The fun bio:

Named one of the 50 fastest guitar players on planet earth (Guitar World Magazine, 2008), Academy of Country Music award recipient, and Western Swing Hall of Fame Inductee Larry Park’s guitar playing is not just incredible to hear but fascinating to watch (how do human fingers work so fast — and so good??). The band keeps a fire extinguisher handy and they wait for the flames and smoke to waft from the fretboard whenever he takes a solo. Larry provides some well-seasoned vocals to the band as well as original songwriting. Yes, he was the guy with the beautiful long blonde hair in the critically acclaimed 90’s country band, Boy Howdy (check out the YouTube videos!). Larry has played on more records than we can count… but what matters now is hearing him play with The Random Strangers.

His dog’s name is Annabelle, sister to Katie (Dave’s dog), from Suzi’s sister’s working Border Collie pack. Larry plays a Carvin AC275 and a really badass tele, as well as fiddle and just about anything else that wears strings.

 

And now for the.. um.. serious version:

Academy of Country Music award-winning artist Larry Park grew up right here in Placerville, California. Larry comes from strong roots in the bluegrass field, growing up listening to his father, Bluegrass Pioneer Ray Park, and to his father’s band, “Vern and Ray.”

In 1972 and 1973, Larry won the Coloma Jr. Division Old Time Fiddle Championship. Larry’s father Ray Park won the state fiddle championship in 1973.

Larry played in the band “The Lenzmen” in the 1970’s, all around El Dorado County.

Moving to Los Angeles in the 1980’s, Larry founded the band Boy Howdy. The band had four “Top Ten” records in the early 1990’s, including “She’d Give Anything” and “A Cowboy’s Born With a Broken Heart.”

Three of the band’s singles made it to the “Top Five” on the Billboard charts, and the band had a “Number One” video on both CMT and TNN.Boy Howdy won an Academy of Country Music award in 1990 for “Best Band (Non-Touring),” meaning the band won the award before they were even signed to a record label. In 1993, the band was nominated by the ACM “Vocal Group of the Year.”

In the July, 2008 issue of Guitar World Magazine, Larry was named one of “The 50 Fastest Guitar Players of All Time.”

Larry has performed and recorded with former Byrds bassist Chris Hillman and the multi-talented Herb Pederson. He also played on the last Desert Rose Band album, “Till It’s Over.”