This Friday, July 19 is a big day for Dillon Fence! Our new live album release In Flagrante Delicto hits the streamers, and we’re performing live at North Carolina Museum of Art with The Connells and Johnny Irion & U.S. Elevator (Stepping in for Love Tractor, who had to cancel.) Some lawn tickets are still available here.
Scott Carle, Kent Alphin and I will be joined by good bud and Hobex bandmate Andy Ware on bass guitar for Friday’s set. Chris Goode is currently in the UK and is unable to attend due to a demanding teaching gig at Oxford, but was able to knock out a voiceover for this FM radio ad parody above. 😆
In Flagrante Delicto is the first Dillon Fence release in many years, recorded live at Lincoln Theatre on April 28, 2023 by Mike Westbrook Audio and Kevin Scala, mixed by Ryan Dean Pickett, and mastered by Mike Westbrook Audio. We worked hard to make an album we could be proud of. Please stream, share and enjoy at the pre-save/save link here!
Hope to see y’all on Friday, Friday, Friday. ♥️
More soon,
Greg
First single "Tell Me" from Dillon Fence Live LP In Flagrante Delicto May 15!
We're releasing the first single from our Dillon Fence live LP, In Flagrante Delicto to the streamers this Wednesday, May 15! Pre-save "Tell Me" here. This is a relatively new song for the band. I had recorded an acoustic version a while back; whenever I'd play it, I'd think "this sounds like it should be a Dilon Fence song." Glad the fellas agreed and happy we included this rockin' version on our new live LP.
Tickets for our DF show with The Connells and Love Tractor at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, NC on Friday, July 19 are selling fast. The seated tickets are sold out, but as of this writing there are still lawn tickets available at this beautiful venue. Bring your blankets and/or folding chairs and come celebrate the release of In Flagrante Delicto with Scott Carle, Kent Alphin, Chris Goode and I! Get your advance tickets here.
Speaking of Dillon Fence, I recently read a compelling new book in which both DF and Hobex play a part. A Strange And Wonderful Time: The Chapel Hill Music Scene 1989 - 1999 was written by our friend Tom Maxwell (Squirrel Nut Zippers) and is available through Hatchette Books and other outlets. I know I’ll be reading it again, since it’s chock-full of illuminating interviews and information... I shared some of my initial thoughts on the book here.
Greg Humphreys & Friends – Spring & Summer Dates
Shows coming up! Playing the last 11th Street Bar residency show on Wednesday, June 5 before taking a summer break. I'll be joined by Andy Hess (John Scofield, Black Crowes, Gov't Mule) on bass guitar and Ethan Eubanks on the drum kit. My bud Rob Bailey will start the show with a set at 8 PM. The "& Friends" residency will pick up again at 11th St. this fall, beginning on Wednesday September 4; I have enjoyed mixing it up with some of New York's finest there this year.
Heading down to NC on Thursday, June 13 to play a solo set at The Corner on NCSU's Centennial Campus for That Station's Artist Notes concert series, hosted by That Station's own Chris Edge. Doing a June weekend in Stockbridge, MA at The Red Lion Inn – playing solo sets on Friday, June 21 and playing a special gig there with buds Johnny Irion and Mark Bryan (Hootie & The Blowfish) on Saturday, June 22. I'll be performing out on the east end of Long Island throughout the summer, both solo and with friends.
Dates below. Show details and regularly updated calendar at greghumphreys.net. Hope to see you this summer! I've been posting some new songs that I'm excited about over on my IG... as always, thank you for listening.
Greg
Fri May 31 Greenport, NY Claudio's Waterfront
Wed June 5 New York, NY 11th Street Bar
Thu June 13 Raleigh, NC The Corner @ NCSU Centennial Campus Artist Notes Concert Series
Fri June 21 Stockbridge, MA Red Lion Inn solo
Sat June 22 Stockbridge, MA Red Lion Inn w/ Johnny Irion, Mark Bryan
Sun July 7 Peconic, NY Greenport Harbor Brewing Co.
