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WEHM All Access - Sag Harbor American Music Festival - Greg Humphreys · WEHM All Access

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's W E H M, All Access, the Sag Harbor Music Festival.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_01: Can't wait for this year's performances.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_01: It's four days of free music all throughout Sag Harbor.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: And coming up on Friday, September 25th, Greg Humphries and friends performing at the Kid Squid Garden Lounge.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: 9 30 p.m.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: is the scheduled start.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: You can get all the details.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: Sagharbormusic.org and a chance to sit down with Greg Humphries.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: Greg, how are you?
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'm doing very well, Harry.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: How are you?
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: Very good.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for coming on.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate you.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh over the years, getting to know you a bit and kind of a fun history with EHM.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_01: For people that don't know, you were part of a project called Hobex.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I guess was that was that the late 90s?
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: It was the late 90s into the early 2000s.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: And uh it's funny because we've we've played that song, Groove Baby.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think you either heard it or you you I guess you reached out to Lauren way back.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: I did.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh a friend of mine, a relocated North Carolinian, contacted me and told me they're still playing your song on the radio.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: So I thought, well, I gotta reach out to these guys and let them know I'm around.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'm glad you did.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: And uh it's great because you've been up on the uh on the North Fork uh in the Greenport area for a few years now.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: For people that don't know, as we kind of go back uh over, I guess the past couple of years, but also where are you originally from?
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: Where did you grow up?
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: I uh was born and grew up in a town called Winston-Salem, North Carolina, home of uh RJR Tobacco, among other things, and uh spent most of my adult life in North Carolina and uh moved to New York City, I guess almost uh 13 years ago.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Oh wow, that long ago, yeah.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: And then maybe almost 14 actually.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: And then you came out to the island, I guess, uh during COVID, right?
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: My wife and I bought a little cottage here in Greenport.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: We were one of the families that was stuck in our apartment for a few months and needed a place to escape.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: So we found it here.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's a beautiful place.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: It's nice to see too, because you really assimilated into this the the music culture of Eastern Long Island and the music scene, and you've been involved and you still do stuff down south and Carolina and really all over.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: But uh it's nice to see you kind of get involved with uh the very talented uh East End music scene as well.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: And and I guess uh I I was curious, when did you start?
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: What kind of how did you get involved uh with with music?
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: What kind of was the inspiration for it?
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: Well, my dad was a uh an acoustic guitar player and singer, and he used to play guitar around the house and was always leading a sing-along at the party, and uh he was an attorney by day, folky singer, songwriter by night, you know.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so he was my big inspiration as far as picking up a guitar and playing.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: And uh my mom was also uh a creative person.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: She was a visual artist and an art teacher.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I guess between those two, I got the bug to be a creative and to pursue music.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: You had a lot of different projects uh over the years, especially during the 90s.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: We talked about Hobec, but there's there's also a few different bands you're a part of.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I guess my first band was uh Dylan Fence, which was a kind of a power pop alternative rock, really a college rock band that formed at the University of North Carolina where I went to college in the late 80s, kind of in the shadow of REM and Let's Active and the DBs and a lot of those great Southern college pop bands.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: But we also had some British rock influences, you know, and uh we had a great run.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: That band really took off and was one of the big bands on the circuit with bands like Dave Matthews Band and Hootie and the Blowfish, and did a lot of touring.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, never had that big hit that kind of took us to the next level.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but so and we ended up breaking up in the mid-90s, and I did Hobex.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: But I guess in the 2000s, we started doing reunion shows with Dylan Fence, and it was just amazing that all of our fans just still love the band and just kept coming out to see us play.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so we're still doing multiple shows a year.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, we're doing a little tour around uh the Carolinas this December, and uh, you know, what uh I'm curious because it's it's such a tough profession, and you talked to a lot of different bands and how what kept you going because you really I mean that's a that's a long stretch there, and you you just kept moving forward.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, uh as a songwriter, I guess a big reason is I just kept writing songs, and usually there was that one song that would open another door and create more opportunities.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's definitely been a roller coaster, though.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you're up, you're down, you're winning, you're losing.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: But uh I really focused on music to the exclusion of everything up until you know my mid-40s.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't get married, I didn't have a family, I just toured and I built up a regional uh touring base where even if I didn't have a song on the radio, I could go out and play 10, 15 gigs a month in the Carolinas and surrounding states and make a living.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, it was, and you know, Hobex had a couple of record deals, Dylan Fence had a deal, and you know, we were always on the edge of taking it to the next level, but you know, our label got bought and we got dropped, or you know, it's a it's a long, drawn-out saga, but yeah, but ultimately, you know, I was burned out on playing rock and roll at the end of the Hobec touring years.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: You know, Dylan Fence toured for 10 plus years, Hobex toured for almost 15 years, and uh so I started playing more acoustic music and staying at home more, and I I got involved more with production and engineering, and then I met my now wife at a memorial service in New York City.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: Oh wow, a great friend of mine passed away at pretty at a pretty young age, and I met Rubina there, and uh we dated long distance, and I just decided I was ready to uh settle down and we have a couple of kids, and since then I have not been touring nearly as hard as I used to, but I'm still writing songs and I'm still going down to the Carolinas to play.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: But I, you know, when my kids are in school, I play a lot around New York City.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm playing at the bitter end in November.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I did I had a formed a band with a couple of friends called Greg Humphreys Electric Trio, not long after I moved to New York, and we we toured a good bit and played some festivals and had a good run.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: But these days, I'm usually if I'm playing an electric band gig, I'm playing with the best musicians that I can find for that particular performance.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, out here on the North Fork, I've got a great rhythm section, and in the city, I'm playing with some great musicians and singers, and I usually just bill it as Greg Humphreys and Friends.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and that's what's coming up.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: So that I have that Sag Harbor.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's perfect.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that flexibility.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: And actually, for the Sag Harbor Music Fest, I'll be bringing my my New York band out, and they're also very good singers, so it's it's kind of a vocal group in addition to being a bunch of great players.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: And we actually recorded uh a live album last year that came out this spring that kind of showcases all these great musicians I've been playing with.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: That's it's a lot of fun.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_01: Looking forward to that.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: It's uh the Friday night of the Sag Harbor Music Festival, Friday, September 25th.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: You mentioned songwriting a lot, and that seems to that come through as really just a passion of yours.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: You just have kept writing over the years.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_01: Well, what is your what is your process?
