Born in the snow-swept landscape of Bemidji, Minnesota and named by his parents after a hitchhiker, Gentry spent his early years living out of a Volkswagen van as his dad, a Vietnam veteran, and mom traveled throughout the United States with their young son. Eventually the family settled in an old farm house just outside of St. Cloud, Minnesota.
At the age of five, Gentry sat down at a piano and began to make up songs. His grandmothers both played the piano, his grandfather was a swing dancer known for sweeping ladies off their feet, and his great grandfather worked as a fiddle player at barn dances. Still, Gentry's musical talent at a young age came as a surprise. So, his parents moved an old upright bar piano into the house for him to play.
During the long Minnesota winters living far from neighbors and other children, Gentry felt isolated and he used music as an escape. His piano teacher, Marilyn Kiffmeyer, began encouraging him to enter classical piano competitions. Before turning 15, he won five state-wide MMTA awards and performed in front of thousands of people several times.
At 15, he started his first garage band and took the role of lead singer. Their first gig was in his family's backyard, and when the landlord showed up by surprise, he evicted Gentry and his family. He and his bandmates then named the band The Eviction Committee.
After high school, Gentry worked and traveled his way through Eugene, Oregon, Alaska's Kenai Peninsula and Key West, Florida before hitting the explosive early 90's music scene in Seattle, Washington. Gentry saw all of the action as a bartender at the infamous Off Ramp Club, opening for bands as a punk poet, fronting the band Buried Child and composing music for a Withered Wall film festival and the Goddess dance piece. In 1994, Gentry relocated to San Francisco playing in the avant garde jazz group The Partial Orchestra and continued doing performance art and poetry throughout the city.
Gentry moved to Prague, Czech Republic in the mid 90's and got heavily involved with the Prague music and art scene. He became a resident DJ at the Roxy Klub and also worked for the art and literature magazine Yazzyk. During his time in Prague, he became friends with Sacco Koster, who would later become his European manager.
Returning to San Francisco, Gentry finished his Bachelor of Arts at New College of California, and soon became involved in the burgeoning digital revolution becoming a multi-media producer. He began to write songs in a new style, and won three NCSA songwriting awards in 2000 & 2001.
He formed the band the Night Watchmen in late 2001 and their debut EP Illumination was released in 2001. The dark, cabaret-styled Lost In California followed in 2003 establishing the band with a small cult of international fans.
During the Night Watchmen, Gentry returned to his musical roots as a classical pianist and launched his solo career with an instrumental piano record of original compositions called Tranquillo in 2004, and later that same year, he released a stripped down vocal and piano acoustic record of songs called Home.
Night Watchmen bassist Dr. John Hudy died in 2004, and Gentry reinvented the band, releasing the jazz-infused Rain Come Down in 2005 showcasing his heart-on-your-sleeve songwriting.
Disbanding the Night Watchmen in 2006, Gentry released an ambient instrumental album recorded in New Mexico with Dave Hoover called Santa Fe Sky. Two months later, he released No War, an record of 14 songs divided into a three-part concept album. The piano-based songs backed by an energy-packed band received widespread radio airplay online, in Europe and on Triple A and college stations. On the strength of these new albums, Gentry spent 2006, 2007 and 2008 touring throughout the U.S. and Europe.
In October 2008, he released the single Avond, an English adaptation of the classic Dutch song written by Boudewijn de Groot & Lennaert Nijgh. The single, recorded as a duet with Jesse Brewster, received airplay throughout The Netherlands. Gentry was featured for a month on NL Radio 2, and he appeared live on the TV show ATV5 Amsterdam.
In December 2009, Gentry released the Gentry Bronson EP, which moved him into new musical territory as an artist and celebrated storyteller. He debuted the album during his Graveyard Fever tour of Europe that year, his longest and best received European tour to date. The EP was picked up for airplay on over 70 Triple A, modern rock, college & public radio stations throughout the U.S. in 2010.
The video for Gentry's song Wild Women, directed by Paul O'Bryan, premiered in February 2011 in San Francisco. Then, Gentry embarked on his 5th European tour, the Lost & Found Tour, in March. During this tour of The Netherlands, Germany & the Czech Republic, famous Dutch shock jock, Giel Beelen, played Gentry's English adaptation of Trockener Kecks' Ik Denk Nooit Meer Aan Jou on NL Radio 3 based on a YouTube video from the tour.
He returned to San Francisco and spent the rest of 2011 performing a series of concerts with the Gentry Bronson Band. They shared bills with Big Brother & The Holding Company (Janis Joplin's original band), It's A Beautiful Day, Barry "The Fish" Melton" (of Country Joe & The Fish), Commander Cody, and ended the year opening for one of Gentry's hero's, Ray Manzarek (of The Doors) with The Manzarek Rogers Band. Two other 2011 concert highlights included a performance at an Anti-War Rally hosted by California Congresswoman, Lynn Woolsey, and later at the WordUp! literacy and learning festival with guest speaker Anne Lamott.
Gentry was also the featured vocalist on VH1 Hip Hop artist John Brown's single 'No Games', released in October 2011 on the Burbs Life LP.
During recording sessions in May and December 2011, Gentry finished recording a new record with legendary artist & engineer Bruce Kurnow. The two Minnesota born & bred musicians worked at Switchback Studios in Northern California completing Gentry's new record Within A Sigh and A Curse - Dutch Pop Classics In English, Volume 1. The record features never before released English adaptations of songs by different Dutch artists. It will be released in 2012.
In February 2012, Gentry returns for his 6th tour in Europe performing songs from Within A Sigh and A Curse.
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