Check Out Steve Gregory’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve Gregory.

Hi Steve, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My earliest music memories start with sitting in front the stereo listening to my parents records – Simon and Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits, Stevie Wonder’s single My Cherie Amour on 45. One day, walking down the street of my small town, I saw the album cover for Kiss Alive in the dimestore window, and was totally intrigued. My brother and I bought the record, and subsequently bought all the Kiss records.
So, right away I was listening to a wide variety of musical styles. And I think I was a bit unusual in the sense that I wasn’t just listening to the singer, I was drawn to the guitar playing, and the instruments.

I took piano lessons from a young age – around second grade I think. In 5th grade or so, they brought band instruments to the school for everyone to try, and I chose the trumpet, which I ended up playing through high school. Somewhere along the way, I think maybe I was 10 or 11, I sold magazine subscriptions door to door, and once a person sold so many, you got to pick a prize. I chose an acoustic guitar. My second piano teacher was an elderly lady, and she told my mom she could also teach me guitar. But my guitar prize, turned out to not be a great guitar – the strings were far from the neck, and my little hands couldn’t press them down. The teacher told my mom I wasn’t cut out to play the guitar. Apparently, I was unfazed. I kept it up. Eventually, I got a job at a music store, and being that I was too young to officially be working, they paid me in store credit toward an electric guitar., and I began lessons on that. I had a couple different very good teachers following that.

My older brother played the saxophone, and he got me on my first “professional” gig – playing an event with a jazz big band. It paid $25, and I was happy to do it! I guess it went ok, and they asked me to do another gig. It turns out the next day, a friend of mine said he was playing in a country band with some older guys, and they had a gig that paid $100, and they needed a guitar player. Well, the gig was the same day as the big band gig, so suddenly, I decided I’d play some country guitar. This lead to getting 2 nights a week in a bar with a country band. I was 17 years old. I didn’t know anything about country music, but the singer played acoustic guitar and would tell me what key the song was in before we started each tune, though he wasn’t always correct, as whatever the starting chord was, he would state that as the key. I would watch his hands as we played, and at some point during each song, he would say “pick it, Steve!”, and I would figure out how to play a solo on the song. The songs we simple songs, and it was a great learning experience, trying to figure out how to improvise on the spot.

Eventually, I made my way to Los Angeles, and studied at Cal State, Northridge. I wanted to study at a school in a city where I could stay and be a musician. While in college, I was awarded the Los Angeles Jazz Society New Talent Award. This gave me a little material to aid me in getting out and booking gigs of my own around Los Angeles.

One thing led to another, and eventually I got my first name gig – touring with the legendary Ray Charles. This came just in time for the deadline I had set for myself to accomplish something substantial in the music business in order to continue. Then tours with pop icon Frankie Valli, Singer songwriter Anjani -with Leonard Cohen joining us frequently- and fusion drummer Alphonse Mouzon followed. I kind of knew I didn’t want to be on the road all the time, and along the way I began to focus more on studio work. Luckily, I connected with a busy T.V. composer and ended up playing on many of the things he was working on. This also got me playing with some exceptional musicians who also worked with him.

All these years later, I have finally released a record of my own music, and it feels great. People have responded very positively, and I am grateful. I hope all of your readers will have a chance to check it out.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
To succeed in the music business, one has to be persistent. I’d guess the majority of successful folks had to deal with many obstacles. I’ll give an illustration from my experience.

When I was in college, I had heard Ray Charles was having auditions. I was told anyone could show up to play, but if the regular band member on that instrument showed up as well, they were keeping their gig. So I went to play at his studio in Los Angeles. I played with the band some time – maybe 30 minutes to an hour, and it went fine. Then the guitar player walked in. He was keeping the gig, and that was it – I was done.

4-5 years went by, and as I was playing in a pop cover band at a bar, the bass player sent a sub, and that sub was working with Ray Charles. I told him man, I would love to do that gig. He said he thought the guitar player may be leaving, and he would know by a certain date that they had a gig on, in Mexico. Well that date came and went, and I never heard from him, so I left town to visit my mom in the SF Bay area.

While visiting my mom, I checked my answering machine, and the bass player had left me a message saying the guitar player had left and Ray was having auditions that day. I called him and said I’m out of town, what can I do? He gave me the number, and said call the office. I called, and they told me they would be there all day listening to guitar players, and if I could get there by 5:00, they would listen to me. This was about 11:00 in the morning I think. So, I re-booked my flight to Burbank, drove home to get my guitar and drove to his office/ studio in rush hour. I arrived right at 5:00. I rang the buzzer at the gate. Someone came out and asked ” are you the guy form San Francisco?” Yes, that’s me. Sorry, you are too late, we just picked a guy.

Frustrated, but persistent, I parked my car, and hung out in the parking lot. I waited by the tour bus as I watched folks come out of the studio. Ray came out. The music director came out, and came over to talk with me. As we spoke, he recognized me, and asked if I had auditioned a few years back. I said yes, and I couldn’t believe he remembered. He said “oh I remember,” and then told me he wished I had been there, as he thought I would do a better job than the person they hired. He said I tell you what – we’ll be in Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas this weekend – why don’t you put together a demo tape and mail it to me there, and I’ll make sure Ray hears it. So I had a friend come over and we sat in front of a cassette tape recorder in my living room and recorded a couple of tunes. I mailed it to Caesar’s Palace.

That weekend I got a call from the music director. He said Ray fired the guitar player, and asked if I could I meet them in San Diego on Tuesday. And thus began my stint with the band.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a versatile guitar player hired by artists and composers to bring there music to a new level. They rely on me for my creative input; my ability to create parts and sounds that are appropriate for the music and maybe add new ideas to it.

I’m most proud of my new record at this moment. It feels great to put my own music out into the world. I’m grateful to be joined on the recording with some exceptional musicians who listened to my ideas, and poured their own into the music.

What sets me apart maybe is my own voice and touch on the instrument; my awareness of sounds, and ability to pick the right guitar, and creative the right part for the music,

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was pretty quiet and content. I used to like going fishing and shooting baskets with my dad.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://stevegregory.net/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestevegregory/
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/37JbBWtwl9nCSrF9dFW9ee?si=uxXMn9b9RYC8DYtX-arPSA