photo by Brian Schenkenberger
Greg started studying the guitar at age nine and shortly thereafter discovered two musical forces that were to shape the direction of his playing and listening for the rest of his life. “One was the music of classical guitarist Andrés Segovia, in which I began to see what the guitar could be in the hands of a virtuoso.” The other was Genesis.
What followed was a period of voraciously consuming the music of other progressive bands such as Yes, Gentle Giant, ELP, Gryphon, and King Crimson (to name a few). Some time later came a fascination with classical music—especially that of Arnold Schönberg, Hans Werner Henze, and the post-WWII, avant-garde music of Gyorgy Ligeti and Krzysztof Penderecki—and, simultaneously, the jazz fusion of the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return to Forever. After years of private study, Greg enrolled in college and subsequently graduated magna cum laude with a BA degree in music from New Jersey City University as a classical guitar major.
“Alan Benjamin of Advent recently attended a performance of my Genesis tribute band, Foxtrot, and a week later I received a call asking if I would like to join Advent. After listening to their two wonderful CD releases, I quickly agreed!”
Greg teaches guitar at Monmouth Academy of the Musical Arts in Marlboro, N.J. Performance background includes classical solo, classical guitar-vocal duo, solo with orchestra, rock bands, and even a stint with a jazz big band.
Though Greg retired from live performance in 2009, he remains a very active and creative member of Advent in the band’s studio endeavors, both in terms of writing and recording.