Despite the horrible cold weather this week turned out great for my shows. 41 West in Fredonia was excellent because, not only did my Fredonia/Dunkirk friends show up, but 41 West was the only bar in all of Fredonia that had entertainment. Needless to say we had a great crowd and an awesome beach party! Saturday I played at Simmie's. Sadly, my cousin Donnie Zappia is closing Simmie's on Thursday. I was the last act to ever perform there. It was really sad....everyone was hugging and crying. They're great people and I will miss that venue quite a bit.
This week I REALLY need you to come out in support of me at the Shogun. My future there depends on the showing I receive there. If I ever needed support it is this Saturday at the Shogun. Wednesday (Valentine's Day) I will be at the Byrncliff if you are so inclined to drive out past East Aurora. Think about it.
Here's what's going on:
Byrncliff Resort. 2357 Humphrey Road at Route 20A, Varysburg. (585) 535-7300. Wed. Feb. 14 @ 7 p.m.
The Lighthouse. 5885 Main St. Olcott. 870-6530 Fri. Feb. 16 @ 10:00 p.m.
Shogun. 7590 Transit Road, Williamsville. 631-8899. Sat. Feb. 17 @ 9 p.m.
Happy Valentine's Day to all of you. I hope you have a lot of love to warm you up during this cold spell!
Peace,
Gregg
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
The Tom Water's Interview of Gregg Sansone
Local author Tom Waters interviewed Gregg for Buffalo Spree Magazine and a web site called "Acid Logic." Below is the interview in its entirety. You may also click HERE to go to the Acid Logic interview of Gregg.
The Ballad Of Gregg Sansone
By Tom Waters
February 1st, 2007
'Writing...is an art; and artists...are human beings. As a human being stands, so a human being is....' -ee cummings
If you've participated in (or just enjoyed) the Buffalo music scene for the last six years, Gregg Sansone is a pervasive, melodic, keyboard-driven entity. The two-time Buffalo Music Award Winning Solo Artist Of The Year plays out at clubs, bars and other venues over 300 nights a year (when he's in peak physical condition), and his cover shows run the gamut of Steve Winwood to Elton John to Stevie Wonder. Dabbling in rock, jazz, blues and classical standards, Sansone has become a local icon and a national underground phenomenon. I saw Gregg play (or channel, to be more accurate) Elton John covers at Route 66 in downtown Buffalo four years ago, and I've been a Sansonite ever since. His two and three hour shows are lousy with fans, electric in their intensity and craftsmanship, and brilliant to witness. I had the opportunity to sit down with Greg at my apartment in Lancaster while he was recovering from major back surgery (he had a disc removed).
TW:You haven't had a drink since you were 15. Why is that, and do you find it surreal to play out at clubs and bars for the majority of the year in the company of people who are soused out of their minds?
GS: No. Alcoholism runs in my family. I've got a huge family. Eight boys and one girl. Some people put down meat and become vegetarians. I had the hindsight as a fifteen year old to say 'You know, I'm addictive as hell. I have a real addictive personality. I'm just not going to do this. Otherwise, I think it could be a problem, and it just stuck through college and everything else. Like anything, I stuck with it and it developed and it's been years and years. I have a blast (at the shows). People come up to me and say 'Man, you were hammered because you were dancing on the bars!' and I say, 'No, but awesome, thanks man.'
TW: How does your strongly held belief in Buddhism inform your singing and songwriting?
GS: Songwriting and instrumental writing are different. They're along a spiritual line, but my performances are an extension of what I believe in anyway about myself. Buddhism isn't a religion as much as it is a philosophy. They didn't invent being honest and they didn't invent being good people, they just do it well. So you can apply it to any faith that you have and for me, it just helps me to not want to kill everybody. Or when someone is drunk and they fall into my keyboards and everything, now I don't want to drag them into the parking lot. Before (Buddhism) I did.
TW: Do you think the era of disposable pop/porn performers like Britney Spears and Ricky Martin is nearing its end, or is it more of a popular music cycle?
GS: I think human nature is human nature, and within music, I'm no expert on anything. I'm just an Italian from Buffalo. Before them when Madonna got really popular, they produced people like Jody Watley, and-
TW: Rick Astley.
GS: People like that, that's exactly right, but specifically female singers to sound like her (Madonna). Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, so it does go in cycles. I think the American people, we're a disposable society. There's a huge portion of the population that buys into that, and they just go into whatever's popular. But there's this undercurrent of people like us that-
TW: Observe?
GS: Observe and evaluate and say, 'This is good, this doesn't work for me, that's kinda bullshit. I know that you love Elton John for instance, as do I. People like Elton John, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney and even Madonna, and I'm not a Madonna fan, but she's stood the test of time. They're not a flash in the pan, and for good reason. If we didn't have those people, it would be a sad, sad world with the boy bands, although Justin Timberlake has broken from that and has really made a name for himself. I mean, I don't think he's going anywhere.
TW: And Mark Wahlberg-
GS: Mark Wahlberg is kinda cool in the movies, though! When he was Marky Mark it was a different story.
TW: Your best one night stand story after a show:
GS: Um, my best one night stand story after a show-because I have one night stand stories during a show.
TW: That sounds like the better story.
GS: I just want you (the reader) to know that I'm a good guy-now. But I was in Missouri, it was some years ago, I was performing outside of Kansas City and there was a girl that I knew and on her break, she came up to me and was talking with me and we just continued the conversation in the bathroom. I'm a gentleman and that's as much as I can say at this point. It's something, because when I was younger and I was in my '20s, it was really flattering and kind of ego gratifying. I didn't get into music for that. That's just the way it goes. You get attention and now it's a little different. It's just different now. It's more about self respect and that's how I am. I kind of go home alone at this point.
TW: You are now your own one night stand.
GS: It kinda reminds me of the first time I had sex, though, because it was quiet and dark and I was alone. So there's nothing wrong with that.
TW: (makes rim shot sound) What has your recent back surgery taught you about your limitations and looking to friends for help?
GS: That's brutal, that is, because I was a University Administrator for a number of years and I was against micromanagement. And since I've done music full time, anyone that knows me knows that I am anal retentive and obsessive compulsive about my shows and about even winding up cords and things. After the back surgery, for months, there hasn't been anything that I can do, and that showed me a lot about myself. It showed me that people, the outpouring, I've had emails from fans asking 'Is there anything I can do? Do you want me to come to shows, I'll help you.' or people coming up to me at shows and wanting to help, so it showed me that the people who enjoy my music are awesome, but that sometimes I'm an ass, because I just have to let go and say 'wait a minute', because I would help someone if they were in that situation. I just never thought I would be in that situation. It's showed me that I have to let go a little bit and I can still direct and say 'Can this go here or there?', but that's a great question, because I really didn't think that having back surgery would have this much of an effect even emotionally on me.
TW: Did the birth of your son cause you to slow down a bit and take stock of your life, inspire you to make a more lasting impression on the world, or both?
GS: For the things that were important, it forced me to assess who I was. It forces you to. Before I was a father, I was in the world of seeing people with other children and it didn't apply to me. After I had my boy, I had to, the alternative was deplorable. I had to apply myself. It didn't affect my music as that's always come from a place that sometimes I don't even understand. It affected my music in a way that I took a more holistic approach to my own life and mortality, so to speak. I didn't really slow down. I'm still Gregg, but it definitely made me even more successful in the academic arena without a doubt. If I was ever kind of not a slacker but irresponsible, I got more responsible. And now my son thinks I rule. He told me 'My friends think you're the greatest dad.', because now I'm like rock and roll dad, that type of thing. He's pretty proud of that. That's amazing to me. He started playing three instruments and I didn't force him, but when he was playing bass to 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' and it was the exact bass line, and my nephew was doing the guitar part to it, the riff, I almost welled up because these were songs that I grew up with and now its gone full circle, now my kid and my nephew are jamming to it and it sounds exactly like the record, they weren't screwing up, and then I'm playing with 'em, that's pretty damn cool.
TW: He can see that it's a way to bond with you.
GS: Absolutely, without a doubt. Talking about music and playing music together is something that I had never anticipated. That's amazing to me.
TW: Do you see yourselves opening for the Bacon brothers in about five years?
GS: I really don't know, unless Kevin Bacon is gonna bring his kid up. It would have to be Sansone & Sons instead of the Sansone Brothers, because I have seven brothers and they're miscreants. We'd rip the joint down.
TW: How did your outspoken alter ego (Uncle Hal) come about? Was there any tie at all to David Bowie and Ziggy Stardust?
