Chic was the founder member of the band and at that time he was also the most experienced having played professionally for over 5 years before forming La Paz. Playing in various other bands he'd toured with Thin Lizzy and The Frankie Miller Band plus played festivals alongside Wishbone Ash, Ian Gillan and Saxon.
He co-wrote almost all of the La Paz original material with Doogie White and it was this partnership that was the heart of the band.
When Doogie left he had a brief song-writing project going with Billy Rankin (SAHB, Nazareth) and then he stopped playing electric guitar; in fact he pretty much stopped playing guitar altogether for 20 years and concentrated on a successful career in IT, building several businesses in the UK and the USA.
"That's what mystifies me most. At the first three reunion gigs everyone said that my playing was so much better than it used to be twenty years ago. I can't work that out 'cos I simply didn't play or practise electric guitar in all that time. I played a little flamenco for about a year or so in the gap between La Paz playing live again but that was it. Twenty years ago I used to understand the musical theory behind everything I played and I practised all the time; this time around I'm totally winging it and yet folk think I'm a better player. When I think of all the time I wasted learning pentatonic scales...I could have been getting pissed like everyone else."
Chic made it his mission to ensure everyone in the band was always on time for church and banned them from drinking anything but Ovaltine before gigs. His battle-cry "Let's try that one more time but can we all play the same song" still draws snores of enthusiasm from the band even today.
He still plays his original guitar, a custom-built white Gordon-Smith, and it has a unique sound which when plugged into his Peavy Butcher stack underpins La Paz' on-stage presence.
Paul McManus on Chic McSherry :
"Everyone remembers special times in their life. My life-changing moment was 20th February 1985 - more accurately, 14:50 hours on the 20th Feb 1985! That’s when Chic called to ask if I was interested in joining La Paz. I was 17 years old but had already been playing for years and, of course, I knew of the formidable reputation of Mr. McSherry! I met the band the following week for an audition and ran through 'Kill the King'. What a blast - we seriously cooked. The guys were knocked out – not with my drumming, of course, but with the prospect of heaven-sent exploitation! Being the youngest in the band I was made to carry all the gear, load the van, make the tea, run the errands, hand over all my pocket money, etc. Getting that call from Chic changed the course of my life: if it hadn’t been for Chic and my time with La Paz I wouldn’t have met my current business partner with whom I’ve built a successful company. So, I owe more than a debt of gratitude to Chic...mind you the bugger did keep all of my pocket money so I think we're probably quits."