#Ex-Gov. David Paterson shows off new guitar skills with bar performance

Former Gov. David Paterson (left) plays guitar, having learned from Dan Smith.
Twitter

The former governor of New York reemerged in the public eye Sunday night as he and the musician-turned-meme jammed out at a Hell’s Kitchen bar.

Paterson, 66, introduced Smith at Bar Nine on Ninth Avenue — then shocked the crowd, and wife Mary, by grabbing an acoustic and hopping behind the mic.

“My lessons w/ @DanSmithSongs have really started paying off!” the ex-guv tweeted. “Last night I introduced him at Bar Nine and then surprised Mary and others by jumping in to play and sing Stand By Me and Heard it Through the Grapevine! I was just as nervous as my 1st day in office. What a blast!”

Clips posted on social media show Paterson — donning a white T-shirt bearing Smith’s famous “Dan Smith Will Teach You Guitar” ad — strumming and warbling through the Marvin Gaye classic.

Bar Nine opened its windows for passersby to enjoy the live performances by Smith, who headlined Saturday and Sunday.

Paterson plugged Smith’s scheduled shows last week, tweeting, “@DanSmithSongs is the best! I’ve been playing with him for the past few months and it will be an absolute pleasure to introduce him at his show next Sunday night, September 13th, outside Bar Nine on 9th Ave. between 53rd and 54th St. at 7:30 PM!”

Smith, 49, has offered up his services in flyers that have popped up across the city over the past 20 years — spawning memes and turning him into local celebrity.

The native of Newton, Mass. teaches guitar students at his studio on the Upper West Side.

“Sometimes people ask me if I have other people who teach for me, and the answer is no,” he told Gothamist in a rare interview last year. “It’s all me. Everything you see, everything I do is me doing it. I think that’s sometimes difficult for people to really comprehend. So, consequently there are rumors that abound that I’m just the face of a company or something like that. So, in answer to all of you out there, that’s actually not the case.”

Paterson, who is legally blind, became the state’s first black governor after taking over for Eliot Spitzer’s term from 2008 to 2010 following Spitzer’s resignation in disgrace amid a hooker scandal.

He is married to Mary Paterson, the ex-wife of Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa.

Paterson currently works as the vice president of Las Vegas Sands Corp.