GS: No, that's kind of a parallel universe, though. I have a radio show called 'The Pissed Off World Of Uncle Hal'. It's an online radio show called a pod cast. Uncle Hal was a nickname when I was a kid, 'cause I created a spoof on soap operas on a tape recorder and it was hysterical and slapstick, and all my brothers and even my parents laughed, and the star of the show was a guy named Uncle Hal and he was a total ass. He'd beat people, puke and slam peoples' heads into desks, so they started calling me Uncle Hal. Everyone in my family, they all call me Hal or Uncy, it's just a nickname. So when pod casting, that genre of expression came about, I jumped on it and said 'Wow, I can do what I want. There's no f.c.c. regulations or anything.' And I wanted an arena to pretty much rant about what pisses me off in the country, or laugh my ass off and make other people laugh and interview people. I've interviewed authors as well as musicians and I'll ask people questions. I went to the mall and asked people who's more important at Christmas time: Jesus Christ or Santa Claus? And you'd be amazed at the responses I got. So 'The Pissed Off World Of Uncle Hal', no one knows that its Gregg Sansone. Now they'll know, but the people that listen online around the world as far as Wales and Iran , they'll call the hotline or send me an email and say 'Uncle Hal, this is what pisses me off' or 'I think you should look at this 'cause this is really funny.' and I just had a person that called me today and said that Ed Kennedy got money from Hugo Chavez from Venezuela and got oil and he's (Ed) giving it out at a forty percent discount to the poor in New York City and that's amazing. Citgo gets their oil from Venezuela and things, but as we know, the president hates George Bush. So a bunch of people were jumping on that saying 'How dare you, how could you get oil from Hugo Chavez when he said terrible things about our president.' And he (Ed) said 'General Motors sold 3,000 cars to Venezuela last year. Should we take our cars back? Citgo gets their oil from Venezuela , should we not go to Citgo?' The President of Venezuela said something about President Bush-
TW: It's not black and white-
GS: It's not black and white. Giving poor people petroleum and stuff to heat their house at a forty percent discount, don't you think that that's more important than whether or not people are fighting? So that's something that I would put on my show.
TW: What has traveling to a number of countries taught you about the geography of music and its peoples?
GS: It's taught me that it is universal and that people could fight, they could hate each other, they could love each other, they could do one thing, but then all of a sudden, music comes on, and that's amazing. I've been in Italy before where I was playing a Prince tune in Florence one time-
TW: Which tune?
GS: I believe 'Purple Rain', because someone asked for it. So when I was doing it, I looked in the audience and there were people from Sweden , Spain , Italy , Canada , Israel , and they were all enjoying the music. It wasn't my song, but it's a universal language. I've been in Thailand before and they're all happy. And they sing corny songs from the '70s like Carpenters, 'I'm On Top Of The World', or something like that, 'Close To You'. And yet when I was a kid, I heard 'Close To You' and thought that was nice or whatever the story was (laughing). But the point of the story was that that's Western music and I've even been to Eastern Bloc countries in Asia and the Middle East and I find that, no matter what, music is still the undercurrent, it just taps into our souls. Don't you think?
TW: I agree. I agree completely.
GS: And a number of these people that were in the audience couldn't even speak English, but they were swaying and going back and forth, so again, it just speaks to them, you don't have to speak Russian, I don't have to speak Farcie, but I can sing 'Tiny Dancer', and they think its cool as hell.
TW: It reminds me of the speech that Beethoven gives in Immortal Beloved about how music isn't meant to make you march and it isn't meant to make you do this, that and the other thing, it's supposed to transport you directly into the composer's soul.
GS: I-I wish I said that, because that's an absolutely amazing statement. More so than the fine arts. The fine arts is kind of like that too, because you can look at a painting, and not speak the artist's language, but you can look at it and jump into that artist's world, but it's going to be your own interpretation of whatever you think that painting is. But with music, I agree, there's nothing more impressive to me or emotional than when a good musician gives birth to something that didn't exist before and all of a sudden you're involved in that.
TW: Like for instance William Hung.
GS: (laughs) His interpretations of certain songs are pretty amazing to me, man.
TW: Have you ever been burned by superficial 'Show Business Friends'?
GS: Yes, I sure have, but that's the business we're in. If I complain to you about any aspect of the music business, then I'm kind of an ass, you know what I mean? This is the life I chose for myself. When its fourteen below zero in February and I'm unloading equipment at four o'clock in the morning and the wind's blowing and it is really, really cold and there were only twenty people in the bar that night, do I complain? Do I complain to you or do I complain to my loved ones? I really don't have room to complain. That's the life I chose. I play music and people pay me money for it and that's amazing to me. This is a roundabout way of answering the question but, yeah, I've been burned by club owners many times, but there've been great club owners. It's a pretty egotistical business. I'm not the type of person where you'll see sometimes theater people and something, they're always performing. When they're off stage they're still performing. I don't. You've seen me before. When I'm done, I sit down, I don't talk to people, I'm quiet. I don't even have music in my car when I'm done. I don't wanna be 'on' all the time. Give that time to other people. So the people that were backstabbing, I've never been that way and I view them as kind of sad. If you want any examples, there's tons.
TW: What kind of tattoo do you have and where is it?
GS: I've got a number of them. I have a Polynesian tattoo that goes across my shoulders that was just kind of spiritual. I designed something that was from an Aboriginee pattern. You know, I'm not some big spiritual back packer, I'll tell you right now. I'm not a tree hugger or anything like that, but I'm not some neo con either. I just like tattoos, it's a cool expression. Although I'm Italian, I have a Celtic band that I got from the book of Celt that goes around my bicep that is really interesting to me. On my back I have this Polynesian tribal pattern that girls apparently think is sexy and I didn't get it for that, I just thought it was frigging cool.
TW: Did you know Bjork's got a Celtic Cross on her arm because she likes to go on walkabout before concerts and it's supposed to be some sort of talisman that will guide her home.
GS: Well see, that's amazing to me and again, mind doesn't go that deep. Although the woman that did the tattoo on my back is one of the top twenty artists in the country, she did Howard Stern and all these other people. She spoke with me for about two and a half hours before she even touched me just to get a feel for what I wanted and wanted to know me. So if it wasn't real spiritual for me, it was for her. And it turned out to be something really cool because it does represent who I am. For Bjork to use that as a sort of compass to find out where she is, I think that's really cool.
TW: I have a compass for Bjork, but it's not a tattoo.
GS: Awesome.
TW: Do you find yourself listening to modern music or taking comfort in old favorites as you get older and what bands and solo artists do you keep in your 'top five'?
GS: Well it's no secret that I love The Beatles. When I heard The Beatles when I was a kid, kind of like David Crosby and Graham Nash and those guys-When David Crosby saw 'A Hard Day's Night', that was kind of like a how-to movie to be in a rock band. So he traded in his banjo and folk guitar and they started The Byrds. For me, I can go on and on about The Beatles. Many people don't like them, that's fine.
TW: Who's your favorite?
GS: John and Paul; John for the spiritual reasons, Paul because he wrote great pop tunes. I loved 'em all, even Ringo with his 'Octopus's Garden', but as far as contemporary pop musicians, I like Dave Matthews because his band is really jazzy, David Gray I like a lot, there's a guy named Freedie Johnston that I like that is very cool, a guy named Greg Standridge out of Oklahoma who is just a phenomenal guitarist, but do I listen to old or new? I listen to both, but I listen to a lot of jazz and classical, to tell you the truth. I love jazz.
-Digital recorder hits it's maximum length some time during Gregg's response.
TW: Son of a bitch.
TW: How much corruption and cronyism is there in the Buffalo bar and club scene?
GS: You know, I was gone from Buffalo for about fifteen years and when I came back-Buffalo's been very good to me as far as the people and things. It's no question that I'm friends with people like Ed Honeck (Night Life Magazine's publisher) and I have two agents, Frank Sansone and Frank Pucateri, who have done a number of things for me that I've never asked. Ed Honeck has done more for my career and never asked for any money in return and I mean that, I'm not kidding. But there are others, it was very difficult when I came back to Buffalo to bust into this scene because my last name is very similar to another artist that used to perform around here, Tom Sartori. And Tom's a friend of mine, but when I first came back, I'm Gregg Sansone, Tom Sartori, he was a solo artist then, he's got a band now, but he was a solo artist then, I'm a solo artist, we're both Italian standing up there with a guitar. So people a lot of times thought I was him and thought he was me, I guess.
TW: (joking) You Italians all look alike.
GS: Yeah, I mean, it's hard to separate the grease. Even if you put water on it. So and then I found that many people were making the comparisons when I would go into a club. Kevin McCarthy, Tom Sartori, myself, even a new kid who's really great, Grant Michaels, a number of people, there are certain songs that we all play because they're party bar songs. You know a lot of people play 'Brown Eyed Girl', 'Margueritaville', 'Laid' by James, you know, things like that. I wanted to break off and do things more keyboard driven. You've heard me do 'Root Beer Rag' by Billy Joel, or Steve Winwood, Stevie Wonder; there's not a lot of people that do that. There's not a lot of people that do 'Superstition' or 'I Wish' or-
TW: Sir Duke?
