By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Five questions with Gary Young
Singer/guitarist of 809 Cherry Street
809 Cherry St 2010 Rterrell
809 Cherry Street will perform Saturday at Irish Bred Pub in Gainesville.

809 Cherry Street
When: 9:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Irish Bred Pub, 150 Pearl Nix Parkway, Gainesville
How much: no cover
More info: 770-532-0700

809 Cherry Street began in 1973 as the Bros. Fleet Band and it didn’t take the Georgia boys too long to become known in the Northeast Georgia area.

Over the years they have played from Helen to Athens and in between, their brand of Southern, classic and modern rock.

Members of the group are Dennis Shedd who lives in Turnerville, David Smith from Toccoa, Flowery Branch’s Gary Young and Roger Terrell from Cornelia.

We caught up with lead singer and guitarist Young and talked about the band's history and this weekend's show.

Question: You’ve been together as a band since 1973, how did you come together and stay playing music for so long?

Answer: Actually we all met by playing at an outdoor concert. Roger (Terrell) is the originator and he was in a band called Brothers Fleet and that’s what we were in. The bass player of Brothers Fleet was unfortunately killed in an automobile accident and Roger knew me from us playing together in concerts and he called me up and wanted to know if I would come up and play. We’ve been together since. The chemistry is unbelievable; we’ve basically become like brothers because we’ve been together so long.

Q: You play the bass but tell me a little about the other members of the group?

A: Roger (Terrell) is actually a synthesist; he’s got three keyboards. When you hear us it sounds like we have five horns up there playing at one time. David (Smith) is our drummer and was our sound man years ago. He’s an excellent drummer and has been playing most of his life. Dennis Shedd is our lead guitar player and is really something to watch ... he also plays slide guitar.

Q: So, you told me who plays each instrument, who is your lead singer?

A: We have three lead singers. Dennis ... does some lead vocals, I do lead vocals and Roger does lead vocals.

Q: Who are some of the more notable musicians you have played with over the years?

A: We’ve done some opening acts for people like Molly Hatchett, T. Graham Brown, we played on opposite stages with him on the same night at the old B & L Warehouse in Athens.

Q: What can people expect from your show this weekend at Irish Bred Pub?

A: We can please any group. We play some brand new stuff. The latest thing we learned was Shinedown, Kings of Leon. We do some Foo Fighters and we also do some older stuff, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s. They call it classic rock but it was new when we learned it.