About Pickled Beats

Gary Belniak

Gary Belniak has been performing professionally since the 70s and 80s when he was lead guitarist and vocalist in the nationally successful rock band "Tyrant". After the breakup of Tyrant, he joined Chicago favorites "Shadows of Knight" of GLORIA fame, and toured and recorded with them until 1988 when he started to focus more on individual songwriting and studio production. From 1990-1994 he played with the two sisters from Tyrant, Kim Freeman and Terre Beach, in "Leather and Lace" holding down a weekend house gig in the west suburbs that was successful for almost four years. From 1997 to 2000 he worked with a 3-piece acoustic act called "Plush Cargo" which also received many accolades for their wonderful harmonies and introspective original music. He has also been a working player in both the New Fun Band and the Heebie Jeebies for several years. Gary, along with Steve and Mike formed the nucleus of the Pickled Beats band late in 2001.

Gary is the owner of a recording studio, Belniak Media, Inc., and to this day is a prolific songwriter and producer of selected Chicagoland artists. His name is well known around Chicago for his guitar work and production techniques alike. Gary owns a graphic and web design company in Glen Ellyn.

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