GS: Absolutely I do 'Sir Duke'. Steely Dan like 'Hey 19' and 'My Old School' and all that stuff, but that depends on where I'm playing. As far as the corruption goes, I think that's everywhere, isn't it? Like in Buffalo, I've spoken to people who have tried to get jobs and things like that who were overqualified for that position in the academic or health industry and things like that and it's not what you know, it's who you know. I've seen it before where jobs have gone to the owner's nephew regardless of the fact that the guy couldn't do the job.
TW: (being cheeky) One could almost say that you've been 'in the hunt'.
GS: What does that even mean, in the hunt?
TW: I think it means that you've been chasing the crown in the Buffalo music scene for a number of years now.
GS: I disagree with that. Let me explain. When I came back to Buffalo, I was a musician. I've been a musician since I was six years old. I started taking piano lessons and guitar lessons respectively when I was five and six. When other kids were playing baseball outside and things like that I was at the piano cursing my father for making me do that. One day I woke up and people were loving that I was playing music and I thank my father every day. So when I came back to Buffalo I was a musician. I started playing and I heard that there were awards and things but there was no way I was gonna-You being an author, I suppose some local awards lurk in your head, but that's not why I played. I certainly didn't say I'm gonna do this, or I'm gonna perform this way or that way in order to achieve some type of prize. Being in the hung, that kind of makes it sound like I was really going after-last year, I got Solo Artist Of The Year from the Buffalo Music Awards and I was appreciative because a bunch of musicians voted for me. I was very, very happy, and the first thing I did was thank my mother and father. They weren't even there, but I thanked them. I won again this year, and I was surprised because there were so many people in that category that were deserving of it. Kevin McCarthy is one of my best friends in the business and he does a helluva job. This isn't patronizing or fake humility, it's the truth. But to say I've been in the hunt-did I want to win? Sure. I wanted to.
TW: It wasn't the main objective, though.
GS: I'd gone to the Buffalo Music Awards every year for the past five years and I was nominated all those years. So like anybody, I supposed that it would be nice to win. The politicking or campaigning I would see a lot. I guess the way I feel about it, because this year it was open to the public and that was kind of strange to me, because you know, you could in effect get some kid in a college to go into a computer lab and get the whole lacrosse team and baseball team or his frat to vote a thousand times and they don't even know me, and that's not something I would do. So hypothetically, that could happen. If I have to ask, like last year someone said are you gonna musicians, because all the musicians are allowed to vote. If I have to ask people to vote for me, other musicians, then they probably weren't going to vote for me anyway. It should be kind of-
TW: Genuine.
GS: Yeah, whether they know me or not. That's not a tough question for me because I don't feel like I was in the hunt. Although I was nominated five times, you can't help it, it's human nature. I don't think anyone would not wanna win. If you're nominated for a writing award and you say 'Well I'm not going to be able to get that because the marketing of this guys book was grander than yours or he had a great radio promotion', that's still not gonna stop you from inside going 'God it'd be nice if I won.' I wouldn't want you to think that I was that kind of person that was clamoring after-like, 'Oh, he's REALLY gotta win!'. 'Cause the next day, although it's nice, my friends were saying 'Congratulations Gregg', the next day, I'm still gonna go into a bar or at a private party and I'm going to play music and have a blast doing it and that wouldn't change if I didn't win.
The Ballad Of Gregg Sansone
By Tom Waters
February 1st, 2007
'Writing...is an art; and artists...are human beings. As a human being stands, so a human being is....' -ee cummings
If you've participated in (or just enjoyed) the Buffalo music scene for the last six years, Gregg Sansone is a pervasive, melodic, keyboard-driven entity. The two-time Buffalo Music Award Winning Solo Artist Of The Year plays out at clubs, bars and other venues over 300 nights a year (when he's in peak physical condition), and his cover shows run the gamut of Steve Winwood to Elton John to Stevie Wonder. Dabbling in rock, jazz, blues and classical standards, Sansone has become a local icon and a national underground phenomenon. I saw Gregg play (or channel, to be more accurate) Elton John covers at Route 66 in downtown Buffalo four years ago, and I've been a Sansonite ever since. His two and three hour shows are lousy with fans, electric in their intensity and craftsmanship, and brilliant to witness. I had the opportunity to sit down with Greg at my apartment in Lancaster while he was recovering from major back surgery (he had a disc removed).
TW:You haven't had a drink since you were 15. Why is that, and do you find it surreal to play out at clubs and bars for the majority of the year in the company of people who are soused out of their minds?
GS: No. Alcoholism runs in my family. I've got a huge family. Eight boys and one girl. Some people put down meat and become vegetarians. I had the hindsight as a fifteen year old to say 'You know, I'm addictive as hell. I have a real addictive personality. I'm just not going to do this. Otherwise, I think it could be a problem, and it just stuck through college and everything else. Like anything, I stuck with it and it developed and it's been years and years. I have a blast (at the shows). People come up to me and say 'Man, you were hammered because you were dancing on the bars!' and I say, 'No, but awesome, thanks man.'
TW: How does your strongly held belief in Buddhism inform your singing and songwriting?
GS: Songwriting and instrumental writing are different. They're along a spiritual line, but my performances are an extension of what I believe in anyway about myself. Buddhism isn't a religion as much as it is a philosophy. They didn't invent being honest and they didn't invent being good people, they just do it well. So you can apply it to any faith that you have and for me, it just helps me to not want to kill everybody. Or when someone is drunk and they fall into my keyboards and everything, now I don't want to drag them into the parking lot. Before (Buddhism) I did.
TW: Do you think the era of disposable pop/porn performers like Britney Spears and Ricky Martin is nearing its end, or is it more of a popular music cycle?
GS: I think human nature is human nature, and within music, I'm no expert on anything. I'm just an Italian from Buffalo. Before them when Madonna got really popular, they produced people like Jody Watley, and-
TW: Rick Astley.
GS: People like that, that's exactly right, but specifically female singers to sound like her (Madonna). Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, so it does go in cycles. I think the American people, we're a disposable society. There's a huge portion of the population that buys into that, and they just go into whatever's popular. But there's this undercurrent of people like us that-
TW: Observe?
GS: Observe and evaluate and say, 'This is good, this doesn't work for me, that's kinda bullshit. I know that you love Elton John for instance, as do I. People like Elton John, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney and even Madonna, and I'm not a Madonna fan, but she's stood the test of time. They're not a flash in the pan, and for good reason. If we didn't have those people, it would be a sad, sad world with the boy bands, although Justin Timberlake has broken from that and has really made a name for himself. I mean, I don't think he's going anywhere.
TW: And Mark Wahlberg-
GS: Mark Wahlberg is kinda cool in the movies, though! When he was Marky Mark it was a different story.
TW: Your best one night stand story after a show:
GS: Um, my best one night stand story after a show-because I have one night stand stories during a show.
TW: That sounds like the better story.
GS: I just want you (the reader) to know that I'm a good guy-now. But I was in Missouri, it was some years ago, I was performing outside of Kansas City and there was a girl that I knew and on her break, she came up to me and was talking with me and we just continued the conversation in the bathroom. I'm a gentleman and that's as much as I can say at this point. It's something, because when I was younger and I was in my '20s, it was really flattering and kind of ego gratifying. I didn't get into music for that. That's just the way it goes. You get attention and now it's a little different. It's just different now. It's more about self respect and that's how I am. I kind of go home alone at this point.
TW: You are now your own one night stand.
GS: It kinda reminds me of the first time I had sex, though, because it was quiet and dark and I was alone. So there's nothing wrong with that.
TW: (makes rim shot sound) What has your recent back surgery taught you about your limitations and looking to friends for help?
GS: That's brutal, that is, because I was a University Administrator for a number of years and I was against micromanagement. And since I've done music full time, anyone that knows me knows that I am anal retentive and obsessive compulsive about my shows and about even winding up cords and things. After the back surgery, for months, there hasn't been anything that I can do, and that showed me a lot about myself. It showed me that people, the outpouring, I've had emails from fans asking 'Is there anything I can do? Do you want me to come to shows, I'll help you.' or people coming up to me at shows and wanting to help, so it showed me that the people who enjoy my music are awesome, but that sometimes I'm an ass, because I just have to let go and say 'wait a minute', because I would help someone if they were in that situation. I just never thought I would be in that situation. It's showed me that I have to let go a little bit and I can still direct and say 'Can this go here or there?', but that's a great question, because I really didn't think that having back surgery would have this much of an effect even emotionally on me.
