 Following
on from his excellent Fiend Fest tour diary we thought we oughta
catch up with Greg to get some more info.
Ciaron's questions are... oh shit, you know the deal by now!!! :-)
Can you give us a bit of background
info on yourself?
I was born in Detroit, and raised around the Detroit area. I moved
to Los Angeles in September of 1995. It's my new home!
How about musical influences?
My biggest influence was, and still is, my Dad. He is a drummer,
and he just let me fall into playing music. My bass specific influences
are James Jamerson and Donald 'duck' Dunn. I've been playing professionally
for 22 years. I started playing with my Dad's bands when their usual
bassist could not make the gig. It was by far the best musical education
for a kid!
When did you develop an affectation
for the Dickies?
I'm a HUGE fan! My first record was 'Stukas'. I was always into
the California punk scene more than the East Coast or England. it's
because of my obsession with skateboarding when I was a kid, reading
about the Dogtown Guys and everything happening in Southern California.
How did you get hooked up with the
Dickies?
A mutual friend of ours told me that Rick couldn't do this tour.
We (Peligro) have opened for the Dickies before so I was familiar
with the current line-up and set. I was very excited about auditioning
for them. I love the straight ahead punk drive that they have. It's
a bass player's dream to hold it down and be melodic at the same
time. The Dickies encourage that type of bass playing. The first
time I played with them, I only had the 'incredible' CD to learn
from.
Some of the tunes were in different keys, and had slightly different
arrangements from over the years. Rick hooked me up with a recent
live CD that had their whole set. I sat in my room, did my homework,
and nailed the complete set on my next audition. Stan called the
next day and told me the good news!
 How
did you get on with the Fiend Fest?
The Fiend Fest was great! I love being on the road!
The high points?
The high points were meeting the fans, the other bands and crew,
seeing my family and friends across the country, videotaping all
of the hi-jinx!
And the low points?
Low points were eating at 'waffle house' and seeing the Grey Ghoul
naked!
Was there one song which you enjoyed
playing the most?
That's tough narrow down to one song, but it I'll go with I'm OK,
You're OK.
Any songs you wanted to play but didn't?
Curb Job.
What's the story I heard about some
skinheads at one of the shows?
They were flipping us off and throwing lit butts at us. I was making
kissy faces back to them. The security guards booted them after
they saw more butts flying, we didn't ask to have them removed.
But it was very funny to see them dragged over the barrier and onto
the floor and out the door! They were hanging out behind the venue
waiting for us. I think that upon seeing tiny, they changed their
minds about any revenge.
How much rehearsal did you all put in for the Fiend Fest?
If I remember correctly, 3 rehearsals and one show
before the tour. Most of the rehearsal time was dedicated to learning
all of the backing vocal parts from Leonard.
Do you get nervous before the shows?
Not at all. I get very excited, almost too excited. I need to
remember to chill a little so I don't overplay.
What are your plans for the future?
Just keep playing music! Hopefully make enough for a modest home
and a couple of toys.
Are you going to be sticking around with
the band for a while?
It's really up to the guys. I'd like to continue with them.
Any final words to everybody out there
in Dickie-dom?
It was great to meet all of the fans on tour! I hope to meet many
more in the future!
Pictures courtesy of Senator Amydala |
