Gary Arce

Gary Michael Arce is a guitarist based out of California. Active since the early 1980s, he is best known for being the lead guitarist of the seminal desert rock group Yawning Man along with a major player in the generator parties of the 80s. Along with his involvement with the highly influential desert rock band, Arce has performed with numerous other bands in a wide arrangement of styles be it ensemble collaborative projects such as Yawning Sons and Big Scenic Nowhere or one-time studio projects such as The Perfect Rat, Dark Tooth Encounter and Zun. Many of Arce's projects have been instrumental over the years and often in collaboration with recurring friends such as Mario Lalli and Bill Stinson, both of whom perform with Yawning Man. Arce is known for his distinctive playing style with his fingers rather than a pick, creating a distinctive guitar sound rooted in psychedelic, surf, jazz, gothic, and stoner rock elements. In a YouTube interview, he stated that he tried a pick once and it "felt unnatural", and preferred to use his thumb and fingers. Along with a fondness for hardcore punk of the 1980s such as Bad Brains, D.O.A., Discharge, and Amebix, Arce would cite The Grateful Dead, Southern Death Cult, Lords Of The New Church, and Bauhaus as significant influences. Arce's freeform experimentation has lent itself to five studio albums with Yawning Man and several other albums with numerous projects over a career spanning five separate decades. Arce is sponsored by the Arizona-based company Ayers Guitars.