TW: Did the birth of your son cause you to slow down a bit and take stock of your life, inspire you to make a more lasting impression on the world, or both?
GS: For the things that were important, it forced me to assess who I was. It forces you to. Before I was a father, I was in the world of seeing people with other children and it didn't apply to me. After I had my boy, I had to, the alternative was deplorable. I had to apply myself. It didn't affect my music as that's always come from a place that sometimes I don't even understand. It affected my music in a way that I took a more holistic approach to my own life and mortality, so to speak. I didn't really slow down. I'm still Gregg, but it definitely made me even more successful in the academic arena without a doubt. If I was ever kind of not a slacker but irresponsible, I got more responsible. And now my son thinks I rule. He told me 'My friends think you're the greatest dad.', because now I'm like rock and roll dad, that type of thing. He's pretty proud of that. That's amazing to me. He started playing three instruments and I didn't force him, but when he was playing bass to 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' and it was the exact bass line, and my nephew was doing the guitar part to it, the riff, I almost welled up because these were songs that I grew up with and now its gone full circle, now my kid and my nephew are jamming to it and it sounds exactly like the record, they weren't screwing up, and then I'm playing with 'em, that's pretty damn cool.
TW: He can see that it's a way to bond with you.
GS: Absolutely, without a doubt. Talking about music and playing music together is something that I had never anticipated. That's amazing to me.
TW: Do you see yourselves opening for the Bacon brothers in about five years?
GS: I really don't know, unless Kevin Bacon is gonna bring his kid up. It would have to be Sansone & Sons instead of the Sansone Brothers, because I have seven brothers and they're miscreants. We'd rip the joint down.
TW: How did your outspoken alter ego (Uncle Hal) come about? Was there any tie at all to David Bowie and Ziggy Stardust?
GS: No, that's kind of a parallel universe, though. I have a radio show called 'The Pissed Off World Of Uncle Hal'. It's an online radio show called a pod cast. Uncle Hal was a nickname when I was a kid, 'cause I created a spoof on soap operas on a tape recorder and it was hysterical and slapstick, and all my brothers and even my parents laughed, and the star of the show was a guy named Uncle Hal and he was a total ass. He'd beat people, puke and slam peoples' heads into desks, so they started calling me Uncle Hal. Everyone in my family, they all call me Hal or Uncy, it's just a nickname. So when pod casting, that genre of expression came about, I jumped on it and said 'Wow, I can do what I want. There's no f.c.c. regulations or anything.' And I wanted an arena to pretty much rant about what pisses me off in the country, or laugh my ass off and make other people laugh and interview people. I've interviewed authors as well as musicians and I'll ask people questions. I went to the mall and asked people who's more important at Christmas time: Jesus Christ or Santa Claus? And you'd be amazed at the responses I got. So 'The Pissed Off World Of Uncle Hal', no one knows that its Gregg Sansone. Now they'll know, but the people that listen online around the world as far as Wales and Iran , they'll call the hotline or send me an email and say 'Uncle Hal, this is what pisses me off' or 'I think you should look at this 'cause this is really funny.' and I just had a person that called me today and said that Ed Kennedy got money from Hugo Chavez from Venezuela and got oil and he's (Ed) giving it out at a forty percent discount to the poor in New York City and that's amazing. Citgo gets their oil from Venezuela and things, but as we know, the president hates George Bush. So a bunch of people were jumping on that saying 'How dare you, how could you get oil from Hugo Chavez when he said terrible things about our president.' And he (Ed) said 'General Motors sold 3,000 cars to Venezuela last year. Should we take our cars back? Citgo gets their oil from Venezuela , should we not go to Citgo?' The President of Venezuela said something about President Bush-
TW: It's not black and white-
GS: It's not black and white. Giving poor people petroleum and stuff to heat their house at a forty percent discount, don't you think that that's more important than whether or not people are fighting? So that's something that I would put on my show.
TW: What has traveling to a number of countries taught you about the geography of music and its peoples?
GS: It's taught me that it is universal and that people could fight, they could hate each other, they could love each other, they could do one thing, but then all of a sudden, music comes on, and that's amazing. I've been in Italy before where I was playing a Prince tune in Florence one time-
TW: Which tune?
GS: I believe 'Purple Rain', because someone asked for it. So when I was doing it, I looked in the audience and there were people from Sweden , Spain , Italy , Canada , Israel , and they were all enjoying the music. It wasn't my song, but it's a universal language. I've been in Thailand before and they're all happy. And they sing corny songs from the '70s like Carpenters, 'I'm On Top Of The World', or something like that, 'Close To You'. And yet when I was a kid, I heard 'Close To You' and thought that was nice or whatever the story was (laughing). But the point of the story was that that's Western music and I've even been to Eastern Bloc countries in Asia and the Middle East and I find that, no matter what, music is still the undercurrent, it just taps into our souls. Don't you think?
TW: I agree. I agree completely.
GS: And a number of these people that were in the audience couldn't even speak English, but they were swaying and going back and forth, so again, it just speaks to them, you don't have to speak Russian, I don't have to speak Farcie, but I can sing 'Tiny Dancer', and they think its cool as hell.
TW: It reminds me of the speech that Beethoven gives in Immortal Beloved about how music isn't meant to make you march and it isn't meant to make you do this, that and the other thing, it's supposed to transport you directly into the composer's soul.
GS: I-I wish I said that, because that's an absolutely amazing statement. More so than the fine arts. The fine arts is kind of like that too, because you can look at a painting, and not speak the artist's language, but you can look at it and jump into that artist's world, but it's going to be your own interpretation of whatever you think that painting is. But with music, I agree, there's nothing more impressive to me or emotional than when a good musician gives birth to something that didn't exist before and all of a sudden you're involved in that.
TW: Like for instance William Hung.
GS: (laughs) His interpretations of certain songs are pretty amazing to me, man.
TW: Have you ever been burned by superficial 'Show Business Friends'?
GS: Yes, I sure have, but that's the business we're in. If I complain to you about any aspect of the music business, then I'm kind of an ass, you know what I mean? This is the life I chose for myself. When its fourteen below zero in February and I'm unloading equipment at four o'clock in the morning and the wind's blowing and it is really, really cold and there were only twenty people in the bar that night, do I complain? Do I complain to you or do I complain to my loved ones? I really don't have room to complain. That's the life I chose. I play music and people pay me money for it and that's amazing to me. This is a roundabout way of answering the question but, yeah, I've been burned by club owners many times, but there've been great club owners. It's a pretty egotistical business. I'm not the type of person where you'll see sometimes theater people and something, they're always performing. When they're off stage they're still performing. I don't. You've seen me before. When I'm done, I sit down, I don't talk to people, I'm quiet. I don't even have music in my car when I'm done. I don't wanna be 'on' all the time. Give that time to other people. So the people that were backstabbing, I've never been that way and I view them as kind of sad. If you want any examples, there's tons.
TW: What kind of tattoo do you have and where is it?
GS: I've got a number of them. I have a Polynesian tattoo that goes across my shoulders that was just kind of spiritual. I designed something that was from an Aboriginee pattern. You know, I'm not some big spiritual back packer, I'll tell you right now. I'm not a tree hugger or anything like that, but I'm not some neo con either. I just like tattoos, it's a cool expression. Although I'm Italian, I have a Celtic band that I got from the book of Celt that goes around my bicep that is really interesting to me. On my back I have this Polynesian tribal pattern that girls apparently think is sexy and I didn't get it for that, I just thought it was frigging cool.
TW: Did you know Bjork's got a Celtic Cross on her arm because she likes to go on walkabout before concerts and it's supposed to be some sort of talisman that will guide her home.
GS: Well see, that's amazing to me and again, mind doesn't go that deep. Although the woman that did the tattoo on my back is one of the top twenty artists in the country, she did Howard Stern and all these other people. She spoke with me for about two and a half hours before she even touched me just to get a feel for what I wanted and wanted to know me. So if it wasn't real spiritual for me, it was for her. And it turned out to be something really cool because it does represent who I am. For Bjork to use that as a sort of compass to find out where she is, I think that's really cool.
TW: I have a compass for Bjork, but it's not a tattoo.
GS: Awesome.
TW: Do you find yourself listening to modern music or taking comfort in old favorites as you get older and what bands and solo artists do you keep in your 'top five'?
GS: Well it's no secret that I love The Beatles. When I heard The Beatles when I was a kid, kind of like David Crosby and Graham Nash and those guys-When David Crosby saw 'A Hard Day's Night', that was kind of like a how-to movie to be in a rock band. So he traded in his banjo and folk guitar and they started The Byrds. For me, I can go on and on about The Beatles. Many people don't like them, that's fine.
