NEWS DECEMBER 2009

Thank you for a great year of shows. I didn't know what to expect, supporting my first solo release Trunk Songs... I've learned a lot. Playing as a solo act has taken some getting used to, but I feel great about it. The HOBEX and Dillon Fence gigs have been really enjoyable too. I'm excited for the coming year! Thanks again for your encouragement and support.

DECEMBER

Wanted to let you know about few more just-added acoustic shows in December! On Sunday, December 20th, i'll be playing twice... first up, I'll be stopping by Sadlacks in Raleigh NC to play a few songs around 5 pm at Kenny Roby's Holiday Hootenanny. This show is free, but donations are being taken for a friend of Kenny's who is facing some steep medical bills.

For my second Sunday December 20th show, I'm headed over to play an 8 pm set at the Carrboro Christmas Tent Revival. I'll be playing a Trunk Songs set and I'll be backed on a few songs by members of Big Fat Gap. Also appearing: Big Fat Gap, Mandolin Orange, Birds and Arrows, The Sundowners, and Hugh Swaso. I will also probably be sitting in on an electric set by the Tiny Pyramids later in the evening. The event is from 4 - 10 pm and is $10 a person. The address is: Rock Quarry Farm 1700 NC Hwy 54 West Chapel Hill, NC 27516 (3 miles west of Carrboro).

I'll be back in Columbia SC on Saturday, December 26th, performing at The White Mule with Danielle Howle, Josh Roberts, and Mac Leaphart. Saw Danielle at the Red Bank concert on Sunday, and she invited me to play. Should be a festive evening!

On Tuesday December 29th at 8 pm, I'm hosting the third Public Nudity Songwriters' Night at the Broad Street Cafe in Durham, NC. Featured this time are songwriters Cyril Lance and Mark Simonsen. You may know Cyril from his band, Outskirts of Infinity Arkestra... he is also the Chief Engineer at Moog Music and an outstanding guitar player. You know multi-instrumentalist Mark from his work in The Old Ceremony and the many other projects he's contributed to. Hope you'll celebrate with us!

PA, NYC, and ATL SHOWS 

I have already booked a few shows in the new year; opening for Chris Smither at the Sellersville Theater in Sellersville PA on January 9th. The following night, Saturday January 10th, I'm finally playing a Trunk Songs show in NYC! I'll be at Banjo Jim's at 9 pm. I'll be sharing the bill with my friend Chip Robinson, a great songwriter and former frontman for the Backsliders. I'll be returning to the Atlanta GA on February 13th for a show at the Red Light Cafe, opening for Steve Forbert.

CHRISTMAS CD SALE

Need some good Christmas gifts?  I'm offering a special Christmas deal on CDs:
- all five HOBEX CDs for $25
- all five HOBEX CDs plus Trunk Songs for $30.
Email me at my address on the contact page with your address and CD request, and I will send you a link to pay via paypal. I will mail them this week - I'd be glad to sign any copies as well.

I am also honored to be on a couple of great new benefit compilations for your gifting consideration:

- Homegrown Music For The Soil is now available at Whole Foods locations - the proceeds from this compilation benefit Feed the Farm, an organization created to help family farmers in NC. In addition to my song Buttons and Strings,The track listing includes a great roster of central North Carolina artists.

- Crowd around the Mic is an annual compilation CD put out by WNCW, created from live performances in Studio B. You can only get this comp by pledging to the station... this year's comp (Vol.13) includes an acoustic version of Natural Child by Gibb Droll and myself, from our February '09 Studio B appearance.

Hope you have a great holiday.

Cheers,

Greg

HOBEX has been added to the bill on Saturday, August 22nd for the last Downtown Live of the season - a free Summer concert series held in Downtown Raleigh NC's Moore Square. We'll be on the Main Stage before Better Than Ezra, around 6 pm. Andy Ware, Rob Ladd and I will be performing this set as a trio. Our digital album HOBEX Live at Shakori Hills is now available on Itunes, Emusic, Rhapsody and other digital services! More info below. 

The following Monday, September 7th, I'm participating in a benefit/celebration, SNUZZ FEST , at Chapel-Hill's Local 506. Snuzz (aka Britt Uzzell) is one of NC's finest songwriters and performers. He's facing a serious health challenge and has no insurance. His friends are helping him out and celebrating his work - we'll be playing his music all night long. I'll be singing a song or two. This one might sell out, so get your tix early. If you can't make it, you can contribute via paypal to snuzz fest at gmail dot com.

