In The Hair, We Trusted | Now McGowan’s music legacy will be commemorated with a scholarship for aspiring young musicians.
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Edmonton’s music community was shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of Gary McGowan, the genial concert promoter, media personality, and local music booster, last March at the age of 50. Media outlets like CJSR, K-97 and SEE Magazine were enriched by McGowan’s unwavering commitment to local and Canadian music, and many a fan of live music in the city benefited from McGowan’s tireless behind-the-scenes work with B.A.D. Concerts, Union Events, and as a partner in the Starlite Room. Countless local artists and music business workers were touched by his integrity, his generosity and his unflappable good nature.
This Friday, McGowan will be remembered with a tribute concert at the Starlite Room featuring Shout Out Out Out Out, Bobby Cameron, Sparky & Friends, and assorted surprise guests, the proceeds from which will go toward establishing the Gary McGowan Memorial Scholarship at Grant MacEwan College.
Mike Boroditsky, the bassist for Sparky & Friends who enjoyed a long professional association with McGowan as a sound technician, says a tribute concert and scholarship are very much in the spirit of the man they’re honouring. “He was a community leader,” he says. “Other people followed his example, other people were inspired by him—and when you lose a community leader I think it’s important to stop and commemorate them. But Gary had a twinkle in his eye—he was a happy guy, he was full of life, and to remember him with a funeral alone didn’t seem entirely appropriate. This guy moved the community to want more than that, obviously.”
Boroditsky adds that he’s impressed by the altruism of the tribute concert, with all the participants donating their time and all the proceeds from the door, the bar, and the silent auction that’s part of the evening going toward establishing the McGowan scholarship. “It’s an event that really follows the spirit of Gary’s example,” he says.
Wayne Jones, general manager of the Starlite Room, said lineup of musicians is intended to reflect the McGowan’s wide-ranging tastes and his influence on music in Edmonton. “We really wanted to do something that was a celebration of Gary that would bring together lots of people that knew him over his career,” Jones says. “He had such a diverse background in music and I think we wanted to show off that a little bit too.”
Jones remembers McGowan as an exceptional person in an industry that all too often runs on hot air and turns out more than its share of hotheads. “I was talking to David Stone—he’s going to DJ the tribute concert—and he mentioned that he’d only heard Gary swear once in the 15 years he knew him. To me that’s exactly what it was like working with Gary. He was always super-calm about everything—a storm could be brewing all around you and he would just be calm, cool, and collected all the time. A lot of people in this industry, they tend to let the pressure get to them, and for him, he always reflected on it and always took the best view of things, and always stood by what he said.”
Jones notes that the funds raised by the tribute event and through donations to establish the McGowan Scholarship will be matched by the Alberta government.
