Author, essayist, three-time New Mexico music award winner and eight-time nominee, as well as a winner of the Xtreme Folk Scene award for his songwriting, Gary Paul Hermus is a compelling storyteller, an intelligent and insightful writer, and a seasoned performer. His novels and essays reflect the wit and wisdom of a life well lived, featuring complex and exciting characters, thanks to his years of training and experience as an actor. Through his songwriting, he has developed an ear for poetry and rhythm, which he applies in all his work.
Growing up in the slums of Brooklyn, NY, did not mean a lack of exposure to music, theater, and poetry; his mother was an avid reader, and his father had a love of music that encompassed a wide range of genres. But it was around Boy Scout campfires that he grew to love storytelling. His first successful foray into writing came in June 1965, when he won the New York City Junior High School Narrative Writing Contest for his short story, “A Day at The Beach,” about a family’s seaside outing gone wrong.
Music and theater were parallel tracks for Gary Paul, performing with his band at well-known New York hotspots of the day while studying drama at New York City’s High School of Performing Arts. He continued his studies at HB Studios and appeared Off-Off Broadway, all while engaging with the Greenwich Village folk scene. To make ends meet, he played Fender bass with numerous New York-based bands across various musical genres, all while working during the day with the developmentally disabled, and earning a B.A. in Psychology along with Master’s degrees in Public Administration and Computer Science.
In 2002, he shifted his focus to performing original narrative story songs, which earned him first place in the 2006 Xtreme Folk Scene Song Contest. His debut CD, “Sid’s Gaseteria,” was released in 2007 on the Big Moose Music label. His sophomore CD, “American Road,” came out on the Storm Canyon Music label, debuting at number 38 on the Folk DJ Charts.
When the pandemic struck and curtailed performances, he shifted his focus to long-form writing, completing his debut novel, The Port Edgerton Chronicles. He entertained his fans with online performances and readings from his novel, along with a monthly series of essays called “Road Warrior: A Memoir of a Life in Music,” which reveals the behind-the-scenes world of the music industry in New York during the 1960s and 1970s from the perspective of a young aspiring musician. His second novel, FINDING HOME: The Port Edgerton Chronicles Volume II, was published in May, 2025. It is the second book of the Port Edgerton series.
Now a resident of Santa Fe, New Mexico, Gary Paul Hermus occasionally performs both as a solo artist under the name Gary Paul and as a bass accompanist for others. He continues to write his Road Warrior essays. He has recently completed the manuscript for a fantasy/magical realism novel, The Wind Rider, which he hopes to turn into a series.