Gary Davies - keyboards

• Instruments/Gear
  Piano
  Roland Stage piano rd 150, Motif 6 synth, Mackie Monitors
  Beautiful Kawai KX 15 upright piano at home.
• Joined The Band
  Day one.
• Musical Education
  Virtually zero I am ashamed to say - Completely self taught.
  Early piano lessons, moved to guitar then back to piano. My sight reading is painfully slow and is a hinderance sometimes.
  Passed the ABRSM Jazz piano Grade 5  exam in 2001 (highly recomended).
  Student at the school of hard gigs since the age of 15!!
  
• Influences Other Than Steely Dan
  Russell Ferrante and Yellow Jackets,  Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock - sixties blue note jazz stuff. Warren Bernhardt.
  Tom Waits, Early Boz Scaggs,  Sixties, Seventies (some eighties) Rock/Jazz/Funk and anyone else who can play!  
  Jeff Porcaro's grooves, Peter Cook, Stephen Hawking, George Orwell and so on.
  Bad influences - Pete Bacanin, Steve Hayes, Rob Rolph.
  
• Favourite Steely Dan Songs
  Love every track from "Royal Scam" "Aja" "Gaucho" "Nightfly" equally.
  Really enjoying"Dirty Work" live at the moment.
  
• Favourite or Interesting Nearly Dan Experience
  It is always an interesting process to take theses songs from the songbooks, check thru the chords and get them to a stage where they can be performed live - the brass parts have to be transcribed by ear usually.
  Giving a deeper understanding of Becker and Fagen's love of jazz harmony and song structure along the way.
  Memorable gigs at the Liverpool Echo Arena recently, Blue note - Milan.
  Jazz Cafe is always a night to remember. Any festival gig is usually great fun.
  
• Essential Listening
  All Bill Evans
  All Yellow Jackets
  Maiden Voyage, Driftin’ - Herbie Hancock
  Kind of Blue - Miles Davis
  Keith Jarrett - Standards vol 2
  Raidogs, Small Change -  Tom Waits
  Down two then left, Silk Degrees, Middle Man Boz Scaggs
  Livin' on the Fault Line - Doobie Bros.
  Beatles, Chuck Berry, Ray Charles... I could go on.
  
• Comment
  Well what can you say, it has been a lifetime ambition to play Steely Dan songs live.
  As a pianist it has been a steep learning curve, with insight into song structure, arrangements, jazz harmony, great soloing.
  Myself and all of the other players are constantly striving become better musicians, and what better music to do that with?
  People ask me how I keep such a large band together? It is really down to the individual members over the years giving their time commitment for very little money, and keeping the spirit of the band going on the road when things don’t go to plan.
  Every gig now is dedicated to the memory of my late father who started me playing in the first place and was a huge Steely Dan Fan.
  
  Finally, sincere thanks to the fans that come to see the band time and time again from all over the country.
  It's still growing.
  God bless Nearly Dan and all who sail in her!