Music influencer of his time, George Guarino, honored for his achievements 

“Real George’s Backroom” creator joins the Thomas Edison Capital Region Music Hall of Fame

ALBANY—George Guarino is an innovator, creator and a man ahead of his time.

Before MTV was even a thing, there was Albany’s very own music television show, “Real George’s Backroom.” Guarino’s instinct for timing was apparent: MTV would premiere later the same year.

And before the digital newsletters we’re all familiar with today, Guarino was publishing his own weekly version (on paper!) to promote the local music scene and his TV show.

He was a major force in bringing the music scene to the public during the 1980s and his contributions will be honored as part of the sixth inductee class of the Thomas Edison Capital Region Music Hall of Fame March 25 at Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs. For tickets to the event, visit atuph.org.

“It was kind of an idea of what could I do to help support them? What could I do to be in the mix?” Guarino said. “I wanted to be behind the scenes putting things together. It was more about championing other people’s work.”

“Real George’s Backroom” ran 1981-91 on public access television and his weekly newsletters grew into Buzz magazine. Buzz, in production from 1985-1995, was distributed for free to various clubs, bookstores and other establishments.

He was passionate about advancing original bands of that era while introducing the dance floor to new wave, punk, industrial and indie music as a featured DJ at Albany’s infamous 288 Lark (1981-87) and QE2 (1987-90) clubs, and he was also a DJ at WRPI.

Guarino attended SUNY New Paltz and later graduated from SUNY Albany in 1981 with a concentration in fine arts. Since 2005 he has developed a reputation in a new career as one of the area’s prominent clinical hypnosis practitioners. 

The Hall of Fame ceremony is open to the public and includes musical performances, a social hour, videos on the musical career of each inductee and acceptance speeches. Tickets are on sale now through the Box Office at Proctors in-person, via phone at (518) 346-6204 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday or online by visiting atuph.org.

Universal Preservation Hall and Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame are a part of Proctors Collaborative. For more information on the Hall of Fame visit theeddiesawards.com.