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: Uh how does it begin and and how often it sounds like you're kind of always writing, or at least thinking or brainstorming ideas?
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: I am, you know, uh as a parent, it's much harder to carve out time for songwriting.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: So I find myself writing less, but the ones I do write seem to be keepers, you know, be songs I'm compelled to write.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: You know, just considering Dolly Parton this past week after she passed away, he said something along the lines of, you know, I write songs to process my feelings and to try to figure out what I'm feeling.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I I do feel like I fall in that category where a lot of times sitting down with a guitar helps me to figure out exactly what I'm going through, you know, because for some people that's that's just the type of therapy you need is just to express yourself through song.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm not saying that's the only kind of song I write, but it's certainly been an emotional outlet for me.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's a reason why people connect with my tunes because they come from a real place.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: Speaking of connecting, I find this interesting because you've been in this business, you've seen a lot of different sides of it with the 90s and record deals and ups and downs.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: And now it feels like a lot of what um you've gotten involved with is a lot of songs for for TV shows um and and different projects like that.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: How has that changed?
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: Has that changed how you write?
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: I'm curious, or does it it just kind of they they find the right place?
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: Doesn't matter how well it's it's been it's been an interesting exercise and it's been a great challenge.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I've always done co-writing in addition to just writing for myself, and that always brings out a different side of songwriting, you know, maybe a less personal side, but definitely in terms of the craft and bring bringing things out of each other.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's it's been a great process.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: There's there's a song on my new album that I wrote for a TV show, um, and the lyrics were written by a great writer, John Jeremiah Sullivan, who's, you know, he's been in the New York Times and a lot of other great publications, but it's a chance for me to write music to some great lyrics sometimes.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's right, yeah, wow.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and also, you know, uh I've I've had a lot of luck with the Netflix show Outer Banks because the two of the creators of the show, Josh and Jonas Pate, are longtime fans of my music.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: So whenever they and the music is is very mu or the show itself is very music driven.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: So whenever they're starting to put together a season or edit a season, they'll ask me uh to send them anything I've been working on.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: And so I I sent them a song that I was working on called Salem Town, and they've used it in this this new season.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's it's out there now on Netflix.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's exciting for me to get a song there.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: I this brand new album, it's more of a solo project, and it's really it features the song Salem Town, which is the song that's in the new season of Outer Banks.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I use that placement as a uh a fulcrum to to lift a few other songs out of the song pile and and get them out in the world.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: And this particular album is more showcasing more of my acoustic side, less of my electric band uh output, which tends to be a little lean, a little more funk and soul for whatever reason.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: That's um that's interesting because I was I was gonna actually ask you if it are these lyrics a little more personal, because this is this is just you in a way.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's just me, and it's it's a lot of songs actually that don't really stylistically don't really fit what I'm I usually do when I'm playing with a live band.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: What's the uh what's the name of the record?
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: We gotta dive in.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: This it's called Salem Town.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's actually named after the song, but it's uh it's a nine-song album, and it's there's some great songs on there.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: Pulled the Pin, uh, What If We Can, None of Mind.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: Some a couple of the songs are songs that I wrote for a TV show called The Runarounds that they didn't use.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm just gonna use them myself because I I left, I think they're good.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: And then some of them are just songs that they've been sitting around, and uh I just wanted to get them out there.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: I'm curious if you mentioned the runarounds and other TV shows.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: Do you was that specifically to write for that show, or was it kind of just a product of you had these songs already done?
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: Well, some of the songs are songs that I've I've written that didn't make it to uh other albums, and some are just the new the new batch of tunes that I've written that maybe don't fit the Greg Humphreys and Friends vibe.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: How does it work when a TV show wants uh a song?
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_01: Do they come to you or do you kind of do you present like a certain songs or certain vibe?
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: How does how does that kind of whole thing, how that process work?
