Take Five with Gary Van Miert AKA The Psychedelic Cowboy

Meet Gary Van Miert AKA The Psychedelic Cowboy

Gary Van Miert is a New Jersey-based musician and performer best known as the frontman of The Sensational Country Blues Wonders!, a band that blends classic American musical styles like country, gospel, and blues with a distinct vintage flair and theatrical presentation. The Sensational Country Blues Wonders! were designed to replicate the original instrumental lineup of acoustic rhythm guitar, electric lead guitar, and upright acoustic bass used on the first rock and roll records by Elvis Presley at Sun Studio in Memphis. Gary is often recognized for his colorful outfits, retro cowboy aesthetic, and performances that celebrate the spirit of classic Americana, especially 1950s and 1960s honky-tonk and gospel revival music. His alter ego, "The Psychedelic Cowboy," adds a playful, surreal twist to this style, combining heartfelt storytelling with a touch of irony and psychedelic visuals. Van Miert's work is both a sincere tribute and a clever reinvention of traditional roots music, drawing on influences like Hank Williams, Elvis, and gospel quartets—filtered through a modern, artful lens.

Instruments

Voice, guitar. I'm also half a drummer.

Teachers and/or influences?

There are so many. The Beatles, Hank Williams, Elvis, The Rolling Stones, Carl Perkins, Kinks, Stax and Memphis music from the '50s and '60s, 13th Floor Elevators, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Brian Jonestown Massacre, psychedelic rock from the '60s and beyond, Ramones, Sex Pistols, Stooges, Dolls, as well as music from the golden age of gospel... "I am large, I contain multitudes"—Walt Whitman

I knew I wanted to be a musician when...

I saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show when I was five years old.

Your sound and approach to music.

The sound of my latest album can be best described as Hank Williams meets the Beatles during their psychedelic phase. My approach to music is to go back to the source, to go back to the roots, so what I create is pure and not diluted.

Your teaching approach

I don't consider myself a teacher, although I hope other musicians pick up a few tricks from me. I am a perpetual student. "I am learning all the time. The tombstone will be my diploma."—Eartha Kitt

Your dream band

I think Anton Newcombe from The Brian Jonestown Massacre is extremely underrated, and I would like to work with him. My dream band would probably be the Beatles with Jimi Hendrix on lead guitar and The Psychedelic Cowboy on vocals.

Road story: Your best or worst experience

When my band, The Sensational Country Blues Wonders!, memorably performed at a March of Dimes "Shop For A Cause" charity event at the Macy's store in Newport Centre (Jersey City, NJ). We played in the men's department, and people were posing like mannequins and taking their picture with us.

Favorite venue

I prefer unorthodox venues. I've honed my musical skills playing at a local Civil War-era cemetery and at a concert series in a neighborhood Lumberyard. I've also performed at farmers' markets, street festivals, local parks, art shows, a motorcycle show, a historic mansion, and even a chili cookoff!

Your favorite recording in your discography and why?

"The Psychedelic Cowboy Song." With its dreamlike atmosphere and wandering cowboy character, it perfectly captures the whimsical mystique and interstellar Americana theme I was aiming for. It has become my signature song, and it also gets the most radio airplay out of all my tunes.

What do you think is the most important thing you are contributing musically?

I think my songs are uniquely me. I've found my voice, musically speaking. My tunes put a smile on people's faces. Making people happy is my most important contribution.

Did you know...

My musical tastes were largely shaped by a crazy Detroit rock magazine called Creem, which somehow found its way to the newsstands of New Jersey. I learned about the Stooges, Velvet Underground, New York Dolls, and many others through the unhinged writers at Creem.

The first jazz album I bought was:

John Coltrane's A Love Supreme

Music you are listening to now:

Muddy Waters—Hard Again (Blue Sky Records)
Culture—Two Sevens Clash (Gibbs Records)
The Creation—How Does It Feel to Feel (Edsel Records)
The Sir Douglas Quintet—Mendocino (Smash Records)
The Brian Jonestown Massacre—Strung Out in Heaven(TVT Records)

Desert Island picks:

Rolling Stones—Exile on Main Street (Rolling Stones Records)
Beatles—Magical Mystery Tour (Capitol Records)
Beatles—Revolver (Capitol Records)
Jimi Hendrix Experience—Are You Experienced (Reprise Records)
Elvis Presley—The Sun Sessions (Sun Records)

How would you describe the state of jazz today?

I wouldn't really know, I only listen to the old guys, like Mingus, Miles, Coltrane, Coleman.

What are some of the essential requirements to keep jazz alive and growing?

Like any genre, you will need to introduce the music to new generations and get them interested and involved.

What is in the near future?

My new album Music Sounds Better When You're Stoned drops on June 19th. I'm currently rehearsing a gospel trio, doing mostly covers of classic gospel tunes with a few of my original gospel songs thrown in. The goal is to play church gigs.

What is your greatest fear when you perform?

Forgetting the words.

What song would you like played at your funeral?

One of my own compositions called "Privilege." It's a reflective song of gratitude, expressing my appreciation for all the people in my life.

What is your favorite song to whistle or sing in the shower?

Jane's Addiction—"Standing in the Shower Thinking"

By Day:

(if you have a day job) Retired.

If I weren't a jazz musician, I would be a:

I'm not a jazz musician. I consider myself a singer/songwriter and entertainer. "I think of myself as a song and dance man."—Bob Dylan

If I could have dinner with anyone from history, who would it be and why?

Based on the psychedelic imagery, surreal storytelling, and Americana themes surrounding my Psychedelic Cowboy persona, a fascinating dinner companion might be Hunter S. Thompson. We would share a kind of outlaw sensibility—mixing counterculture, satire, surrealism, and sharp observation into an unforgettable evening. Eventually, it would probably degenerate into a food fight.

If I could go back in time and relive an experience, what would it be?

I've always wanted a time machine. Not necessarily to relive any one event, but to go back and experience musical history. I'd go back into the Mississippi Delta to hear the earliest forms of blues taking shape, to see people like Charlie Patton and Robert Johnson perform. Then I'd jump into the 1950's to Memphis, TN, to see the birth of rock and roll at Sun Studio. I'd experience all the rockabilly, blues, soul, and gospel artists that played in the Memphis region during that era.

Then I'd go to the 1960s and plant myself right in the middle of the psychedelic and counterculture explosion.

What's the song or piece of music you wish you could hear again for the first time?

The Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album by the Beatles. People forget how revolutionary this record was at the time of its release. AM Top Forty radio, which only played singles, was giving airplay to all the tracks on Sgt. Pepper's.

To pair with our series' Jazz Uncorked/Jazz & Juice, what's your favorite wine, bourbon or adult beverage?

I don't drink. A little weed is good.

The Sensational Country Blues Wonders! · Music Sounds Better When You're Stoned