Fri July 12 Greenport, NY Claudio's Waterfront
Fri July 19 Raleigh, NC The Connells / Dillon Fence / Love Tractor at NCMA
Sat July 27 Greenport, NY Greenhill Barbeque
Fri Aug 9 Greenport, NY Claudio's Waterfront
Wed Sept 4 New York, NY 11th Street Bar
Hi, folks. Have a bittersweet announcement this go-round: Greg Humphreys Electric Trio is disbanding as an ongoing pursuit. Our Wednesday, December 6 show at 11th Street Bar will be the last show billed as GHET for the foreseeable future.
The group has been in a holding pattern for the last couple of years, post-pandemic; my old friend and longtime trio bassist Matt Brandau is now a newly-married French citizen, living in Paris, working on new projects. Drummer Keith Robinson, already a busy man, has been getting busier with his hard rock/heavy metal band, Tanith. Our bass man for the last year or so, Brett Bass, is also a very busy musician. As a result, I’ve been playing more often with other rhythm sections and combos.
We’ve discussed, and it’s time to make it official so that we can all focus on what’s next. I’ll continue to perform my music under my own name, but I'll exert more flexibility with the lineup of musicians taking part. The alternate moniker as of late has been Greg Humphreys & Friends. I look forward to more work with the wealth of players in the NY area as well as with my longtime musical collaborators.
Also look forward to reuniting with Matt and Keith again on stage at some point. I’m proud of the work we put into GHET and the catalog of music we built together. I truly appreciate the talent, hard work and experience they brought to the music. It’s been a challenge to try to grow a band in an ever-changing world while at the same time growing a family. Those 10 hour van rides between NYC and the Carolinas weren’t always easy, but we made it fun with laughs and good music.
The trio has had a great run over these last 9 years. Thank you to all of you who have been buying or streaming our music and coming out to our shows. Onward! The good news is we all continue to play. For my part, I will continue my First Wednesdays residency here in NYC at 11th Street Bar with a slightly different approach. I'll perform as Greg Humphreys & Friends and hopefully bringing a twist to every monthly installment, starting on February 7th.
So… please come out this Wednesday, December 6 at 9 PM, 11th Street Bar in the East Village, if you’re a GHET fan. Brett will be on the bass, Keith will be on the drums, and our good friend Rob Bailey will be opening the show at 8 PM with special guests.
More gigs this month: I’ll be back at Greenport Harbor Brewing Company in Peconic on Sunday, December 17 from 3-6 PM with Nick Sferlazza on the bass guitar and Jake Schott on the drums. I’m enjoying what these young fellas are doing with the material.
HOBEX / THE FINNS – FLAT IRON, GREENSBORO, NC DEC 21 & 22
I was planning to invite you to our two-night, Hobex / Finns run at the Flat Iron in Greensboro, NC on December 21 and 22 in this edition of the mailer, but both nights have already SOLD OUT! I'll be joined by Andy Ware on bass, Eddie Walker on drums, and Dave McCracken on organ. 2 full sets both nights from Hobex and Greensboro supergroup The Finns, with some special jams planned between groups. Can’t wait to see our Hobex fans and celebrate.
Look for that Dillon Fence live release and a new solo release in the new year. Here's a recent 11 Questions interview I did for WUDR's Your Tuesday Afternoon Alternative show about my latest single, Take a Trip (Catch a Plane), recent work,my process, and more.
My family and I will be in NC this holiday season with my mom, who moved back to my hometown Winston-Salem, NC this year. Have a wonderful holiday, folks. Let’s all pray for peace in the new year as well.
Playing some rock n' roll shows in NYC and Peconic, NY this month with a bevy of excellent musicians!
First up, I’ll be back at 11th St. Bar in the heart of the East Village tonight – Wednesday, October 4 at 8:30 PM – with Keith Robinson on drum kit and #brettbass on Fender bass for our long-running Electric Trio First-Wednesday-of-the-month residency there. Admission is free and the pours are strong... join us!
