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Reeves Gabrels
Biography
When thinking of all the guitarists David Bowie has played with over the years, Mick Ronson is usually the one that immediately comes to mind. However, it was Reeves Gabrels who played with the Thin White Duke the longest. Born on June 4, 1956 in Staten Island, New York, Gabrels received his first guitar as a gift from his father at an early age, and soon after, began replicating what he heard on Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton records. After a short lived stab at receiving a degree in art failed to pan out, Gabrels enrolled at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, which also failed to last long. But Garbrels remained up north, and played with a variety of bands, including one outfit called the Dark. It was through has association with the band that he met journalist/publicist Sara Terry (who he would later marry), and would eventually accept a job serving as publicist for David Bowie's overblown ‘Glass Spider Tour' in 1987. As a result, it was during the tour that Bowie met Gabrels, and a friendship ensued. Upon hearing a tape of Gabrels' playing, Bowie helped land the guitarist spots playing with Deaf School, Nick Lowe, and Sandie Shaw, before deciding to work with the guitarist himself, as part of the experimental rock outfit, Tin Machine.
Selected Discography