TW: Who's your favorite?
GS: John and Paul; John for the spiritual reasons, Paul because he wrote great pop tunes. I loved 'em all, even Ringo with his 'Octopus's Garden', but as far as contemporary pop musicians, I like Dave Matthews because his band is really jazzy, David Gray I like a lot, there's a guy named Freedie Johnston that I like that is very cool, a guy named Greg Standridge out of Oklahoma who is just a phenomenal guitarist, but do I listen to old or new? I listen to both, but I listen to a lot of jazz and classical, to tell you the truth. I love jazz.
-Digital recorder hits it's maximum length some time during Gregg's response.
TW: Son of a bitch.
TW: How much corruption and cronyism is there in the Buffalo bar and club scene?
GS: You know, I was gone from Buffalo for about fifteen years and when I came back-Buffalo's been very good to me as far as the people and things. It's no question that I'm friends with people like Ed Honeck (Night Life Magazine's publisher) and I have two agents, Frank Sansone and Frank Pucateri, who have done a number of things for me that I've never asked. Ed Honeck has done more for my career and never asked for any money in return and I mean that, I'm not kidding. But there are others, it was very difficult when I came back to Buffalo to bust into this scene because my last name is very similar to another artist that used to perform around here, Tom Sartori. And Tom's a friend of mine, but when I first came back, I'm Gregg Sansone, Tom Sartori, he was a solo artist then, he's got a band now, but he was a solo artist then, I'm a solo artist, we're both Italian standing up there with a guitar. So people a lot of times thought I was him and thought he was me, I guess.
TW: (joking) You Italians all look alike.
GS: Yeah, I mean, it's hard to separate the grease. Even if you put water on it. So and then I found that many people were making the comparisons when I would go into a club. Kevin McCarthy, Tom Sartori, myself, even a new kid who's really great, Grant Michaels, a number of people, there are certain songs that we all play because they're party bar songs. You know a lot of people play 'Brown Eyed Girl', 'Margueritaville', 'Laid' by James, you know, things like that. I wanted to break off and do things more keyboard driven. You've heard me do 'Root Beer Rag' by Billy Joel, or Steve Winwood, Stevie Wonder; there's not a lot of people that do that. There's not a lot of people that do 'Superstition' or 'I Wish' or-
TW: Sir Duke?
GS: Absolutely I do 'Sir Duke'. Steely Dan like 'Hey 19' and 'My Old School' and all that stuff, but that depends on where I'm playing. As far as the corruption goes, I think that's everywhere, isn't it? Like in Buffalo, I've spoken to people who have tried to get jobs and things like that who were overqualified for that position in the academic or health industry and things like that and it's not what you know, it's who you know. I've seen it before where jobs have gone to the owner's nephew regardless of the fact that the guy couldn't do the job.
TW: (being cheeky) One could almost say that you've been 'in the hunt'.
GS: What does that even mean, in the hunt?
TW: I think it means that you've been chasing the crown in the Buffalo music scene for a number of years now.
GS: I disagree with that. Let me explain. When I came back to Buffalo, I was a musician. I've been a musician since I was six years old. I started taking piano lessons and guitar lessons respectively when I was five and six. When other kids were playing baseball outside and things like that I was at the piano cursing my father for making me do that. One day I woke up and people were loving that I was playing music and I thank my father every day. So when I came back to Buffalo I was a musician. I started playing and I heard that there were awards and things but there was no way I was gonna-You being an author, I suppose some local awards lurk in your head, but that's not why I played. I certainly didn't say I'm gonna do this, or I'm gonna perform this way or that way in order to achieve some type of prize. Being in the hung, that kind of makes it sound like I was really going after-last year, I got Solo Artist Of The Year from the Buffalo Music Awards and I was appreciative because a bunch of musicians voted for me. I was very, very happy, and the first thing I did was thank my mother and father. They weren't even there, but I thanked them. I won again this year, and I was surprised because there were so many people in that category that were deserving of it. Kevin McCarthy is one of my best friends in the business and he does a helluva job. This isn't patronizing or fake humility, it's the truth. But to say I've been in the hunt-did I want to win? Sure. I wanted to.
TW: It wasn't the main objective, though.
GS: I'd gone to the Buffalo Music Awards every year for the past five years and I was nominated all those years. So like anybody, I supposed that it would be nice to win. The politicking or campaigning I would see a lot. I guess the way I feel about it, because this year it was open to the public and that was kind of strange to me, because you know, you could in effect get some kid in a college to go into a computer lab and get the whole lacrosse team and baseball team or his frat to vote a thousand times and they don't even know me, and that's not something I would do. So hypothetically, that could happen. If I have to ask, like last year someone said are you gonna musicians, because all the musicians are allowed to vote. If I have to ask people to vote for me, other musicians, then they probably weren't going to vote for me anyway. It should be kind of-
TW: Genuine.
GS: Yeah, whether they know me or not. That's not a tough question for me because I don't feel like I was in the hunt. Although I was nominated five times, you can't help it, it's human nature. I don't think anyone would not wanna win. If you're nominated for a writing award and you say 'Well I'm not going to be able to get that because the marketing of this guys book was grander than yours or he had a great radio promotion', that's still not gonna stop you from inside going 'God it'd be nice if I won.' I wouldn't want you to think that I was that kind of person that was clamoring after-like, 'Oh, he's REALLY gotta win!'. 'Cause the next day, although it's nice, my friends were saying 'Congratulations Gregg', the next day, I'm still gonna go into a bar or at a private party and I'm going to play music and have a blast doing it and that wouldn't change if I didn't win.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Brrrrrrr!
Man! For those of you who live outside of Western New York we are experiencing the coldest weather we've had in two years! It really sucks! Thank God for good music. This past week went well for my shows. Thanks to all who came out and braved the storms to listen to me! This week I am playing at two of my favorite places:
41 West Bar and Grille. 41 W. Main St., Fredonia. 679-4101. Friday, Feb. 9 @ 8 p.m.
Simme's Martini Bar. 99 Aurora St., Lancaster. 683-1740. Saturday, Feb. 10 @ 10 p.m.
If you have a chance stop out. If you ahve any questions about my calender just click HERE.
Have a great week!
41 West Bar and Grille. 41 W. Main St., Fredonia. 679-4101. Friday, Feb. 9 @ 8 p.m.
Simme's Martini Bar. 99 Aurora St., Lancaster. 683-1740. Saturday, Feb. 10 @ 10 p.m.
If you have a chance stop out. If you ahve any questions about my calender just click HERE.
Have a great week!
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Gregg Sansone, The Last Week of January 2007
Lots happened this week...Hats off to Ed Strawbrich of Last Exit! They played Saturday night at Miss Kitty's...I was playing but I sure would've liked to have been there. If you ever get a chance catch a show of Last Exit...You'll be glad you did.
I played the Gaming Center at the Erie County Fairgrounds on Thursday and they liked it so much they booked me for EVERY Thursday in March! Those of you who are local should make it a point to come out. It really is great and early! It's from 5 to 9 p.m. I'll keep you posted. To learn more about the Gaming Center click HERE
Friday I was at the Byrncliff and that went great. Saturday was awesome at Gordon's...Man, the kids really went wild Saturday night (bunch of grad students from UB). Gordon's ALWAYS rules and they have live music every week! Check out Gordon's HERE
This week I am off on Friday as I have to go visit my son in Watertown.
Saturday I'm at the Lighthouse (The Lighthouse. 5885 Main St. Olcott. 870-6530. Saturday, Feb. 3 @ 10:00 p.m.). The place is always a blast and the owners, Dave and Carol Miller are wonderful (the best damn pie in New York State!). Check out their site HERE
By the way, Friday Feb. 17 I will be playing at The Shogun on Transit Rd. in Williamsville. It is a GREAT venue. I REALLY need a big showing to continue to play there. People bring their kids and everything. I'll let you know more when we get closer to the date but I sure could use the support of any of you who happen to be in the area. Check out Shogun's site HERE
Have a great week and you out of towners need to know that you are just as appreciated as my buddies here in cold Western New York!
Keep in touch,
Gregg
I played the Gaming Center at the Erie County Fairgrounds on Thursday and they liked it so much they booked me for EVERY Thursday in March! Those of you who are local should make it a point to come out. It really is great and early! It's from 5 to 9 p.m. I'll keep you posted. To learn more about the Gaming Center click HERE
Friday I was at the Byrncliff and that went great. Saturday was awesome at Gordon's...Man, the kids really went wild Saturday night (bunch of grad students from UB). Gordon's ALWAYS rules and they have live music every week! Check out Gordon's HERE
This week I am off on Friday as I have to go visit my son in Watertown.
