About Me
Michael Gregory began plaing guitar at the age of 9 in his hometown of Sacramento, CA., initally inspired by Jimi Hendrix. In high shool stage band he encountered jazz and began exploring the genre. In the 1970's, most working gigs in Sacramento were with country bands, so Michael began his professional experience in Auburn, CA at 14 with the Joy Gospel Singers, a 5-piece band fronted by Buck Owens' cousin Dale Owens. They played every weekend throughout northern California, and in the summer of 1977 they rented a motor home and hit the road, spending the entire summer playing in 10 states. The band also made a recording which provided Michael with his first studio experience and a chance to work with future Merle Haggard guitarist Jim Baughman. Through his experience with the band he came to faith in Christ.Between enjoying all styles of music and reading the columns of studio guitarist Tommy Tedesco in Guitar Player magazine, he got the crazy notion that one could actually feed himself by playing guitar for a living. He played for two years with 1997 national fingerpicking champion Todd Hallawell and a long list of Sacramento bands. He also taught many students including future Tesla guitarist Frank Hannon. His quick ear and versatility made him a good fit for studio work and soon the phone began to ring. While in Sacramento he played on hundreds of recording sessions for local artists, jingles and national ad campaigns for the likes of Coke, Wendy's, Amtrak, etc., the themes to Star Search, Oprah Winfrey, CNN, Sci-Fi Channel, and the Phil Donahue show, as well as sessions for Tower Of Power organist Roger Smith and Earth Wind and Fire keyboardist Robert Brookins, not to mention top ten hits for SWV ("Rain") and Eric Benet ("Dust In The Wind") for producer Brian Morgan. In the summer of 1996 he toured with NBA power forward and Motown artist Wayman Tisdale in support of his "In The Zone" CD. He also spent his last year in Sacramento with the band "Mumbo Gumbo", playing on their "Potluck" CD.In 1993 he formed the Michael Gregory Band as an outlet for his compositional/improvisational side. The band recorded a CD entitled "Guitarchitecture" and contributed tracks to two CDs which benefited the Sacramento AIDS Foundation. Their debut recording was featured on the sampler "Guitar On The Edge" on Mark Varney's Legato Records label which also featured Steve Morse and Allan Holdsworth. The band played shows with Steve Morse Band, Dixie Dregs, Robben Ford, Stanley Jordan, Ronnie Montrose, Tony McAlpine, Norton Buffalo, Canned Heat, Elvin Bishop, and Great White.In 1998 Michael moved to Nashville, initially playing locally with Genesis/Zappa drummer Chester Thompson, Larry Carlton/Steve Lukather bassist Chris Kent, and Joe Cocker guitarist Mike Gallagher. After a few months in Nashville, Michael landed an audition for a new artist on Curb records named Shane MacAnally who was putting together his road band. He worked with Shane for three years and played on his debut CD. After Shane, Michael began touring with MCA artist Alecia Elliott. They did a summer tour with then new artist Christina Aguilera. When Alecia quit touring to do the NBC TV show "All About Us", Michael got the call for some TV work with 12 year old (They keep getting younger!) Billy Gilman, playing the Tonight Show on the day his single "One Voice" went to number 1, as well as The Today Show, and CNN Showbiz Today. Just as the Billy Gilman work was coming to an end, Michael got a call to work his longest-standing gig in Nashville with two-time number 1 artist Steve Holy. During this time he also worked with Arista artist Shannon Brown, Beach Boys guitarist John Foster, and played/recorded with talented newcomer Joel Fry. He is currently pursuing a degree in Health Information Management at Tennessee State Unversity and doing solo guitar arrangements of classic hymns. Profile modified by: The CricketSoda Myspace Profile Editor
