I’ve painfully labored on how to sum up who I am as a musician. In my first attempt at writing an opening sentence my wife said it was a run on sentence and I said, ‘no way’, I don’t write run on sentences it just has a lot of commas because there’s so much to say. Then in my second attempt I used a lot of fancy music-y words like ‘contrapuntal’ and she said I sounded a little too full of myself. So, instead of trying to find exactly the right words to tell you about me, here are a few photos and short captions that may do a better job.
| My Grandfather was the first drummer with the 10th Regiment of Foot reenactment unit in the late 1960’s. |
 |
| And my parents would outfit my sister and I in ’70 styled colonial garb and bring us to battle reenactments, and in this case, a shopping mall photo booth with one of those fake backgrounds. |
 |
| When I was a little older my grandfather gave me a drum and I made all the kids in the neighborhood join me in impromptu parades. I would also knock on all the neighborhood doors and make people come and watch. Notice they guy in the background walking back to his house after we marched by! |
 |
| Eventually I realized that I kinda’ sucked at the drum and, instead, took up the fife and joined the Sudbury Fife and Drum Corps. I was a big hit with the ladies in high school. That’s me in the far left, completely out of line, which, I guess, has been my M.O. |
 |
| Then, when I was 18, I joined a crazy group called The Ancient Mariners. |
 |
| They fed me a sandwich, and I grew a beard. |
 |
| I also met many of my best friends in the Mariners. |
 |
| …and have had more fun playing music with these guys that I can safely share. |
 |
| …and have performed in some of the coolest locations in the world. |
 |
| …with some of the best musicians there are. |
 |
| …on the coolest of stages. |
 |
| I also met several guys in the Mariners that have had a huge influence on my music. Here is Roy Watrous in the blue. He is the most influential modern composer for fife music, and has had a huge influence on my early writing. |
 |
 |
| Skip Healy: he is a world class Irish flute player and introduced me to the world of Celtic music. |
 |
| Because of Skip I learned to play the flute. |
 |
| Lastly, I met John Ciaglia, who is the fifing communities equivalent to Bach… |
 |
| …and a partner on my last two books. |
 |
 |
| After learning to play the flute, I joined and performed with several Celtic bands, including the latest called Stoneybatter Band, where I mainly played rhythm guitar and sang. |
 |
| With Stoneybatter, I recorded and produced and album. |
 |
| More recently I’ve performed a few shows with Skip McKinley and Dan Foster, including a live performance on Brian O’Donovan’s A Celtic Sojourn on WGBH. Dan currently tours with Daymark. |
 |
| Looking forward, I’m starting work with Eric Chomka, an up and coming flute player, and hope we will perform together soon. |
 |
| In addition to writing and performing, I have also recorded, mixed and mastered recordings, the latest being Cliff Haslam’s new album, Golden Golden |
 |
4 COMMENTS
Hey Greg
It’s been great getting to know such a great musician and friend. All the best in the near future and hope to share a tune soon!
Hi Greg, You have just given me the most pleasant Sunday afternoon! Roger told me of your website (during one of our infrequent phone calls ). Am amazed at what you have done – my congrats and standing ovation! Bacon Radio is going to become my favorite station . (I really went online to order a lawnmower – it is still not ordered – now see what you’ve done?) I have many memories of 2 young boys at Sudbury, a fifer and a drummer, attending lessons together, marching together, who have grown and shared through music. The world is a better place.
Wow, what a great life! I remember you from high school, and though I didn’t know you well, I remember you as being a really nice guy, and I recall you were very handy with a musket, or whatever revolutionary firearm it was you handled at Memorial Day. I didn’t know you were a re-enactor on a wider stage. You might remember me from school or from band, which I have to admit I did not enjoy. I love trad music, though. I lived in Ireland for five years and very nearly bought a nice wood flute. In the end, I thought it best to leave it to the professionals, ha ha. Well done on finding a really interesting niche and doing so well with it. We should all be so lucky. Happy Thanksgiving.
I’m so happy you chose to partner with my dear sweet friend, John Ciaglia. I knew John was a truly gifted musician, from my days in the mid to late 70s spent with him as an honorary Ancient Mariner (first female to march with them, at Nayaug, in front of then Gov Ella Grasso, with the Japanese Mariners!!) and a frequent practice and muster attendee, but it wasn’t until I started hearing him credited for more and more original, beautiful tunes and spectacular arranging that I came to know him as a true musical genius (which he humbly won’t admit these days). There were so many unbelievably talented musicians in The Ancient Mariners then- fifers and drummers alike, but you could usually pick out John’s and Mumford (John) Benoit’s playing, as they danced in and out of the straight played tunes, the two hound dogs you just had to love! This past summer, I had the distinct honor to see a small, elite (one of them was actually in my beloved Top Secret Drum Corps!) group of Old Guard members (their group’s name escapes me) perform at The Company of Fifers and Drummers Museum. Their level of talent blew me away and so, so many of their chosen tunes came via Mr Ciaglia’s writing and/or arranging (some in tandem with you, also). For such an elite group to be such ardent fans of John’s work- sometimes playful yet always challenging, touched my heart and made me realize what an indelible mark John has made, not only in the drum corps world, but in music in general. It was so touching to see one lady fifer jump for joy and beam with delight when she perfectly finished one of his more exacting pieces. I last saw John at the temperature record setting 2019 Deep River muster, with his invitation to visit at the Casbah, along with my old friend, former Old Guard member, Mr Reed. I proudly told John I recognized his music being played all throughout the campsites and muster field, heard above the droning camper generators. What an incredible testament to the timelessness of his talents- from young, new fifers to the best of the best, they all knew good music when they heard it!. Thank you for enhancing John’s life with your friendship and being the yin to his yang in your musical endeavors. You must be a very good man and a highly talented musician/writer for John to collaborate with you. Your cowritten music is amazing and just leads me to respect you both even more. Thank you so much for advancing John’s living legacy- it will never be forgotten. May yours forge ahead with such talent and true happiness in the musical moment. Peace.