Bella Fella: An Interview with Gary Sullivan, October’s Mr. Bella

Ladonna Armstrong

October 13, 2019

Gary Sullivan has had a lot of interesting experiences in his life. “When I look back on life, everything has made me who I am today,” he says.

In his first job, he started out as a dishwasher, but moved up to cook after a fortuitous car accident. He still remembers the ‘65 Mustang with an 8-track player he was riding in that day. Gary and his friends survived the accident, but the car didn’t. He later trained to be an auto mechanic, but discovered working on cars all day wasn’t as fun as it looked.

Gary started his printing business in the Northwest Chicago suburbs in 1990. He and his bandmates would practice right in the shop. Moving to South Carolina, however, was a big change. Gary didn’t know what to expect as a northerner coming to the south, so he packed his bags with business clothes and showed up at the Aiken Chamber of Commerce. After a few years of southern living, Gary realized that he could be himself down here and traded his suits for t-shirts. He still runs his own printing and marketing business, TPi – Tyler Press here in Aiken. Gary and his wife have been married for nearly 30 years. Even though they’re opposites in many ways, together they “just work.” They met when he was playing with his band in the midwest. He’d tired of the rock and roll life, and when he met her, he knew his life was going to change. They now have five children together. They both also love spending time on the beach. Buying a condo on the beach was on Gary’s bucket list, but now that he has one, he thinks he may need “a new bucket.”

Music is central to Gary’s life. His “deserted island” band – the one he could listen to every day for the rest of his life – is the Allman Brothers. “Jessica” is his favorite Allman Brothers song, and he learned all the harmonies to it so he can jam on the fly. He still plays in a local band called OGR (pronounced “ogre”), which stands for “Old Guys Rocking.” They play all kinds of classic rock covers, and will be playing at the Western Carolina State Fair this month.

“When I look back on life, everything has made me who I am today.”

Gary Sullivan

Occupation: Printer

First job: Dishwasher at restaurant in suburbs of Chicago

Worst job: Auto mechanic for 3 years

Greatest career challenge: Moved from Chicago to
South Carolina

What you do to relax: Beach chair in the sand, wine

Role model: Jesus

Happiest when: Playing music

Trait you most deplore in others: Overbearing people

Career advice: Go for it, roll with it

Love advice: Love, I am for it

One word that sums you up: Fun

Cologne: None

Greatest achievement: Wife & family

Greatest weakness: Procrastination

What no one knows about you: I plead the 5th, no regrets

What makes you insecure: I never feel like I’m good enough

What’s on your bucket list: Jam with Eric Clapton

Ladonna Armstrong

Publisher of Aiken Bella Magazine.

Ladonna Armstrong

Publisher of Aiken Bella Magazine.

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