Back at The Bitter End on Friday, October 20 at 11 PM for a GH & Friends set featuring Mark Greenberg on drums, Ben Stivers on B3 Organ, and #brettbassonbass. Get your advance tickets here to catch this all-star band. If you can't make it in person, you can tune in to Volume.com/bitterend – the club has been livestreaming shows there. If you'd like a taste of what we've been doing, here's an archived stream of the last Bitter End show – myself, Greenberg, and Stivers, with Ben Zwerin on the bass guitar.
I'll be back on the North Fork at Greenport Harbor Brewing Co. in Peconic, NY on Sunday, October 29, from 3 to 6 PM, along with Nick Sferlazza on bass guitar and Jake Schott on drum kit. This is becoming a monthly thing – the last one was quite a rocker. We'll be playing there every month into '24. Thank you for your support!
THE CONNELLS W/ DILLON FENCE & SURRENDER HUMAN
@ CATS CRADLE BACKYARD – RECAP
Photo: Rodney Boles
What a time we had with The Connells and Surrender Human at Cat's Cradle backyard on Sept 16! Thank you to everyone who came out for this special, sold out show to help celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Connells’ album “Ring.” A reunion of friends that felt like stepping into a Time Machine. Y’all were amazing. Scott Carle, Chris Goode, Kent Alphin and I appreciate you so much. There are rumblings of another Connells / DF bill before too long, so keep an eye out for that. Check out the live performance review and pics at Concert Addicts – "Aged like a fine wine.” 🍷😄
Still working on finishing up this Dillon Fence live recording… getting closer. Have had people asking about a release date; we're taking our time, but it'll be worth it. We'll keep you posted.
That's it for now. Have an exciting show we're working on for the holiday season... Hobex fans should be pleased. More soon!
Greg
GREG HUMPHREYS
FALL 2023 LIVE DATES
OCT 4 WED 11th Street Bar New York, NY
OCT 20 FRI The Bitter End New York, NY
OCT 29 SUN Greenport Harbor Brewery Peconic, NY
NOV 1 WED 11th Street Bar New York, NY
NOV 18 SAT Greenport Harbor Brewery Peconic, NY
DEC 6 WED 11th Street Bar New York, NY
DEC 17 SUN Greenport Harbor Brewery Peconic, NY
Greetings from Pawleys Island, SC. Enjoying our extended family beach week after a busy August playing gigs on the East End of Long Island. Wanted to let you know about some exciting shows coming up this fall.
THE CONNELLS W/ DILLON FENCE & SURRENDER HUMAN
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 – CATS CRADLE BACKYARD
These young bloods will be performing in Chapel Hill, NC at Cat's Cradle Back Yard on Saturday, September 16, supporting our friends The Connells along with our buds Surrender Human! It’s currently our only public Dillon Fence show on the books this fall and I'm told that as of Friday August 25 there are less than 100 tickets left, so don’t miss it. Advance tickets here.
We’ve been listening to Ryan Pickett’s mixes from our Lincoln Theater show recorded by Mike Westbrook in April, and we’re digging the sounds. Looking forward to releasing this official Dillon Fence live recording… more soon on that end as it develops. We appreciate your support.
GREG HUMPHREYS ELECTRIC TRIO @ 11TH STREET BAR
EAST VILLAGE NYC – FIRST WEDNESDAYS RESIDENCY
The trio picks up our first-Wednesday-of-the-month residency at 11th Street Bar on Wednesday, September 6! I'll be joined by longtime trio drummer Keith Robinson and bass guitarist Brett Bass. We'll be doing these through the fall... this is the seventh year GHET has done a monthly gig at 11th Street Bar in the heart of NYC's East Village.
I'll also be doing monthly gigs on the North Fork of Long Island this fall at Greenport Harbor Brewing Company's Peconic, NY location. The first one is this Sunday, August 27... I've had a revolving cast of excellent musicians backing me out east on my rock gigs and it's been a lot of fun. See below for specific dates!
