On the Comeback Trail, Gary Busey Takes His Guitar to the Palomino

Actor/musician Gary Busey continues his comeback from a near-fatal motorcycle accident with an evening of rock ‘n’ roll tonight at North Hollywood’s Palomino.

Along with keyboardist Rick Danko and guitarist Garth Hudson--both formerly of The Band--Busey will sing original songs and strum his guitar through a medley of Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly material.

Tonight’s concert is the third of four appearances--the others are in San Diego, Redondo Beach and San Juan Capistrano--Busey’s first public performances since December’s accident that left him with severe head injuries and required months of physical therapy.

Still recuperating--he swims 1,000 meters a day and works with weights--Busey, 44, says the crash has given him a spiritual foundation lacking since he skyrocketed to prominence with his 1979 role in “The Buddy Holly Story.”

“I’ve been reborn because of this wreck,” Busey said in a telephone interview. “I used to work at a kind of insecure, breakneck speed. It’s taken me 44 years to come of age.”

His newly discovered optimism comes across in his songwriting, Busey says. “It’s not bleak. It’s positive and enlightening music.”

Busey was a musician before he became an actor. He was a singer/drummer for Carp, a group that recorded an album for Epic Records. His musical talents helped him land the lead in “The Buddy Holly Story,” which earned him Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations, as well as Best Actor of the Year award from the National Society of Film Critics.

And though his career has largely focused since then on film--”Lethal Weapon” and “Barbarosa” among his other more memorable roles--Busey has hardly abandoned his musical roots. He writes songs almost every day and says he hopes to negotiate a record deal.

By playing with Danko and Hudson, Busey gets an opportunity to perform with two of his music idols.

Bill Thomas, owner of the Palomino, believes that it’s a potent combination.

“We’ve had Rick and Garth here before and they’ve done very well,” Thomas said. “And Gary should only make it better. After all, he was a musician first.”

Both Danko and Hudson have been in semi-retirement since The Band’s “Last Waltz” concert and movie in 1976.

After completing the mini-tour, Busey will fly later this month to Vancouver, B.C., to appear in “Cadence,” a psychological thriller directed by Martin Sheen. He just completed work on “The Neon Empire,” a movie about a Nevada casino owner who tries to resist takeover efforts of an underworld crime organization.

He also keeps busy with his motorcycle riding. Out of the hospital in early February, he was back on the bike by the end of the month. Here, too, he has a new approach, although he still doesn’t wear a helmet.

“I’m really focused now, paying attention to everything around me, noise and vision,” he said.

In a March press conference, Busey announced that he still opposed laws requiring all motorcyclists to wear helmets. He has slightly amended his views, saying helmets should be mandatory for cyclists from 16 to 22 years of age, and new motorcycle owners should have to take beginning training courses with a helmet.

“I want to design a helmet where you can hear and see and not feel like you have a watermelon on your head,” he said.

The Palomino concert will begin at 9 p.m. and costs $15. Tickets can be obtained at the club.