About
Hailing from Rochester, NY, Greg Fair found his home in traditional American music some years ago now. And it seems his life has come full circle. One of his earliest memories is of getting up by himself on Sunday mornings to listen to the weekly top 25 countdown on the local country music station in Rochester. He has no explanation for this...
But he did grow up in a home where music was celebrated and encouraged. Greg began playing clarinet in the fourth grade and managed to stick with it through tenth grade. While he loved playing and excelled at it, he hated marching/pep band. So in order to escape the endless renditions of "Hang on Sloopy" and "You Can Call Me Al," he quit high school band. But at this time Greg also picked up the guitar...and his love affair with stringed instruments began.
Greg began playing mandolin in college and joined a bluegrass band, all at the encouragement of a friend. But the light bulb went off when he attended his first old-time concert (at the Eastman School of Music, of all places). The heavy rhythm and syncopation, the aching vocals, the joy and loneliness, and the organic nature of the music all made sense to him. So he began to learn the tunes and the songs, and the rest is history!
Greg went on to become one of the founding members of The Varnish Cooks, a Rochester-based old-time stringband. They traveled the Northeast and released two acclaimed full-length recordings. He has also performed with the internationally renowned old-time stringband, The Crooked Jades. Greg recently released a full length CD, "Tell You More Lies."
But he did grow up in a home where music was celebrated and encouraged. Greg began playing clarinet in the fourth grade and managed to stick with it through tenth grade. While he loved playing and excelled at it, he hated marching/pep band. So in order to escape the endless renditions of "Hang on Sloopy" and "You Can Call Me Al," he quit high school band. But at this time Greg also picked up the guitar...and his love affair with stringed instruments began.
Greg began playing mandolin in college and joined a bluegrass band, all at the encouragement of a friend. But the light bulb went off when he attended his first old-time concert (at the Eastman School of Music, of all places). The heavy rhythm and syncopation, the aching vocals, the joy and loneliness, and the organic nature of the music all made sense to him. So he began to learn the tunes and the songs, and the rest is history!
Greg went on to become one of the founding members of The Varnish Cooks, a Rochester-based old-time stringband. They traveled the Northeast and released two acclaimed full-length recordings. He has also performed with the internationally renowned old-time stringband, The Crooked Jades. Greg recently released a full length CD, "Tell You More Lies."
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