Tom Farley - Musician Showcase: Steve Gallagher

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Musician Showcase: Steve Gallagher

Best friends have unique connections that (usually) go back for many years. Steve Gallagher and I go back to 1971 at Virginia Tech, where we began our education in creative music and personal philosophy. We spent hours playing guitars, writing songs, building experimental listening chairs, discussing the mysteries of the soul, putting his Teac 4-Channel sound-on-sound tape deck to good use, and generally having a good time. As time passed, Steve moved more toward recording, writing, and instrumentation; I emphasized writing, recording, and performing. But every Sunday, we would bring out the experiences and thoughts for that week to our home studio performance/engineering sessions - sessions that would form the foundation for a musical learning...and evolution...that continues to this day.

Our dual picking styles formed the basis for our acoustic guitar collaborations. After experimenting with many instruments, Steve developed his strong suits in guitar, flute, vocals, and keyboards – especially strings and ensembles. My strengths were guitar, squareneck dobro, lap steel, and vocals. Years passed…and each of these skill sets evolved into incredibly productive forces. Our opinions and ideas and criticisms moved us both in positive directions.

And through it all, there was the engineering component – both performing and studio recording. Decks, mics, outboard gear, EQs, etc…experimenting and recording the first versions of the many professional studio tracks to come. Steve went with me to Nashville to engineer and master the “Songsmyth” album at Quadraphonic Studios. He was with The Tom Farley Band as we recorded with Bob Smith at Earworks Media. He engineered the live PA sound and recordings from each of our four “Acoustic Artists in Residence” shows on Thanksgiving Eve at Reisners in the late 1980’s. And, he has been my Recording Engineer on almost every track that I played “live” in my home studio for the albums and singles I released since 2002.

Quite frankly, I don’t see how I could have gotten to where I am musically without him. There is a spirit and humor that only we know…and they both continue to serve us well. With so many songs left to play, I feel fortunate and blessed to be able to share that journey with him.

Below is a listing of the songs, contributions, video archive links, and links to studio work that make up this “Musician Showcase”...with a full preview playlist for you to enjoy this wonderful body of studio and live performances:

“Norfolk Days – Jody Lee Carroll” – Flute

(Songsmyth)

“I Find Myself Wanting You” – Strings

(Songsmyth)

“The Calm Before the Storm” – Strings

(The Calm Before the Storm)

“Making Diamonds from the Coal” – Recording Engineer

(Over the Falls)

“High School Heart” - Recording Engineer

(Over the Falls)

“Seventeen Times” - Recording Engineer

(Over the Falls)