Mid-day MSM Mindset: Gary Baker

8/4/26

By Monica Collier

Sunday was so cool, friends. I was tickled to see that David MacKay was one of the first ones to arrive at The Nutthouse for rehearsal. (Yes, after sitting out the past couple of Muscle Shoals Meets shows, David is back.) As the rest of the Fiddleworms (and friends) filtered in, David’s deep, soulful bass-lines provided this sort of impromptu walk-up music that set the tone for the entire rehearsal. The room was filled with this super cool wormy bass vibe that very much ushered in the MSM magic that afternoon. Welcome back, David.

The Nutthouse was literally buzzing with creative energy from the get go. I randomly heard someone say, “Randy Rhoads,” and that made me smile. (Surely it was either Scott Todd or Mitch Mann talking shop, right?)

I admit, it was surreal watching — and listening to — The Nutthouse come alive Sunday afternoon. It was kind of like an orchestra of controlled chaos. Picture this: You have Mike Dillon kicking out some drum beats, Clint Bailey tickling his keys, the Shoals Strings are warming up, too, and David is plucking his bass. Cindy Walker’s heavenly voice chimed in at some point. It was all happening separately as they each honed their sound — pre-rehearsal tunings and such — but it was still beautiful and inspired.

Then, Russell Mefford said, “Thank you so much for being here.” Just like that, the rehearsal was called to order and Muscle Shoals Meets the 90s purred into motion.

I spotted Gary Baker across the room and my inner voice commanded me to BE COOL. Somehow, I kept my outward composure but I was screaming on the inside like a schoolgirl. Gary stepped up to the microphone and y’all, he sang “I Swear” and I swooned.

The Shoals Strings were absolutely dreamy — it was all so very stunning. There was this one point where Gary looked over to Cindy, who was singing backup, and the smile on his face said it all. I had to just stop writing and stare with stars in my eyes. Then, I wrote this in my notebook: Is this really happening??

For this to supposedly be rehearsal, it sounded pretty perfect to me, friends.

Russell said, “Great job, guys.”

The thing that happened next is the makings of a story I’ll tell for the rest of my life. Gary Baker — the man, the myth, the legend — walked over to the Shoals Strings musicians and basically asked for a spot check. He wanted them to do a little mini run through of one of the most powerful (string) parts of the song. They didn’t bat an eye, y'all. They didn’t even ask any questions — they just knew exactly what he was talking about and played. The Shoals Strings had the room.

When the strings were done, Gary stood before them with this sort of solemn, choked-up look on his face and said with a gentle nod, “That’s unbelievable. Thank you.”

Then, someone said, “How about we skip the band and have just the strings?”

Someone else said, “We’re fired.”

Everyone laughed but then, Gary turned back to the strings and said, “I would love to do that one day.”

Melted. I swear.

Stay tuned.

Dig worms.