Gary Luedeck's The Owl And M Dry Goods
Gary Luedecke and Molly Alexander co-owners of The Owl and G&M Dry Goods, are at the forefront of Elgin’s downtown revitalization, bringing name recognition almost as formidable as the acts with which Luedecke once toured.
“I’m just the muscles and heavy lifting side of the business,” said Luedecke of his contribution to their businesses. That comment, more than anything, represents his self-deprecating sense of humor.
On any given weekend you’ll find him finishing, refinishing, assembling, or rebuilding some arcane piece of history, turning it into a must-have item on The Owl’s showroom floor. But that is not all of Gary’s story.
Ask any musician who the most important member in the band is, and most will tell you that it is the sound …show more content…
“We had an 18 wheeler that the sides opened up on, that had a mechanical bull inside. We carried that thing around to all the gigs,” said Luedecke.
He recalls Mickey Gilley flying his private jet back home to Houston, and how he would sometimes land at the Mueller private airstrip to drop Gary off, where Gary would walk to his home just a few blocks from the airport.
After the long haul with Gilley, Gary took a diversion into computers. He still worked sound for bands locally, but his main source of income switched to being a computer technician. It was steady work and steady pay. However, after a few years of that, Gary focused on getting back out on the road doing professional sound.
Gary said his golden years as an audio engineer began with doing sound for the talented group Del Castillo in the early 90’s.
“They were an up-and-coming group and really should have gone somewhere. I think bad management held them back, but it was great. We toured all over the country. From there I worked with some of the biggest names out of Austin – Alejandro Escovedo, Bob Schneider, and Joe Ely’s band The Flantlanders,” said
“I’m just the muscles and heavy lifting side of the business,” said Luedecke of his contribution to their businesses. That comment, more than anything, represents his self-deprecating sense of humor.
On any given weekend you’ll find him finishing, refinishing, assembling, or rebuilding some arcane piece of history, turning it into a must-have item on The Owl’s showroom floor. But that is not all of Gary’s story.
Ask any musician who the most important member in the band is, and most will tell you that it is the sound …show more content…
“We had an 18 wheeler that the sides opened up on, that had a mechanical bull inside. We carried that thing around to all the gigs,” said Luedecke.
He recalls Mickey Gilley flying his private jet back home to Houston, and how he would sometimes land at the Mueller private airstrip to drop Gary off, where Gary would walk to his home just a few blocks from the airport.
After the long haul with Gilley, Gary took a diversion into computers. He still worked sound for bands locally, but his main source of income switched to being a computer technician. It was steady work and steady pay. However, after a few years of that, Gary focused on getting back out on the road doing professional sound.
Gary said his golden years as an audio engineer began with doing sound for the talented group Del Castillo in the early 90’s.
“They were an up-and-coming group and really should have gone somewhere. I think bad management held them back, but it was great. We toured all over the country. From there I worked with some of the biggest names out of Austin – Alejandro Escovedo, Bob Schneider, and Joe Ely’s band The Flantlanders,” said