Michael Gregory
Thank you for visiting my bio/resume page. Hopefully you will find all the information you need on me & my career. To see my photos, go to the bottom of the page & click on the "Photos Of Michael Gregory" link. There's also a link to my main website. If you have any questions, click on the email link below & ask away. I check it daily. MG
MICHAEL GREGORY
Michael Gregory was born on July 12, 1961 in Sacramento,California.
He took up the guitar at the age of 9,initially inspired by Jimi Hendrix. This led him to Clapton,Beck & Page and all the masters of the British Invasion. Michael's appetite for new music was insatiable & he was constantly seeking out new sounds & artists for inspiriation.
At the age of 14 he joined the Joy Gospel Singers, a country/blugrass group fronted by Buck Owens' singing cousin Dale Owens. The group provided Michael with his first taste of the road on a summer tour of the US,and his first foray into the recording studio to record an album that they sold at shows to help with touring costs.
In high school he was exposed to jazz & developed a great love & respect for the genre. He found a whole new group of masters to inspire him like Wes Montgomery, Duke Ellington, Charile Parker & Miles Davis. He not only played guitar in the school jazz band, but also played sax, trumpet, trombone & tuba in the marching band as well.
At the age of 19 he toured Europe with his first all original group,
The Archangel Band. The band also recorded an album which was sold to defray touring costs. The tour commenced at the 1980 Kamperland Festival with acts from all over the world.
In his early 20s Michael was playing with several bands, even doing time in a Mexican "conjunto" group called "Los Elegantes". He was also performing solo acoustic guitar gigs, an experience which exposed his need for deeper arranging skills. He found this experience invaluable & it serves him in many aspects of his playing.
It was during this time that he started getting calls for studio work. He found that his strong ear & diversity of playing styles suited him well. As his reputation grew, his phone rang more & more.
His resume has grown to include these highlights:
Currently touring with Curb records artist Steve Holy
Appearances on The Tonight Show, Today Show and CNN
Performances with 1997 National Fingerpicking Champ Todd Hallawell
Featured on debut CD from Curb records artist Shane McAnally
Top-10 single "Dust In The Wind" by Eric Benet on Warner Bros
Top-5 single "Rain" by SWV on RCA (guitar & bass)
2 CDs by Tower Of Power keyboardist & smooth jazz artist Roger Smith
Toured & recorded w/Earth Wind & Fire keyboardist Robert Brookins
Toured w/Motown artist & NBA forward Wayman Tisdale
Toured w/The Osmond Bros
Toured w/Paul McCartney drummer Joe English
Played on themes to Star Search,Donahue,Oprah,CNN,Mind Extension University,Sci-Fi Channel,Monday Night Football & Tom Sullivan Show
Jingles for Coke,Amtrak,Wendy's,McDonald's,Subway,7up,GotMilk? & more
Music packages for TV & radio news themes around the country
CD projects for local & regional artists in northern California
As a solo act, Michael has opened for Stanley Jordan,Steve Stills & Great White.
In 1993 he formed the Michael Gregory Band, an ensemble of skilled players to help bring to life his own musical vision. The band was featured on the 1993 compilation from Legato Records, "Guitar On The Edge Vol.3,a collection of America's best undiscovered guitarists." Co-contributors included Steve Morse & Allan Holdsworth. In 1994 the band completed their debut release "Guitarchitecture". It recieved great local reviews & airplay and was featured on the nationally syndicated radio program "The Instrumentals Of Rock". The group was featured on the 1995 & '96 Sacramento AIDS Foundation's fundraiser CDs. They shared concert bills with many of their heroes including:
Steve Morse Band/Dixie Dregs, Eric Johnson, Robben Ford, Neal Schon, Elvin Bishop, Canned Heat, Tony McAlpine, Ronnie Montrose & others.
The band won the 1996 "Studio 6 Band Competition" which was aired nationally on PBS. The group disbanded in December, 1998 when Michael moved to Nashville.
The keyboard player in the Michael Gregory Band was Roger Smith, a name many may recognize from his #1 smooth jazz hit in 2001 entitled "Off The Hook", as well as his other job - playing B3 for funk legends Tower Of Power, a position he's held since 1997. Michael was featured on Roger's first 2 solo projects & played in Roger's band, appearing on bills with the likes of Dave Koz, Bobby Caldwell and Tuck & Patti.
Michael recognizes that his talent is God-given & gives it back whenever possible. He has worked with some of the most talented artists in Christian Contemporary Music. He's recorded & done concerts with Brent Bourgeois, formerly of Bourgeois-Tagg, solo artist & current head of A & R at Word records Nashville. He also played in the short-lived "Safe As Milk", a band formed from the nucleus of Christian rock pioneers "The 77s". Their short life culminated with a performance at the Cornerstone 97 festival. Their set was bootlegged by a fan & circulated throughout the US & Europe. When the band discovered this, leader Mike Roe got the tape, cleaned it up & released it through the 77s website. He was blessed to be part of the worship team at Zion Christian Fellowship in Nashville with drummer Chester Thompson (Phil Collins, Genesis, Frank Zappa), bassist Chris Kent (Phil Keaggy, Larry Carlton, Steve Lukather), and fellow guitarist Michael Gallagher (Joe Cocker).
In 1998 Michael joined of of the most original & popular bands in the western US, "Mumbo Gumbo". The 7 piece group almost defies description
with the way they switch genres & styles like playing hopscotch. The rootsy mix of cajun, african, reggae, folk, western swing & boogying blues suited Michael's "chameleon" tendencies & pleased audiences & college/independent radio programmers throughout the country. He was with them long enough to play on the group's 1998 CD "Potluck".
