Entertainer Tercyak works hard to keep schedule full of gigs

John Tercyak’s claim to fame is simple: entertainer.

The fiddler, guitarist and vocalist, 45, has been a working musician since his late teens. And, as any performer will tell you, being a working musician is no simple thing.

The talented Tercyak, who has gigs seven days a week in the summer and averages three gigs a week in the winter throughout the state, succeeds because he does work at it.

“It takes a lot of organization to make this work,” said the Bar Harbor resident, who has released three albums. “You always have to be calling for gigs. You have to find yourself something to sell, and do everything you can to promote it. Also you have to be willing to play for free. Also I get all kinds of private functions, which wouldn’t happen if I wasn’t playing regularly.”

As an example, he pointed to a recent free show he played in Bangor at the last moment, which resulted not only in album sales but at least three other gigs as well.

Tercyak plays requests from the 800 songs in his repertoire, ranging from kids’ songs to jazz standards, Irish, folk, country, golden oldies, even holiday tunes. He has 60-70 originals, but will only play them upon request.

Surprisingly, he doesn’t listen to music in his limited spare time, preferring news or talk radio. He adds to his song list based on suggestions of his listeners.

The Connecticut native has literally been playing most of his life, starting on violin at age 6.

“I started asking [to play violin] at age 3,” Tercyak recalled. “My father, who was an orchestra conductor and music teacher, said he would let me start to play when I was older, but that he wouldn’t let me quit. He got me a teacher when I started to play.”

Tercyak taught himself guitar at age 10. He took his brother’s old guitar from the basement, strapped a pencil across the fifth fret of its bowed neck, and learned from a Beatles songbook.

He was the lead singer of a rock band at 17, and played as a singing guitarist at coffeehouses soon after that.

“I realized that that was what everybody does, and that my violin training made me different,” he explained. “So I bought an anthology of fiddle styles, and learned all the songs in the book. That’s how I extended my performances.”

He’s performed largely solo since then, although he did play in the early ’90s in the well-received Waterville country band Smokin’ Gunz, for which he’s still recognized by people on the street.

Dates for Tercyak include: 1-2 p.m. June 23, Corinth Old Home Days; evening of June 23, Hilltop Steakhouse, Ellsworth; 7-10 p.m. June 28, The Liberal Cup, Hallowell; 10 a.m.-noon June 30, Children’s Book Cellar, Waterville. He’s also playing most Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on the sunset cruise of the schooner Margaret Todd (call 288-4585 for times), and can be found playing for free most days in the courtyard of Testa’s in Bar Harbor. For more information, access www.johntercyak.com.