Saturday I'm at the Lighthouse (The Lighthouse. 5885 Main St. Olcott. 870-6530. Saturday, Feb. 3 @ 10:00 p.m.). The place is always a blast and the owners, Dave and Carol Miller are wonderful (the best damn pie in New York State!). Check out their site HERE
By the way, Friday Feb. 17 I will be playing at The Shogun on Transit Rd. in Williamsville. It is a GREAT venue. I REALLY need a big showing to continue to play there. People bring their kids and everything. I'll let you know more when we get closer to the date but I sure could use the support of any of you who happen to be in the area. Check out Shogun's site HERE
Have a great week and you out of towners need to know that you are just as appreciated as my buddies here in cold Western New York!
Keep in touch,
Gregg
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Winter Wonderland!
Man, last week was awesome! I played for an organization that I play for every year at the Clarion Hotel in Dunkirk, New York. It was amazing! Everyone was singing with me and going nuts! What made it really nice is that a great time was had by all despite the weather...Cripes! Winter is really here in Western New York! Not much to say except check out my calender HERE. You can see where I'm playing next. I hope to see you down the road! Please feel free to email me at: gregg@greggsansone.com if I can answer any question about my shows.
Peace,
Gregg
Peace,
Gregg
Monday, January 15, 2007
Winter is Finally Here!
For those of you in Western New York we finally are getting some
crappy winter weather. For those of you not here...Be thankful! Friday
I played at the Byrncliff Resort. It's so beautiful there! Saturday at
Griffin's was absolutely packed! It was a blast! Everyone had a great
time.
This Saturday I have a show at the Clarion in Dunkirk, NY so I doubt
you will make it out there...But, I will be at Tony Rome's this Friday
and it is ALWAYS a great time there! I hope you can make it out!
Here's what it looks like:
Tony Rome's. 1537 Union Road, West Seneca. 675-4351.
www.tonyromes. com. Friday, Jan. 19 @ 9:30 p.m.
The Clarion Hotel. Lake Shore Rd. Dunkirk. Saturday, Jan. 20 @ 8:00
Hey, next week I'm at the gaming Center at the Hamburg Fairgrounds.
It's really beautiful there. I'll keep you posted!
Have a wonderful week!
Gregg
Music is well said to be the speech of angels; in fact, nothing among
the utterances allowed to man is felt to be so divine. It brings us
near to the infinite.
Thomas Carlyle
crappy winter weather. For those of you not here...Be thankful! Friday
I played at the Byrncliff Resort. It's so beautiful there! Saturday at
Griffin's was absolutely packed! It was a blast! Everyone had a great
time.
This Saturday I have a show at the Clarion in Dunkirk, NY so I doubt
you will make it out there...But, I will be at Tony Rome's this Friday
and it is ALWAYS a great time there! I hope you can make it out!
Here's what it looks like:
Tony Rome's. 1537 Union Road, West Seneca. 675-4351.
www.tonyromes. com. Friday, Jan. 19 @ 9:30 p.m.
The Clarion Hotel. Lake Shore Rd. Dunkirk. Saturday, Jan. 20 @ 8:00
Hey, next week I'm at the gaming Center at the Hamburg Fairgrounds.
It's really beautiful there. I'll keep you posted!
Have a wonderful week!
Gregg
Music is well said to be the speech of angels; in fact, nothing among
the utterances allowed to man is felt to be so divine. It brings us
near to the infinite.
Thomas Carlyle
Monday, January 08, 2007
Polar Bear Swim, Great Clubs and Awesome Friends!
This past weekend was busy for me...I wound up playing the Light House on Friday (short notice). Saturday was an absolute blast at 41 West in Fredonia. I have quite a few friends there and they always show up. It was great fun. Sunday I played the Polar Bear Swim at Hideaway Bay in Silver Creek. The benefit is for Make a Wish Foundation as well as some other worthy groups...I do it every year and the place was packed. It was such a great time. Everyone was so incredibly nice.
This week I return to the Byrncliff Resort on Friday. This Saturday I am at Griffin's Irish Pub. If you have a chance, come out and show your support. I haven't seen most of you since 2006. I'd love to entertain you and catch up. We all could use great friendship in our lives. I appreciate all of you.
Here's the schedule for this week:
Byrncliff Resort. 2357 Humphrey Road at Route 20A,
Varysburg. (585) 535-7300. Friday, Jan. 12 @ 9 p.m.
Griffin's Irish Pub. 81 Abbott Rd. Sat. Jan. 13 @ 10:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Happy New Year!
Hi Gang,
Just wanted to wish you all a wonderful and safe New Year! Christmas was spent with family and good food! I hope your Christmas or other holidays were filled with happiness. Last week was great! I played Tony Rome's and Club W and both places were filled with holiday partiers. Just wanted you to know that I will NOT be playing Filippo's this Friday. I am taking the weekend off. I need it. Sunday (New Year's Eve) I play the Park Country Club and Monday (New Years) I play the Falcon Club in Dunkirk, NY so I'll be pretty busy. Keep in touch and let's make 2007 an awesome year!
Peace,
Gregg
Monday, December 18, 2006
Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas!
Well...I can't believe Christmas is a week from today! It just seems like yesterday that we were knee deep in sand and enjoying the summer. Ah, time marches on! This week, leading up to Christmas is my favorite time of year...Christmas Eve and Christmas Day....Family, friends, music and food! All the kids going crazy with presents and laughter...I love it! I REALLY hope you can make Friday's or Saturday's shows. They are two HUGE Christmas parties and I will be in full form!!! Here is where I'm playing:
Tony Rome's. 1537 Union Road, West Seneca. 675-4351.
www.tonyromes.com. Friday, Dec. 22 @ 9:00 p.m.
Club W. 199 Delaware Ave., 840-9552. Saturday, Dec. 23 @ 10 p.m.
Everyone knows how much fun we have at Tony Rome's...The Christmas show is 100 times bigger!
Club W is, without a doubt, the best club in the Chippewa district. Saturday, Dec. 23 is our massive Christmas party. I haven't played downtown in a while and this is a great chance to celebrate together in a club that is really incredible!
A Christmas Poem by George Wither
So now is come our joyful feast,
Let every man be jolly;
Each room with ivy leaves is dressed,
And every post with holly.
Though some churls at our mirth repine,
Round your foreheads garlands twine,
Drown sorrow in a cup of wine,
And let us all be merry.
Now all our neighbors' chimneys smoke,
And Christmas blocks are burning;
Their ovens they with baked meats choke,
And all their spits are turning.
Without the door let sorrow lie,
And if for cold it hap to die,
We'll bury it in a Christmas pie,
And evermore be merry.
Now every lad is wondrous trim,
And no man minds his labor;
Our lasses have provided them
A bagpipe and a tabor.
Young men and maids, and girls and boys,
Give life to one another's joys;
And you anon shall by their noise
Perceive that they are merry.
Rank misers now do sparing shun,
Their hall of music soundeth;
And dogs thence with whole shoulders run,
So all things aboundeth.
The country-folk themselves advance,
For crowdy-mutton's come out of France;
And Jack shall pipe and Jill shall dance,
And all the town be merry.
Ned Swatch hath fetched his bands from pawn,
And all his best apparel;
Brisk Nell hath bought a ruff of lawn
With droppings of the barrel.
And those that hardly all the year
Had bread to eat or rags to wear,
Will have both clothes and dainty fare,
And all the day be merry.
Now poor men to the justices
With capons make their errands;
And if they hap to fail of these,
They plague them with their warrants.
But now they feed them with good cheer,
And what they want they take in beer,
For Christmas comes but once a year,
And then they shall be merry.
Good farmers in the country nurse
The poor, that else were undone;
Some landlords spend their money worse,
On lust and pride at London.
There the roisters they do play,
Drab and dice their land away,
Which may be ours another day;
And therefore let's be merry.
The client now his suit forbears,
The prisoner's heart is eased;
The debtor drinks away his cares,
And for the time is pleased.
Though others' purses be more fat,
Why should we pine or grieve at that;
Hang sorrow, care will kill a cat,
And therefore let's be merry.
Hark how the wags abroad do call
Each other forth to rambling;
Anon you'll see them in the hall,
For nuts and apples scrambling;
Hark how the roofs with laughter's sound,
Anon they'll think the house goes round;
For they the cellar's depths have found,
And there they will be merry.
The wenches with their wassail-bowls
About the streets are singing;
The boys are come to catch the owls,
The wild mare in is bringing.
Our kitchen boy hath broke his box,
And to the dealing of the ox
Our honest neighbors come by flocks,
And here they will be merry.
Now kings and queens poor sheep-cotes have,
And mate with everybody;
The honest now may play the knave,
And wise men play at noddy.