LONDON SHOW RECAP
As they say in London, absolutely crackin’ time at The Betsey Trotwood! Played a special in-the-round show there on July 29 at the end of a family trip. Thank you to my mates Danny Champ & Mick Terry for their wonderful songs and generous spirit. As their friend Gary put it: so nourishing. Hope to do it again before too long. Thank you to Jacqui Dove for these pics.
GREG HUMPHREYS
FALL PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE 2023
AUG 27 SUN Greenport Harbor Brewery Peconic, NY
SEP 6 WED 11th Street Bar New York, NY
SEP 16 SAT Cats Cradle Back Yard Carrboro, NC
The Connells w/ Dillon Fence and Surrender Human
SEP 23 SAT Greenport Harbor Brewery Peconic, NY
OCT 4 WED 11th Street Bar New York, NY
OCT 29 SUN Greenport Harbor Brewery Peconic, NY
NOV 1 WED 11th Street Bar New York, NY
NOV 18 SAT Greenport Harbor Brewery Peconic, NY
DEC 6 WED 11th Street Bar New York, NY, United States
DEC 17 SUN Greenport Harbor Brewery Peconic, NY
The subject of this obsession was an early ‘50s George Shearing tune called “Lullaby of Birdland” - especially the way the vibes, guitar, and piano play the head/melody together. A tried-and-true jazz device, played exquisitely by great musicians before burning down their solos. One so effective and beautiful in this case that I was inspired to try it with one of my own melodies.
I built the song around a fave go-go-inspired beat / groove that I programmed on an iOS app called Funkbox, which features vintage drum machine samples. The song came to me quickly. I developed it further when I’d play the tune live – first, in pandemic-era solo performance using my looping rig, and later, on the bandstand with fellow musicians.
The lyric emerged from an ennui, and an intuition that a proper getaway might provide a needed reset. It's a kind of lyrical expression that I’m drawn to. Personal, yet universal. Broad strokes. Romantic.
I crafted this version of the tune in my home studio, from tracking to mixing. I had tried a few different approaches to instrumentation; with this one, I landed on spare and guitar-centric, using my trusty Telecaster Thinline for swells and guitar solos and Jaguar Bass for the low end.
I’m interested in a live band recording at some point, but with this recording—as with my 2021 LP Spanish Steps—I wanted to see my original vision through in true auteur fashion, a la Prince, Brian Wilson or Shuggie Otis.
I do believe in a collaborative approach to making music the way you might make a movie, where everyone involved contributes to the creative process and the end result is something you couldn’t have created alone. I also believe that music creation can be approached like a painting or a work of art, where your musicality, your truth and your inspiration can be expressed in total by the art / music that you alone create. My mom is a visual artist, so I come by this honestly. I don’t believe that either approach is intrinsically better, nor do I feel that there is a right or wrong method to make art or music.
I’m not saying that I don’t need any help along the way. I’ve recieved (and continue to receive) crucial support from family, friends and collaborators over the years, including with this recording. In fact, heavily featured on this track is my one-of-a-kind guitar “leslie” speaker cabinet, originally re-built by My Morning Jacket sound engineer Ryan Pickett from the guts of a Fender Vibratone and later re-cabineted by my Hobex bandmate, Andy Ware. One of my all-time choice pieces of gear.
Mastering Engineer Dave McNair put the final touch on the recording with a mastering pass. There is no plan for physical media at present, so your support can best be expressed by streaming, playlisting, and saving the song at your preferred streaming service and following me there. Also, sharing on social media helps. Hope to follow this one up soon with a few more that are on deck. Thank you for listening.
As far as any musical touchstones you might hear, these are some artists that have crossed my mind when I’ve considered where the song might have drawn inspiration (be it conscious or unconscious.)