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: I've always been curious.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I think with with song placements and song syncs, it really comes down to um is the show creator or the music supervisor a fan of your music because they're the ones who are making the call.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: They're looking for stuff that fits.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but really, if you've got somebody who likes your songs, you've got a better chance.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: You're halfway home, yeah.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um with the with the show The Runarounds, though, it's it was an interesting, there's an interesting backstory there because it's another show that was created by the Pate brothers.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: And they've said in the press numerous times that they were partly inspired in creating the show by memories of going to see my old band Dylan Fence.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: When they were in college and wondering what was it like for a group of young people to take that leap and walk away from a more traditional, maybe more uh confident in income type of career, you know, and it's really it is taking a leap of faith when you and your friends decide we're gonna go for this.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so, as far as a coming of age story, it is a great angle.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: And interestingly, the band that was created from the making of that show has gone on to build a big following and is doing a lot of touring and selling lots of tickets.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm happy for those guys.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: In in writing music for that show, they the the musicians and actors in the show wrote for the show, and they also brought in writers from from country, from pop, and even someone like me, uh, who you know, I wrote a few songs for the show, but you know, they ended not not end up making it into the show, but they are some cool tunes, and a few of them are showcased on this new album of mine.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_01: Which is out now, which is which is great.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I'm curious.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_01: You've got a lot of different uh you've done a lot of different things over the years.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: Is there still things you want to like challenge yourself uh to do or things you haven't had a chance to try yet?
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: I think so.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: I I I definitely I've got a long list of things to do.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's great though.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's uh I don't I don't run out of of things that I want to do, you know.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe I might run out of things I'm able to do.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: Well we but uh yeah no then that's that's great to hear.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_01: Uh well I yeah, as as we as we get ready to wrap up here and we're chatting with Greg Humphreys, uh coming to the Santa Harbor Music Festival, I'm curious what was it like to interject?
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_01: It was a weird time with COVID, but kind of it arrive on Easter Long Island at an interesting time for sure, but kind of to become a part of a different music scene than you were used to.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_01: What was that feeling like?
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_01: It had and was it difficult?
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: Was what what were kind of that how did you how did you kind of make that happen?
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: Because that's not easy to do.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: No, uh, you know, it was a time of change for everybody.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: And uh for us in particular, we came out here and we had vacationed here and we we thought we knew the area, but of course, you know, you don't really get to know it until you've lived here a while and spent some time here.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I was lucky enough to get my foot in the door through some local musicians.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, Greg McMullen, a great guitar player, recommended me to Julia King, who's a great local singer-songwriter here in Greenport.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: And so I played some gigs with her and met some of the local musicians and slowly but surely started to book my own gigs here and there.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: And here we are, you know, five, six years later, and I've been able to build up a small circuit for myself where I can get out and play, and I don't have to travel, and I'm in bed by 11 p.m.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: You know, sometimes I'm playing with a rhythm section, sometimes I'm playing solo, but a lot of times I'm playing outdoors.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there are a lot of these three-hour type gigs where, you know, I I think more than most artists in the in the area, I'm definitely leaning more on my own song catalog, but you know, I do like to play some of my favorite funky soul covers or Beatles covers or what have you that I enjoy playing to fill out that three-hour stretch.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: What is that?
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_01: I've often wondered what it's like to, because I know you do a lot of different restaurants and different places.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, what's that like when, especially during the summer, when I guess it's a chance to just play?
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: And and I'd imagine you learn things about yourself and even just I guess get better as a musician, or I'd imagine songs have been born from those three hour gigs of things.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, if I try this a different way, maybe I can do that differently the next time.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: I imagine it's kind of a you learn a lot for those three hours.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: It you're absolutely right.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: That's very insightful, and I think that's how you have to approach it.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's a challenge to be met to because you're not just playing for people who know your songs, you're playing for random people who just happen to have gone onto this or that venue.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: So you had try trying to win them over, especially with original music.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's a challenge.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean that's it.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: So you figure out which songs work and which don't, and you're trying to sound good.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: Oftentimes you're providing your own PA system, so you want to sound good, and and it's also endurance, you know.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh a three-hour stretch as a solo artist is a long stretch.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: You know, when you're playing with a rhythm section, you can and I actually learned that earlier on when I was playing more solo gigs after after my time playing in bands, where playing solo is is definitely a different challenge than playing with a group, you know.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: You can't rely on just a great rhythm section to get over.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you have to pick the right songs and I imagine you learn a lot about yourself uh that way for sure.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and and also And you know, I I I use a looping rig as well when I'm playing solo, and so building a looping uh looping layers and trying to mix it up in that way is is been fun.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: And I'd imagine too, you never know who you're playing for.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: So that's especially out here during the share some interesting stories along the way.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: Greg Humphries, thank you very much for your time.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate it.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: And uh want to get you in more on the uh the breakfast show in the future, talk about this new record, Salem Town, uh, which is out now.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: Uh check that out, streaming everywhere in different places, and uh, of course the Stag Harper Music Festival, Friday night, September twenty fifth, nine thirty at Kids Squid, which is beautiful.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: And uh looking forward to uh seeing you in the future out and about.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_01: Greg, thank you so much.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Harry.