BIOGRAPHY

Gerard Powell, known as “G” is an independent artist and musician.  He received his master’s degree in Business Administration from Forbes Business College. He is a member of the American Legion, and the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP). He is the founder and president of Maile Lei Music Productions.

Gerard is the youngest child of James and Vivian Powell. He has one sister, Sharon. He was born on October 6, 1953 and raised by his mother in Baltimore, Maryland. He was influenced in music by listening to his mother’s jazz record collection that was constantly playing in the house. He loved sports and played baseball in the neighborhood, but his passion was music.  He started playing drums at the age of seven. Every evening, after dinner, he would practice his drum playing in the basement until his mother would turn off the basement light, signaling it was time to quit for the evening. Usually around 9:00 p.m. 

At the age of thirteen, Gerard was a member of a six-piece music group called “Pete and the Chiasms” and made his first concert debut at a local Christian school youth organization event. As the young band progressed, they started performing in local jazz clubs throughout the city of Baltimore, and were regularly featured on Sunday afternoons at Lenny Moore’s Cocktail Lounge. There, they shared the stage with Baltimore’s own, The Johnny Polite Trio.  The group was a favorite and was regularly booked at the Left Bank Jazz Society in downtown Baltimore. Gerard was invited on stage by jazz organist Charles Earland to perform two songs, including a solo in front of an audience of 800. He toured locally and accompanied on drums, local jazz singer Ethel Ennis. Gerard continued with music, joining the Calverton Junior High School band, where he learned to read music, and performed locally until joining the military in 1975.

In 1981, Gerard was discharged from active Air Force military duty and concentrated his talents on stand-up comedy. He began as an amateur, performing 3-5 minutes of original material. As he progressed, he became a regular performer at the San Antonio Comedy Club in Texas.  Between 1982 and1987, Gerard, under the stage name “Rard Powell” became an opening act and Master of Ceremonies (MC) for many comedy shows. He honed his skills and became a middle act, performing 45-60 minutes of material. He toured the comedy circuit from Texas to California. He has shared the comedy spotlight with renowned artists, such as Jimmy Walker, Jim Varney, Bill Cosby, Shirley Hemphill, Andrew Dice Clay, Howie Mendel, Sinbad, Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Carry and countless others to name a few.
After taking several years off from comedy, Gerard decided to return to his first love… music.  In 1994, he joined Calvary Chapel Church of San Diego. He wanted to join the music ministry as a drummer, but there was a slight problem. The church had an electric drum set, positioned on stage where it was difficult to move and be turned around in the opposite direction to accommodate him—because he is left handed. Still wanting to play music for the church, Gerard sold his drum set and purchased a set of congas and timbales. He practiced playing the instruments and joined the worship team six months later. While at Calvary Chapel, he accompanied Dennis Agajanian on congas during an outdoor outreach Christian concert. In1996, he left Calvary Chapel and became a member and worship leader at Mission Valley Christian Fellowship Church in San Diego. 

While at Mission Valley Christian Fellowship, Gerard toured and performed nationally and internationally to include stadium events, conventions and various music venues.

He has conducted foundational percussion workshops at worship leaders conferences throughout the country. Gerard wrote a book entitled “Percussion in the Context of Worship”, where he explains the role of a percussionist and how percussive instruments are used during church worship service.

In 2002, Gerard assembled a distinctive collection of talented musicians and singers who were capable of delivering his musical interpretation of the bible's inspirational message.

In 2006, he released his first CD entitled “Rather Be A Doorkeeper”, which features ten original songs. The CD has been described as an adventure in relaxing comfortable easy listening music with a feeling of peaceful and spiritual surrender. It is a collection of eclectic music, which reflects Gerard through his music to his Lord Jesus Christ. The CD has received airplay on over 400 Internet Christian and gospel radio stations across the nation, in the United Kingdom, and in Europe.

He currently attends Community Bible Church in San Diego, where he is a worship leader. He has been the drummer and percussionist for the gospel group, The Mighty Gospel Revelators of San Diego and has shared the stage with gospel groups such as, Lee Williams and the Spiritual QC’s, The Jackson Southernaires, The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, and The Highway QC’s. He was the percussionist for the San Diego based R&B group, Soul Camp. He is currently the percussionist for the Lazy River Jazz Band, a group that volunteers time to perform at hospitals and nursing homes in San Diego. He is the percussionist for the Eric Lige Christian Band in San Diego. He is a special guest percussionist for the Hawaiian based groups: The Island Boys featured nightly at Duke’s Surf Club; and Aina Koa, Haumea and Weymouth, with Welina featured weekends at the Hula Grill in Waikiki Hawaii.

Gerard has played music with a variety of nationally known jazz, soul, R&B, country, Hawaiian, Christian and Gospel performers.
Gerard Powell is indeed a multi-faceted drummer, percussionist, songwriter, performer, arranger, producer, composer, instrumentalist and comedian. His talent is playing music. In his words, “My talent is a gift from God, and it is my purpose in life to spread God’s word through music and song.” His name may not be widely recognized according to music industry standards, but Gerard has brought a smile and joy to many people through his music for the past forty years.
For a list of his recorded music CD, singles, videos and recordings for other artists, visit the discography.

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