Some youths will now a mumming go,
Some others play at Rowland-hoe,
And twenty other gameboys moe;
Because they will be merry.
Then wherefore in these merry days
Should we, I pray, be duller?
No, let us sing some roundelays
To make our mirth the fuller.
And whilst we thus inspired sing,
Let all the streets with echoes ring;
Woods, and hills, and everything
Bear witness we are merry.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Gregg
Sunday, December 10, 2006
A great week but a much needed rest!
This week was awesome and full. Wednesday night was the Buffalo Music Awards (the photo is of me putting my award for Solo Artist of the Year in Ed Strawbrich's crotch while his wife, Diane laughed off the chair) and I won for the second year in a row. Thursday I did a private show. Friday I did two shows. First with the Michael Bly Band and then at Tony Rome's in West Seneca, NY. Saturday I was at the Lighthouse in Olcott, NY. I rocked until 2:00 A.M. and got back by 5:00! This week is less full. I am playing the Buffalo Bills Christmas party at Ralph Wilson Stadium so that will be exciting. Saturday I play the Hamburg Moose for their Christmas party. That is open to the public so feel free to stop out. You can get all my calender infor by clicking Here:
Gregg's Calender Page
I hope you all have a great week and I look forward to seeing you down the road...Oh, by the way, I have a new Gregg Sansone T-Shirt at my store site...Go here to view it:
Gregg's New T-Shirt
Take care,
Gregg
Friday, December 08, 2006
The Buffalo Music Awards
The Buffalo Music Awards were held Wednesday night, December 6 at Club Infinity. It was an awesome evening with great bands playing the whole night. Cool sound and a chance for me to see all my musician friends that I haven't seen in a year. I never get to see my buddies because we always gig at the same time and the BMAs are a great time to catch up. In any case, I was nominated for Solo Artist of the Year and when they read off the nominees they called my name as the winner! Yep, I won top solo artist. It was incredibly rewarding because the is the second year in a row that I won the award. I really want to thank all the people that supported me and voted for me (you know who you are). The photos to your left are: Donna and Maria, great fans and wonderful supporters, me on stage accepting my award (notice the fog from the fog machine), and me with my long time agent and great friend, Frank Sansone. For more information about my shows and such click on this link to my home page:
www.greggsansone.com
Rock on people! I hope to see you down the road some time!
Gregg
Sunday, December 03, 2006
This week was great! I love the holiday season...I see everyone really getting into it (sadly,
though, the stores are nuts right now)...People just seem to be happier and I just love the
feeling in the air. My shows went great this week. I had my young roadie help me on Friday
at the Sonoma Grille and my great buddy Tom Waters and his boss helped me at Simmie's.
It was great to be back in Lancaster at Simmie's. A bunch of my friends showed up taht I
had not seen in a while. I even did some of my originals! This week is great because I
return to Tony Rome's (on Friday) in West Seneca and we all know what a blast that place
is! Saturday I'm at the Lighthouse in Olcott. If you've never been there you're missing out.
It such a wonderful place to play..Everyone really has a blast there when I play.
Wednesday night is the Buffalo Music Awards at Club Infinity on Main St. in Williamsville
(just past Transit). If you want to have a great time come down to Infinity and enjoy about
seven great bands and see people, and groups, get awards...It really is a great time. By the
way, the Michael Bly Band is playing the VIP Party at 6:00. Mike's up for Rock Vocalist, his
bass player, John is up for best rock bass player and Mike's band is up for best new band.
I'm up for solo artist of the year so we'll see what happens.
Here is what's going on this week:
Tony Rome's. 1537 Union Road, West Seneca. 675-4351. www.tonyromes.com. Friday,
Dec. 8 @ 9:00 p.m.
The Lighthouse. 5885 E Main St. Olcott. 778-5580. Saturday, Dec. 9 @ 10:00 p.m.
Sonoma Grille. 5010 Main St., Snyder. 204-0251. Next Thursday, Dec. 14 @ 8:00 p.m.
Have a great week everyone I really hope to see you soon!
Gregg
Beethoven can write music, thank God, but he can do nothing else on earth.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Sunday, November 26, 2006
What a Great Thanksgiving!
Hi Everyone!
This past week was pretty awesome! Although I'm tired from the shows things are going great...I'm healing well. It was great to catch up with old friends! I met up with my buddy Jim Perkins. He's an old college buddy and he drove to Rochester and I saw him for the first time in 22 years! Also, Maria Hejna and some of the gang (from my Yahoo Groups Site) came out and saw me at the Buffalo Brew Pub on Thanksgiving Eve. She took great photos and proved that she continues to be a great supporter of mine and a wonderful friend! Friday went incredible at Mixer's in Olean and Gordon's was packed! Whew...By the way, I was totally surprised this week when I found out that the Buffalo News featured me in the Gusto on Friday! Here is the link:
http://buffalonews.com/editorial/20061124/1057016.asp
Here's my schedule for the week (the two places I play are great and many of you have come to my shows there over the years):
Sonoma Grille. 5010 Main St., Snyder. 204-0251. Friday, Dec. 1 @ 9:00 p.m.
Simme's Martini Bar. 99 Aurora St., Lancaster.
683-1740. Saturday, Dec. 2 @ 10 p.m.
I trust you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I hope to see you soon. Wow, we have to gear up for the holiday season don't we?!!
Gregg
This past week was pretty awesome! Although I'm tired from the shows things are going great...I'm healing well. It was great to catch up with old friends! I met up with my buddy Jim Perkins. He's an old college buddy and he drove to Rochester and I saw him for the first time in 22 years! Also, Maria Hejna and some of the gang (from my Yahoo Groups Site) came out and saw me at the Buffalo Brew Pub on Thanksgiving Eve. She took great photos and proved that she continues to be a great supporter of mine and a wonderful friend! Friday went incredible at Mixer's in Olean and Gordon's was packed! Whew...By the way, I was totally surprised this week when I found out that the Buffalo News featured me in the Gusto on Friday! Here is the link:
http://buffalonews.com/editorial/20061124/1057016.asp
Here's my schedule for the week (the two places I play are great and many of you have come to my shows there over the years):
Sonoma Grille. 5010 Main St., Snyder. 204-0251. Friday, Dec. 1 @ 9:00 p.m.
Simme's Martini Bar. 99 Aurora St., Lancaster.
683-1740. Saturday, Dec. 2 @ 10 p.m.
I trust you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I hope to see you soon. Wow, we have to gear up for the holiday season don't we?!!
Gregg
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hey Everybody!
The road to recovery is long but worth it. I'm feeling better every day. Friday I played at Sonoma Grille and it was great (despite the fact that I had to compete with the Buffalo Sabres). The crowd really enjoyed it. I hired a roadie to help me and help he did...The young man carried all the equipment in and set everything up. All I had to do was sing! I was really tired though...Saturday my great friend Ed Strawbrich came all the way to Dunkirk and set up everything...Hell, he even drove! Ed jammed with his new Les Paul to a number of cool tunes including "Another Brick in The Wall!"
This week will be kind of busy. If you aren't doing anything Wednesday night come down to the Buffalo Brew Pub at Main and Transit in Williamsville. I play there every year the night before Thanksgiving. It really is packed and it's ALWAYS a ball!
Here is my schedule this week:
Buffalo Brew Pub. 6861 Main St. Williamsville. 632-0552. Wednesday, Nov. 22 @ 9:00 p.m.
Mixer's Pub. 204 Coleman St. Olean. 372-1004. Friday, Nov. 24 @ 8:00 p.m.
Gordon's. 2263 Delaware Ave. 874-3020. Saturday, Nov. 25 @ 10:00 p.m.
Everyone have a wonderful, spirit filled holiday. Let's try to remember all the things we are grateful for. I am filled with family, friends and you people! Thanks for being in my life!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Gregg
Sunday, November 05, 2006
I'm Off for Two Weeks
Well it's finally here! I go in for surgery Monday, November 6 at 8:00 a.m.! Keep me in your thoughts. If any of you are in the area I will be at Millard Filmore Gates Circle on Delaware Ave. in Buffalo. Please visit of you have the chance. Just ask at the Info Counter where Gregg Sansone's room is. Feel free to visit that afternoon or evening (I could use the company :D).
I will be out of commission for about two weeks. Check back at www.greggsansone.com for calender information.
This past week went really well for my last two shows. Filippo's on Hertel Ave. in Buffalo is beautiful and they loved me. 41 West in Fredonia absolutely rocks! It was packed! I love playing college towns! There was a great mix of students and people of all ages.