George Shearing
Bobby Caldwell
D’Angelo
John Schofield
Marvin Gaye
Paul McCartney
The music video is a piece of eye candy that I came up with using Stable Diffusion. I’ve come across some incredible visuals recently that were created that way. I went down a wormhole to figure out how to create one for this song. A lot of searching, then a learning curve, then an experimental process to come up with something that I felt worked. And yes, I did use the art of Vincent Van Gogh as one of my prompts. I'm worried the exponential power and growth of A.I., but I am also fascinated. In this instance, I am taking Gary Kasparov’s advice: “Don’t fear the intelligent machines, work with them.”
DILLON FENCE AT LINCOLN THEATER
We had such a great time playing at Lincoln Theater in April! Fantastic turnout. Incredible energy from the audience. We got it on tape! Our friend Mike Westbrook recorded the show and is mixing the recording. Hopefully we'll have a new live release for you before too long. More on that soon. A heartfelt thank you from Chris, Kent, Scott and myself to all of you that attended. You made it a special night for us.
SUMMER SHOWS
Have some shows booked in the coming months! I'll be at Green Hill Kitchen in Greenport, NY this Sunday, May 28 with Nick Sferlazza on bass and Jake Schott on drums, At 11th Street Bar next Wednesday with Keith Robinson on drums and Brett Bass on bass for the June installment of Greg Humphreys Electric Trio's ongoing first-Wednesday-of-the-month residency there. Trio is taking a break from 11th St. for July and August, but we'll be back on September 6. More show details at greghumphreys.net.
MAY 28 Greenport, NY Green Hill Kitchen
JUN 03 Shelter Island, NY White Oak Wine Garden
JUN 07 New York, NY 11th Street Bar
JUN 17 Shelter Island, NY Shelter Island 10K Race
AUG 05 Shelter Island, NY White Oak Wine Garden
AUG 11 Greenport, NY Greenport Harbor Brewing Company
AUG 12 Greenport, NY Green Hill Kitchen
AUG 13 Shelter Island, NY White Oak Wine Garden
AUG 27 Peconic, NY Greenport Harbor Brewery
SEP 06 New York, NY 11th Street Bar
Spring! New music in the pipeline for you, along with shows in NYC, NC and MA.
Playing a GH set tonight Tuesday April 18 at NYC's legendary Bitter End with an all-star band: Ben Stivers (Lyle Lovett, Barry Gibb, Gloria Y Emilio Estefan) on the B3 organ, Mark Greenberg (Dicky Betts & Great Southern, Roy Hargrove) on the drums, and Tony Tino (Southside Johnny & Asbury Dukes, Gavin DeGraw) on the bass guitar. The show is at 9:30 PM and you can get advance tickets here!
DILLON FENCE LINCOLN THEATRE
RALEIGH, NC
FRIDAY, APRIL 28
Dillon Fence at Lincoln Theatre on Friday, April 28 is almost here! Most of the tickets are already sold, so get yours before it's too late. This show is part of 95.7 FM That Station’s "Live at the Lincoln" concert series and our bud Mike Westbrook will be recording the show for a live release. Please join Kent Alphin, Chris Goode, Scott Carle and I and celebrate the anniversary of our second LP, Outside In, released 30 years ago this year. Advance tickets here. Get there early for openers Cosmic Superheroes and Wonderwhys!
Show details at http://greghumphreys.net – hope to see you this spring.
More soon,
Greg
Hi, folks. Have a bittersweet announcement this go-round: Greg Humphreys Electric Trio is disbanding as an ongoing pursuit. Our Wednesday, December 6 show at 11th Street Bar will be the last show billed as GHET for the foreseeable future.
I was planning to invite you to our two-night, Hobex / Finns run at the Flat Iron in Greensboro, NC on December 21 and 22 in this edition of the mailer, but both nights have already SOLD OUT! I'll be joined by Andy Ware on bass, Eddie Walker on drums, and Dave McCracken on organ. 2 full sets both nights from Hobex and Greensboro supergroup The Finns, with some special jams planned between groups. Can’t wait to see our Hobex fans and celebrate.
