Larry Gayao (born September 23), better known as Larry g(EE) is a

Filipino-American Filipino Americans () are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos in North America were first documented in the 16th century and other small settlements beginning in the 18th century. Mass migration did not begin until after the end of the Sp ...

soul-pop artist from

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. He began his career as the lead singer for the Dallas-area rock band Odis, named after the famed soul singer

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

. After 5 years of performing with Odis in 2010, during a short stint in Brooklyn, New York, Gayao realized that the rock genre was not the direction that he wanted to follow. He could not ignore his yearning to sing soul music. Soon after, he parted ways with the band to pursue a solo singing career.

Career

2005–2010: Odis

Their first big break followed after g(EE) passed along a demo tape to on-air personality Terry Jaymes of the ''

Lex and Terry Lex or LEX may refer to: Computing * Amazon Lex, a service for building conversational interfaces into any application using voice and text * LEX (cipher), a stream cipher based on the round transformation of AES * Lex (software), a computer pro ...

'' radio show. This opportunity paved the way for the band's numerous local performances such as the 102.1 KDGE's Edgefest, which also boasts artists such as

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

, Kongos and

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a ...

. Odis debuted their first song titled "Feel" during an album release performance at the

House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers (film), The Blues Brothers''. The ...

in Dallas, to a sold out crowd in 2008. The group disbanded in 2010.

2010–present: Larry g(EE)

After leaving the rock group to pursue a solo soul-pop career, Larry needed to distinguish himself from other successful and popular acts on the music scene. He naturally gravitated towards the pseudonym Larry G, but found that the name was too close for comfort to another talented and established musical artist, saxophone player

Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selli ...

. With the help of his brother Chester, another pseudo name took shape by simply stylizing the first initial of his last name and adding two capital "E's" in parentheses. The name and identity Larry g(EE) was born. He later collaborated with noted music producer Beau Bedford to release the ''Weekends'' EP, a sultry soul-pop album composed of four songs in 2011. In June 2014, g(EE) signed a publishing deal with Primary Wave Music, an independent music company based in New York City, known for its high-caliber publishing and music management talent. With the help of producers such as

Dennis Herring Dennis Herring is an American record producer, engineer, mixer, and musician. Herring has produced for The Hives, Elvis Costello, Counting Crows, Modest Mouse, Camper Van Beethoven, and Jars of Clay. He has owned two successful 24-track recor ...

and

Chris Seefried Chris Seefried is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman of the bands Gods Child, Joe 90, and Low Stars, and as producer and co-writer for the neo-soul band Fitz and t ...

, he is currently working on material for his next album.

Musical influences

Like most successful soul-pop artists of this day, g(EE)'s influences are deeply rooted in the 1960s-era classic soul acts. Artists such as

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Dubbed the " Gentle Genius", he is considered one of the most influential musicians of soul and socially conscious Afric ...

Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band formed in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1966 and active until 1983. Their work, which blended elements of funk, soul music, soul, psychedelic rock, gospel music, gospel, and R&B, becam ...

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

and

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances featuring expressive body movements. Most of his best-known singles, such as "Feelin' Alright ...

have tremendously induced his rich soulful voice and timeless lyrics associated with his style. However, g(EE) also draws inspiration from his modern-day musical peers. From

Gnarls Barkley Gnarls Barkley is an American soul music, soul duo composed of singer-songwriter CeeLo Green and producer Danger Mouse (musician), Danger Mouse. They released their debut studio album, ''St. Elsewhere (album), St. Elsewhere'', in 2006. It contai ...

to Charles Bradley, each artist's contribution to music has helped solidify the definition of his musical identity.

Discography

''Weekends'' EP track listing (2011)

References

* Tarradell, Mario.
Big Band R&B Isn’t Dead, It’s Alive and Healthy in Dallas' Larry G(EE).
Editorial. Www.dallasnews.com. N.p., 01 Feb. 2013. Web. 13 June 2014. * (Unknown), Chris.

The New Retro Soul: Our Interview With Larry G(EE) -- Culture Brats. N.p., 30 November 2011. Web. 13 June 2014. * Jones, Preston.

DFW.com. N.p., 22 March 2011. Web. 13 June 2014. * (Unknown), The Wounded Jukebox. "" The Wounded Jukebox. N.p., 7 April 2011. Web. 13 June 2014. * Tarradell, Mario.
Dallas Record Producers Spotlight the Area’s Vast Local Talent.
www.dallasnews.com. N.p., 7 June 2013. Web. 18 June 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:G(EE), Larry Living people American musicians of Filipino descent People from Dallam County, Texas 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singers Year of birth missing (living people)