Tuesday, January 28, 2014

IT'S A BOY! Also, music stuff.

Bumphreys is here!

Meet Jim – James David Humphreys, born in Brooklyn at 11:50 pm on January 22, 2014. Mommy and baby are doing great. We're elated and grateful. And sleep-deprived! 

Jim arrived three weeks past his due date, following several days of hard labor for Rubina. What an extremely challenging, yet wonderfully exciting time this has been for our new little family. 

Jim is named for our dads, both named James. His middle name is David in honor of our friend David Doernberg. Rubina and I met at Dave's memorial service almost two years ago; it's a fitting tribute to one of our favorite people. 

Thank you all for your encouragement and kind words along the way... the adventure begins! We just took Jim out to a restaurant for his first outing, and the Beatles' Revolver was playing. He also shares Sam Cooke's birthday. I take those as good omens.

MUSIC STUFF: LOVE HANGOVER, TRIO GIGS

Laying pretty low the next couple of months to be with the family, but I'm excited about playing a few local gigs. First up, doing a short duo set at Bowery Electric on Saturday, February 15 with my friend Margaret White for the NYC version of the Love Hangover. It'll be a night of great artists singing duets of heartache and heartbreak – expect some fabulous originals and covers. You can buy advance tickets here.

Still chipping away at a new LP with Bassist / Producer Matt Brandau at his Upper West Side studio... really digging what we've done so far, and considering a crowdfunding effort to help make sure this new project cuts through all the (rather well-promoted) clutter out there. 

I've also been itching to work some of these new tunes out live with a rhythm section, so Matt and I are doing some trio gigs together with drummer Keith Robinson (Marcia Ball) in February, March, and April. Looking forward to playing electric guitar on some of this new material! Check us out:

– Saturday, February 22 @ Pete's Candy Store, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 5:30 to 7 pm 
– Friday, March 7 @ Bowery Electric, East Village, Manhattan, 8 pm
– Sunday, March 9 @ Superfine, DUMBO, Brooklyn, 7 to 9 pm, two sets.

Bringing this trio down to NC in April. We'll be playing a couple of sets at the spring Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival between April 17 and 20. Working on some routing gigs on our way to the festival as well. Look forward to playing some new music for you... hopefully I'll be bringing our new little nuclear unit! See you soon. 

Greg

 


LATEST ALBUM: BOHEMIA.

 

 

"...a perennial pleasure, an ever-blooming example of what dedication to one’s art and a fierce resistance to abandoning exposed heart and simple, sincere emotion can produce." – Dennis Cook, Dirty Impound

 

Available on iTunes. Hard copies available via PayPal and at live shows.

 

Check out the music video for the song "Across The Ocean, Mama," the third track on BOHEMIA. Buy BOHEMIA on iTunes herePurchase a hard copy via PayPal here. Have a listen online here or here

 

Bohemia is a 9 song puzzle.  Some tunes are newer; some were written during a couple of summers spent in Prague, CZ and the EU. They fit together just so.

 

It's about leaving, and arriving.  You could consider it a love letter (or goodbye note) to my home state of North Carolina.  You could also consider this LP a musical warm-up, setting the stage for new adventures in New York City and beyond.

 

Bohemia features musical turns from very talented guests Matt Brandau, Phil Cook, and Lizzy Ross. There's a song co-written in Nashville, TN (and on Interstate 40) with Lizzy Ross, and a song co-written drunk on a roof in Prague with Montana singer-songwriter Jessica Kilroy

 

It's of a piece with my previous three solo albums Trunk Songs, Realign Your Mind, and People You May Know; mostly acoustic. Mostly recorded at my studio in Durham NC with help from friends.

STREAM THE ALBUM HERE - GO TO THE MUSIC PLAYER AND PRESS 'PLAY ALL'.

BOHEMIA

1. Someday, I’ll Have My Due
2. Sayin’ What You Mean
3. Across The Ocean, Mama
4. While You’re Away
5. Jubble On, Jubbly
6. Shelby, I Told You
7. Hush
8. Sweet La Rue
9. Railroad Bill

Purchase these CDs via paypal here.