Teaching has always been a part of Michael's experience as well. He's taught commercial lessons in music stores, handling up to 40 students a week at some points. He has given private lessons to many students including Frank Hannon & Tommy Skeoch of the multi-platinum selling band "Tesla". He was also senior staff at the Guitar Activity Center, a sattelite program developed by the late Vic Trigger of the Musician's Institute in Hollywood. For 3 years Michael was part of a pilot program to bring the arts to inmates as a constructive use of their time. He taught guitar & band workshops at the infamous Folsom Prison (immortalized by Johnny Cash in "Folsom Prison Blues")where students included a then-incarcerated Rick James.
Music of the theatre has also been part of Michael's experience. From playing in stage band for high school drama productions to most recently playing guitar, bass & banjo for the Circle Player's production of "Sideshow" at the Tennesse Performing Arts Center. Ironically, he was forced to turn down his biggest opportunity when he was offered one of two guitar spots for the San Francisco run of the Broadway musical "Rent", but was already packed to move to Nashville in 1998.
Michael is currently touring with Curb Records artist Steve Holy. Steve's debut CD "Blue Moon" has scored 3 Top 20 singles in addition to the #1 hit "Good Morning Beautiful" which is featured in the Jennifer Lopez movie "Angel Eyes". Appearances include CMT's Most Wanted Live & The Grand Ole Opry, the longest running radio show in history.
He was a member of Curb recording artist Shane McAnally's road band from May 1999 to August 2001. Shane has done shows with Alabama, Diamond Rio,Brooks & Dunn, Reba McEntire, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Chalee Tennison, Keith Urban & The Oak Ridge Boys among others. Apperances included TNN's Prime Time Country.
He has also toured with MCA artist Alecia Elliott, performing at FanFair & on Christina Aguilera's 2000 tour. Alecia is also the star of the NBC TV series "All About Us" which airs on Saturday mornings.
He has also done the Tonight Show, The TODAY show, and CNN with 12 year old Epic records artist Billy Gilman, singer of the #1 hit "One Voice" (certified gold in just 3 weeks)
Michael is also a member of the Broken Bow Records family, backing Broken Bow artists Joanie Keller & Wesley Dennis. The label is commited to traditional old-school country music.
Michael performs regularly with 1997 National Fingerpicking Champion Todd Hallawell, both locally at the annual Chet Atkins Appreciation Society convention in Nashville & throughout the country.
Michael can be found playing in Nashville with Kylie Harris, a country singer from New Zealand. Kylie has managed to get a spot on the Grand Ole Opry without a record deal. An impressive feat. They can usually be found at Senachie's, an Irish pub in downtown Nashville.
QUOTABLE QUOTES
"We've gotta get rid of that guy, he knows too much."
STEVE MORSE Guitar:Dixie Dregs, Steve Morse Band, Kansas, Deep Purple
"I wanted to grab a fire extinguisher when he was playing. His hands were on fire!"
KEITH URBAN Capitol Records recording artist
"That man is dangerous with a guitar!"
TODD HALLAWELL 1997 National Fingerpicking Champion
"I don't know if there's room for another guitar hero, but if there is,Michael Gregory would fit the bill perfectly"
IAN SAMWELL Producer:Cliff Richard, America, Bourgeois-Tagg
"Man,can you play! Your music was great & your band was groovin' hard. As a schooled musician, I was blown away by your choice of melody & harmony. Your guitar sound was warm & energetic. Man,you should and will be a guitar hero. I'm a definite fan now & look forward to hearing more from you & being inspired by you!"
JAMIE GLASER Guitar:Manhattan Transfer & Jean Luc Ponty
"Yeah, Michael Gregory can burn, but for me it's his phrasing,clarity & choice of notes that sets him apart from everyone else."
LARRY TAGG Bass:Bourgeois-Tagg, Todd Rundgren, Hall & Oates
"In a word...'pocket'. I appreciate a player who, while being a great soloist, can get & STAY in a tight-ass pocket. And that was just my first impression of Michael Gregory. I use him in the studio. I simply ask & he always has the musical answer."
BRIAN A MORGAN Producer:SWV, Aretha Franklin, Lalah Hathaway
"My God,Michael is one of the greatest soloists I've heard anywhere! He tells a story in 16 bars where most cats need a whole record."
WAYMAN TISDALE Motown recording artist & NBA power forward
"Damn son,you sure can play that guitar!"
LARRY LEE Guitar:Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock, Al Green
"Michael Gregory is no joke! He's killin'! You just don't understand!"
ROBERT BROOKINS Keyboards:Earth Wind & Fire, Stanley Clarke, George Duke
"Michael sounds great. It's nice to hear good musicians playing so skillfully."
MICHAEL MANNRING Bass:Windham Hill Records
"I'm a Michael Gregory fan."
JOHN T "JUBU" SMITH Guitar:ToniTonyTone, Tony Rich Project, Boyz II Men
"You're a monster."
LYLE WORKMAN Guitar:Todd Rundgren, Jude Cole, Frank Black, Beck
"An excellent player,no doubt."
DAVE POMEROY Bass:Nashville studio legend
"You sound excellent."
KEVIN EUBANKS Tonight Show band leader & guitarist
"You're playing is fantastic!"
STEF BURNS Guitar:Sheila E, Alice Cooper, Huey Lewis & The News
"Nice playing my friend."
DUANE EDDY Guitar Legend
"Dude, you're sick with it!"
CHRIS KENT Bass:Larry Carlton, Steve Lukather, Phil Keaggy
Send E-Mail to: twanghang@cs.com
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Copyright © 2001 Michael Gregory. All Rights Reserved
Photos of Michael Gregory