Later in September I'll be in Annapolis MD, opening for the great Chris Smither at the Ram's Head Tavern. This one is likely to sell out; If you can't make it, I'll be returning to Annapolis on Monday, October 12th for a show with my Folk Alliance friend David Glaser, as a part of his 12 Voices series held at 49 West.

Got some Northwestern US Trunk Songs tourdates cooking in early October! Just confirmed a show in Seattle WA for Tuesday, October 6th, opening for Chris Smither at the Tractor Tavern. I'll be doing an acoustic Trunk Songs set and I'll be joined on guitar by my friend Andrew McKeag, who also plays with the President of the United States of America. We're booking more Northwestern dates around this one - more details soon.

 Our Spring '09 Shakori Hills HOBEX performance is now available on Itunes, Emusic, Rhapsody and other digital services! Recorded by festival soundman John Lloyd, This is a great sounding set running though favorites from our various albums. Longtime bassist Andy Ware and I were joined by Guitarist Gibb Droll (Keller Williams, Brandi Carlile, Marc Broussard), Drummer Rob Ladd (Roger Daltrey, Don Henley, Pressure Boys, Don Dixon, Let's Active etc.), Organist David McCracken (Donna the Buffalo, Clifton Chenier), and vocalist / percussionist / Chapel-Hill favorite Taz Halloween. I have uploaded a track, Rollin' 4/16/09, to our Reverbnation music player at the HOBEX site, if you'd like to check it out!

 While Gibb Droll was in town doing some Trunk Songs dates with me earlier this year, we found the time to do a few recording sessions in between shows . We got down a great version of Gibb's song Birmingham, a nice cover of Blue Velvet, and a few numbers that we wrote on the spot. We thought you'd enjoy it so we're releasing some tunes digitally as an EP called Bull Session. Also featured on the EP are my sister Ann Humphreys on vocals and virtuoso John Garris on Fiddle. Available soon on Itunes, Rhapsody, Emusic et al.

HOBEX had a blast at Summer on Trade - here's vid of us doing an impromptu version Curtis Mayfield's Move On Up, shot by our friend elf Goode. HOBEX has one more show on the books for '09: we'll be playing at the Flat Rock Music Festival on Friday, September 25. We'll be on the Main Stage at 10 PM. I will be doing a Trunk Songs set as well on the 25th, at the Mountain Express Stage at 6:45 PM.

Dillon Fence is playing a show this fall! We'll be at the Turnage Theater in Washington NC on Saturday, October 17th. Spearheaded by our friend Emma Holdscher and featuring the Carle / Goode / Alphin / Humphreys lineup, this'll be a great chance for eastern NC Fence fans to see the band again.  I've been working on another solo release and my sister Ann and I are recording an EP soon... Hope to see you in September!

Cheers,

Greg

Hello gang. This Friday, May 15th I'll be performing Trunk Songs set at the Berkeley Cafe in Raleigh, opening for Benjie Hughes. I'll be playing at 9 PM and you can get advanced tickets at the club site. My solo set last week in Asheville opening for Chatham County Line went swimmingly, so I hope you'll come check me out Friday if you're in town.

Next week, I'm headed to TX for the Kerrville Folk Festival - looking forward to sweating in the Texas sun and playing music for about ten days!

Upon my return, I'll be performing with HOBEX as a part of this years' Bandtogether event on Saturday June 6th. Rusted Root, The Rosebuds, and Chatham County Line are playing outdoors in front of Lincoln Theater... we'll be playing the afterparty inside the Lincoln. This is a great fundraiser for the Lucy Daniels Center and tickets are available at the Lincoln Website. ;

Our HOBEX show in Raleigh NC for the Brick House Concert Series has been moved to Saturday June 13th. This event is free and all-ages and starts at 7 pm - we'll hit at 8:30. It'll be held in the parking lot of The Brick House, located on Hillsborough St. across from Meredith College. Check their website for directions. 

We've just added another June HOBEX show - we're playing the Independent Weekly's Best-of-the Triangle party on Friday June 19th, along with Thad Cockrell. This event will be held at Durham NC's Golden Belt... more details soon.

On the production front, a song from the Dynamite Brothers' upcoming album that I recorded basic tracks for last fall has been used in a recent episode of HBO's new series East Bound and Down. I recently finished recording a new project for The Carolina Chocolate Drops' Justin Robinson called Birds or Monsters - check out his myspace page to preview some tracks.

Cheers,

Greg