Janick Robert Gers (born January 27, 1957 in Hartlepool, England) is one of three current guitarists in the heavy metal band Iron Maiden and a songwriter for the band. His father, Bolesław, was an officer of the Polish Navy.
Gers was the lead guitarist of the band White Spirit before joining Gillan, a group formed by former Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan. After Gillan disbanded, he joined Gogmagog which included former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di'Anno and drummer Clive Burr. Gers also performed with other artists including former Marillion vocalist Fish. In 1990, he played guitar on the first solo album of Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson, Tattooed Millionaire. During the recording of the album he was asked to join Iron Maiden in place of departing Adrian Smith. He has remained with the band ever since, even after Smith rejoined the band in 1999.
He is also left handed as seen at the "Rock In Rio" DVD signing autographs, although he plays guitar right handed.
Gers' main influences are Ritchie Blackmore and Irish blues guitarist Rory Gallagher. He is noted for his energetic stage presence, as evidenced on the Rock in Rio DVD. He can often be seen bouncing up and down and occasionally does tricks with his guitar, such as spinning it around his body while playing, or throwing it into the air, catching it.
Gers is a long time proponent of the Fender Stratocaster. His Stratocasters are typically black or white with rosewood fingerboards. He uses Seymour Duncan JB Jr.(currently) or Hot Rails (early 1990s) pickups. Janick's favourite guitar over the years has been a black Fender Stratocaster, equipped with JB Jr. pickups. This guitar was apparently a gift from Ian Gillan. Janick uses 4 Fender Stratocasters and also a Gibson Chet Atkins semi-acoustic model for songs such as "Dance of Death". Gers, like his bandmates Dave Murray and Adrian Smith, currently uses the Marshall JMP-1 preamp through a Marshall 9200 (discontinued) poweramp. Janick uses Ernie Ball Regular Slinky Nickel-wound guitar strings.
