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Markasky’s signature adds flair to MSB roots
By John Benson
Working again and again and again is what Youngstown native and former Michael Stanley Band (MSB) guitarist Gary Markasky has been doing for decades around Northeast Ohio. Today the 1970 Chaney High School graduate is focused on his eponymously-named band, which on any given night can be found playing out somewhere in the Valley.
The Gary Markasky Project, which plays tonight at the Clark Bar on the West Side of Youngstown, revisits the MSB heyday (“He Can’t Love You,” “Lover,” “In the Heartland,” “Working Again” and “Let’s Get the Show on the Road”) and popular classic-rock covers (The Beatles’ “Come Together” and Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing”), as well as original tracks such as the rocking “Solid Ground” and mid-tempo “So Blind.” The guitarist said all the material is performed with his own style. So what exactly is that?
“I don’t know, it’s my own signature,” said Markasky, 58, who still calls Youngstown home. “It’s the way I play. The flavor of this band is different from Michael Stanley, even though it’s in the same vein. I’ve been told my style is [Eric] Clapton, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray [Vaughan] and Jimi Hendrix.”
Though the Gary Markasky Project — Markasky, Jill Carmichael (vocals /tambourine), Joe Fabian (bass, vocals) and Jeff Berger (drums, vocals) — formed this past summer, its roots were in place over the past few years in local act Dream Maker. The new group plans on recording its full-length debut soon; however, when it comes to Markasky, most folks like talking about his MSB tenure, which ran from 1978 to 1985.
“It was great,” Markasky said. “I had joined the band when Jonah [Koslen] left. The fact is, I had my own band before that. It was called Coconut, and we played around here all the time. I came with MSB into the studio when they were starting ‘Cabin Fever.’ They had three songs demoed, and they wanted me to come finish them up in Cleveland. So I worked on the songs, and they said if I want the gig, it’s mine. I said, ‘Let’s Go.’”
And go they did. MSB eventually signed with Clive Davis’ Arista Records, recorded in England with famed rock producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange and toured the nation. Then in 1980, with the album “Heartland,” the band enjoyed its hit radio single “He Can’t Love You.” At that moment, it appeared MSB was on its way to becoming something larger. Fate had other ideas. Markasky left in 1985, and the band called it quits soon thereafter.
“We could have been bigger,” Markasky said. “I don’t know; we got right to the point we were in the top 20 and on the cover of Billboard and all that, and we just needed one more hit after ‘He Can’t Love You’ to follow up. We thought it would be ‘Lover,’ but it just didn’t take off. Then it seemed like things got a little funny because ‘He Can’t Love you’ wasn’t written by Michael; it was written by Kevin Raleigh, and that single did more than the whole catalog put together. That’s when things started getting a little weird.”
Though Markasky remains optimistic a full MSB reunion will happen sooner than later, today he’s focused on his own live shows. He promises audiences who take a chance on seeing him live won’t soon forget what they’ve seen.
“If people come, they’ll hear some great kicking, burning guitar and wailing singing,” Markasky said. “It’s just great.”