the years there were bittersweet, and it never quite felt like home. Lots of great times though, like getting to meet, work for, and hang with legendary producer Brian Ahern.

“Gary Ogan is a soul man — reminds me of Donald Fagan. His arrangements are distinctive and passionate, and he plays every instrument on the record which reminds me of the early solo records by Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney. This man needs to be heard.” - Brian Ahern

Upon the next homecoming to Portland, I released my CD, Barcelona, which consisted mostly of material I had written while in Nashville. I also got back into producing local artists and playing locally. In 2006 my Nashville manager phoned, asking if I had interest in auditioning on drums for singer/songwriter Darrell Scott. I had actually met Darrell on my first trip to Nashville, and I had paid attention, so I wasn’t surprised when ASCAP named him Songwriter Of The Year in 2002. Lucky for me the offer to drum in his band was a dream. I couldn’t have been happier that over the next four years, I had the opportunity to tour the world and record with this incredible band. By 2010, due in no small part to Darrell’s proximity and encouragement, I had a batch of new material I had spent a good spell of time recording, and it was ready to put out. My next CD, called Sound Ground, was the result.

Around the same time I was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall Of Fame in 2008, I also met the great Danny O’Keefe, who was looking for help with a very special song cycle of his centered around the Nez Perce Indians called Dreamers. For the next two years, I was producer, arranger, engineer, and multi-instrumentalist to Danny on this project, the results of which were pronounced stunning. Dreamers was life-altering and an experience from which much good has come. Danny hopes to turn it all into a stage production and create a DVD companion, so for now the music remains unreleased.

I look forward to the release in 2015 of my seventh CD called Suite Woogie. This will be my first true solo, live performance CD, and is a tribute to a wonderful cat.