McKINNEY — Politics aside, McKinney’s mayor rocks.
Besides his mayoral duties and a custom homebuilding firm, Mayor George Fuller plays guitar in a McKinney rock band and sells high-end guitars at his McKinney boutique shop.
Fuller’s civic job has him testifying for legislation in Austin, overseeing City Council meetings and attending official functions. But his musical side hustle — he’s been playing guitar since 1983, professionally since 1986 — often has him shredding on stages in McKinney and across North Texas.
“People know me as George the guitar player [but] couldn’t imagine me as a builder or mayor,” Fuller said. “It’s a pretty diverse world I live in.”
Fuller started playing guitar as a student at Norwich University in Vermont when he bought an G&L F100 guitar with a maple base and a plastic record on how to improvise.
About three weeks later, he said, he formed his first band and booked a gig at a local bar. They only knew a few songs, including “Johnny B. Goode” and “White Wedding,” Fuller said.
“It was the worst band that’s ever played and got paid,” he said.
But it was a local music store in Vermont where Fuller learned more about the instrument and connected with other guitarists, he said. The store was a place where guitarists could hang out and play, and it became the basis for his own shop in McKinney.
“The store had a big impact on my life,” he said.
The Guitar Sanctuary, Fuller’s shop in McKinney’s Adriatica Village, has leather couches and a big TV. There are short stools all around, inviting customers to sit and try out instruments on the wall — high-end and custom-built guitars from boutique brands and builders.
That was a focus for Fuller when he first opened the shop a decade ago. He said he didn’t want to offer mass-produced guitars that are available from most big-box retailers or online. Instruments at The Guitar Sanctuary are one-of-a-kind.
“It’s like a fingerprint,” Fuller said. “They’re all different.”
Brian Meader, the store’s sales manager, said Fuller’s vision was to build a store that pushed against music stores that sell mass-market instruments and supplies. The Guitar Sanctuary doesn’t carry keyboards, PA systems or other musical instruments.
“We live, eat, sleep guitar,” Meader said.
Meader said that getting the boss’ attention can be tough with Fuller’s busy mayoral schedule. But if he sends Fuller a photo of a new guitar that’s arrived, the mayor will be over right away to check out the instrument.
“He’s on his way to a meeting, but he’ll still get excited about a new guitar,” Meader said. “He’s that passionate about it.”
McKinney residents can also find their mayor playing lead guitar in the Maylee Thomas Band alongside his wife, the group’s singer and namesake. (She said she still goes by Thomas, even though she recently added “Fuller” to her name because of her husband’s political career.)
The band plays “soul rock with a Texas flair,” Thomas said. About half their set includes original songs that Thomas and Fuller write together, Fuller said. They also mix in covers of classic rock and blues tunes.
“I ensure it’s guitar-heavy,” Fuller said.
Thomas hired Fuller to play in her band nearly 30 years ago. About six months later, they started dating.
They’ve played music together ever since, from local gigs in McKinney to opening for major acts like Peter Frampton, 38 Special, Hank Williams Jr. and the Guess Who. For about 18 years, Thomas said, they also played and toured with Clarence Clemons, saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band.
Throughout their marriage, Thomas said, they’ve tried to serve their communities, in part through the Love Life Foundation, a nonprofit she started to help at-risk women and children. Fuller also works with a program called Play It Forward Music, which provides guitars to students and musicians who can’t afford one.
Now, Thomas said, the couple’s move into public life has become a new chance to serve.
“I knew George had what it takes,” Thomas said. “We’re stepping into another whole life.”
Fuller said that his experience with the band helped him when he campaigned for the mayor’s seat in 2017. A lot of voters, he said, recognized him first and foremost as the guitar player.
“Music is the one thing that nobody wonders if the person on stage is a Democrat or a Republican or a Christian or an atheist,” Fuller said. “People put all that other nonsense aside and come together.”