Cover story

LOCAL BAND Michael Gaither and His New Best Friends perform regularly in the local area.

Michael Gaither’s new song speaks to a generation Feeling like anelder

By HUGH MCCORMICK

His hit new single “We’re the Elders Now” was inspired by his 92-year-old father’s passing a little more than five years ago.

Courtesy of Michael Gaither A t age 39, bordering on 40, I’ve started to exhibit some telltale signs of aging. My grunts when extricating my tired bod from my couch or bed have become more pronounced. I’m hearing songs I grew up with on the oldies and classic rock stations. I’m not on Tik Tok, Snapchat or “cool” new social media. And my bladder has become a sinister force of evil—an arch enemy that I battle each day.

Local singer-songwriter extraordinaire Michael Gaither has admittedly begun to feel the bittersweet crush of old age himself. His hit new single “We’re the Elders Now” was inspired by his 92-year-old father’s passing a little more than five years ago.

Gaither let the track—about the confusing and unsettling moment when you realize you are no longer young; that you are now part of an older and wiser generation that you’ve been taught to admire, look up to, and revere your entire life—sit for a while before revisiting it and releasing it earlier this year.

The song is written for those, like Gaither, who aren’t so old, but find themselves parentless. “This is us now. We’re the new elders. Now we’re the old ones,” he says.

Gaither, a lifelong resident of the Central Coast, is a longtime fixture in the local music scene. A student at Watsonville High School and then Cabrillo College and San Jose State University, the musically obsessed 58-year-old majored in “radio, TV and song.” He’s putting his degree to good use today, writing and producing music and working as a DJ for the edgy and now-legendary radio station KPIG. ➝ 6

‘MUSIC NERD’

Michael Gather is a wellknown performer around the Pajaro Valley.

ELDER 5

“I was always a music nerd,” Gaither admits. “But KPIG shaped my tastes and outlook on music and song.”

A serious tune

For 15 years, Gaither and his award-winning “New Best Friends” ensemble have traveled throughout California, playing Americana originals and covers of well-known tunes from influences like Tom Petty and John Prine. With five CDs of original music in his bag, Gaither and his “Best Friends” craft songs about the nostalgia of smalltown life with keen observations of the human experience.

Gaither is a storyteller through and through, and he blends his terrific melodies with wit and a huge helping of humor. Before his music and songwriting career really took off, he worked as a standup comedian. He even sold jokes to iconic late-night personality Jay Leno. There’s little humor in “We’re the Elders Now,” though. The song is serious with an honest, endearing and heartfelt message.

“My mom died at age 52 when I was 29. My dad passed away five years ago at age 92. It was hard. I still miss them both. I’m an only child so it was this realization— oh it’s just me now,” Gaither says seriously.

For the song’s accompanying video, Gaither collected photos of people with their parents when they were kids and contrasted them with images from today—when they were older and parentless.

“I got photos of friends, fans and family and the video accompanying the track really became a tribute to family. The song is bittersweet. Not to the point of being a downer, though,” Gaither says.

Wealth of inspiration

Gaither loves his guitar. It’s his baby. But he also plays the uke, harmonica, banjo and percussion. When Covid hit he spent most of his time at home—like everyone else. Soon though, the stircrazy musician played a socially distanced concert at El Vaquero Winery in Watsonville. The show went so well that it became a regular Friday night gig.

Unlike most bands, Gaither and his “New Best Friends” played a lot during the pandemic. At first his gigs at Vaquero were solo affairs, but soon he was joined by his bass player. His primary singer, backup guitarist and drummer entered the fray next.

“That became the five-piece New Best Friends ensemble,” Gaither says. “I love to play each gig a little differently. Two-piece. Three-piece. Full band. I like the flexibility.”

The regular Friday gigs allowed Gaither and his friends to practice old tunes and covers, and to introduce new music like “We’re the Elders Now” (which quickly became a crowd favorite).

The band had a distinct advantage over other musicians. Workshopping new material in front of a large live audience (40-100 people each night) allowed them to innovate and get creative.

Gaither takes the “write what you know” approach to music. Backed up by his talented friends, many of his songs—his stories—include local people and events. His song “See You on the Other Side”— inspired by the pandemic—won first place in the Great American Song Contest in the singer/songwriter category.

“I have a solid library of songs about where I live,” Gaither says. “Anything really good or really bad there’s probably a story in it. And I got a lot of songs out of the craziness that was 2020.”

To prep for this piece, Gaither and I talked at length on the phone and exchanged numerous text messages. Turns out, we’re not as cool (or young) as we thought. A recent poll of 2,000 British youngsters between the age of 16-29 found that “cringe-worthy” emojis used by “old people” include the OK hand, red love heart, thumbs up and grimacing face.

I can’t even count the number of times Gaither and I happily thumbed up each other during this past week. And after reading about this study I’ve come to seriously question my emoji game.

At 39, I’m already feeling like an elder.