Oh, by the way, if you haven't already done so, please go to the link below for the Buffalo Music Awards. I need your vote for Solo Artist of the Year. Please also vote for Michael Bly for Male Vocalist, John "Daytona" Coccia for Rock Bass Player and The Michael Bly Band for Best New Band. Michael has be an awesome supporter and dear friend of mine in the music business. We could all use the friendly support....
Anyway, here's the link:
http://bestofwny.com/bma/index.php?sid=1
If you can't get to the page try copying and pasting the link in your browser window. If you get error messages email Bob Luterek at : webmaster@lkpro.net
and tell him you want to vote. He will send you the ballot to your email address...Many people have been having truoble voting and Bob said to just email him and he'll get you the ballot.
Thanks for all your kindness and support and I hope to see you soon!
Gregg
I will be out of commission for about two weeks. Check back at www.greggsansone.com for calender information.
This past week went really well for my last two shows. Filippo's on Hertel Ave. in Buffalo is beautiful and they loved me. 41 West in Fredonia absolutely rocks! It was packed! I love playing college towns! There was a great mix of students and people of all ages.
Oh, by the way, if you haven't already done so, please go to the link below for the Buffalo Music Awards. I need your vote for Solo Artist of the Year. Please also vote for Michael Bly for Male Vocalist, John "Daytona" Coccia for Rock Bass Player and The Michael Bly Band for Best New Band. Michael has be an awesome supporter and dear friend of mine in the music business. We could all use the friendly support....
Anyway, here's the link:
http://bestofwny.com/bma/index.php?sid=1
If you can't get to the page try copying and pasting the link in your browser window. If you get error messages email Bob Luterek at : webmaster@lkpro.net
and tell him you want to vote. He will send you the ballot to your email address...Many people have been having truoble voting and Bob said to just email him and he'll get you the ballot.
Thanks for all your kindness and support and I hope to see you soon!
Gregg
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Halloween in Buffalo!
Man oh man...Halloween Weekend in Buffalo can't be beat! Friday I played at the Light House in Olcott and I was a pirate...The place was mobbed and great costumes were worn by all. Saturday I was Marc Antony with the short gladiator skirt and all (I don't know how you girls do it). I played at Gordon's and it was a mad house. We had such a great time. Ed and Diane Strawbrich came out as well as Maria, Lynn and Cindy. Maria took plenty of photos so look back this week for the AWESOME photos! Wait until you see the costumes!
This is the last week of playing for me until my surgery on November 6. If any of you are in the area, I will be at Millard Filmore Gates Circle Monday, Nov. 6. My surgery is in the morning but I would love visitors that day. I will leave the hospital Tuesday. I will be off until Friday Nov. 17. Bare with me though...I will have to get a roadie to help me for the first couple months because I won't be able to bend. Once I'm healed I will do my best to shake my money maker!
All right...Here's where I'm at this week:
Filippo's Ristorante. 1264 Hertel Ave. 447-5685. Friday, Nov. 3 @ 11:30 p.m. (it's late but the restaurant and bar is soooo awesome! The owners are right off the boat from Italy. It's my first time there. I could use the support)
41 West Bar and Grill. 41 West Main St. Fredonia.
679-4101. Saturday, Nov. 4 @ 9:00 p.m. (I love playing this college town. The crowd is frigging incredible and the bar is beautiful).
Have a great week..Remember to come back here later this week or to my home page at www.greggsansone.com for all the Halloween photos!
Peace!
Sunday, October 22, 2006
The Buffalo Music Awards Ballot
I was wondering if you could help me? As you may know, I won Solo Artist of the Year for the Buffalo Music Awards last year. I was voted on by people in the music business and musicians. This year they have changed it so everyone can vote (even people from out of town and around the world)! I was wondering if you could click on the link below and vote...Let me explain though...When you click the link you will be taken to a window that will ask for your name and email address. You will then be sent the link to the ballot (this is to insure people don't cheat). If there is a catagory you don't know just leave it blank and click the "Next" box at the bottom of the page or just leave catagories blank or pick something that sounds good :-) .
I would ask that you vote for me, Gregg Sansone, in the "Solo" catagory.
In the "New Group" catagory please vote for The Michael Bly Band (They are by far the best new band in Buffalo).
For "Rock Bassist" please vote for Micheal's bassist, John "Daytona" Coccia (he kicks butt!).
Here is the link:
http://bestofwny.com/bma/index.php?sid=1
Oh, one more thing...Can you pass this link to as many people as you know? You can copy and paste this in a bulletin on MySpace or any email list you might have...I cannot tell you how important this is. If an individual or band wins you get incredible exposure and much more business.
Thank you so much for helping me!
Gregg
I would ask that you vote for me, Gregg Sansone, in the "Solo" catagory.
In the "New Group" catagory please vote for The Michael Bly Band (They are by far the best new band in Buffalo).
For "Rock Bassist" please vote for Micheal's bassist, John "Daytona" Coccia (he kicks butt!).
Here is the link:
http://bestofwny.com/bma/index.php?sid=1
Oh, one more thing...Can you pass this link to as many people as you know? You can copy and paste this in a bulletin on MySpace or any email list you might have...I cannot tell you how important this is. If an individual or band wins you get incredible exposure and much more business.
Thank you so much for helping me!
Gregg
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Hoirrible Storm!
Hi Everyone,
I am writing this on a borrowed computer. As many of you may know, Western New York was hit by a terrible freak storm last Thursday which left 380,000 homes without power and many without water. I live in Amherst and it is one of the hardest hit areas. There is a state of emergency. Sadly, I was not able to play any of my three gigs this past week. I don't know whan I will get power but I will try to keep you posted. This week I play a new place in Fredonia called 41 West Bar and Grille. It is really nice. I will make every attempt to be there. Friday I have a private function to play. I was really hoping to see some of you at Filippo's and/or Griffin's this past week! Oh well, there's always next time.
Here's the skinny on Friday:
41 West Bar and Grille. 41 West Main St., Fredonia. 679-4101. Friday, Oct. 20 @ 8:00 p.m.
If any of you were hit by this terrible storm (I know many of you were) I hope all is well and you get through it fine.
Peace,
Gregg
Monday, October 09, 2006
October 6,7 and 8
This past week was awesome! Friday I played in Dunkirk at the Moose Lodge no
less...There were alot of people and they had a blast. The real treat
was Saturday. I played a private show in the North Towns and left
early with Lisa. We decided to go hear a Steely Dan tribute band paly
at the Pizza Plant. The band's name is Group Therapy. It turns out I
know a bumch of the guys in the band. Music legend Jim Wynn (from
About Face and Gamilon) was on keyboards, my high school classmate,
Marty Ramondo on Drums. I wound up sitting in with them because their
main vocalist was out sick. It frigging rocked. Playing music for fun
and jamming with incredible music. Afterwards Lisa, myself and most of
the members of Group Therapy went to the Scotch and Sirloin to hear
Gamilon! It was unbelievable! I cannot tell you how good they were!
Drummer Ted Reinhart has to be the finest drummer in WNY! The
guitarists were out of control!
Alrighty...enough about what thrills me...I'm at a new place this week
called Filippo's on Hertel. It's beautiful and I could use the support
because it's my first time there. Try to make it if you can. I'm also
back at Griffin's in South Buffalo...we always have a great time there!
Fairgrounds Gaming and Raceway Clubhouse. Erie County Fairgrounds,
5600 McKinley Parkway (use South Park entrance), Hamburg. 646-6109.
Friday, 10/13 @ 6 p.m.
Filippo's. 1264 Hertel Ave. 447-5683. Friday, 10/13 @ 11:30 p.m.
Griffin's Irish Pub. 81 Abbott Rd. Saturday, 10/14 @ 10:00 p.m.
Have a great week gang!
"You can explore the universe looking for somebody who is more
deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself,
and you will not find that person anywhere."
less...There were alot of people and they had a blast. The real treat
was Saturday. I played a private show in the North Towns and left
early with Lisa. We decided to go hear a Steely Dan tribute band paly
at the Pizza Plant. The band's name is Group Therapy. It turns out I
know a bumch of the guys in the band. Music legend Jim Wynn (from
About Face and Gamilon) was on keyboards, my high school classmate,
Marty Ramondo on Drums. I wound up sitting in with them because their
main vocalist was out sick. It frigging rocked. Playing music for fun
and jamming with incredible music. Afterwards Lisa, myself and most of
the members of Group Therapy went to the Scotch and Sirloin to hear
Gamilon! It was unbelievable! I cannot tell you how good they were!
Drummer Ted Reinhart has to be the finest drummer in WNY! The
guitarists were out of control!
Alrighty...enough about what thrills me...I'm at a new place this week
called Filippo's on Hertel. It's beautiful and I could use the support
because it's my first time there. Try to make it if you can. I'm also
back at Griffin's in South Buffalo...we always have a great time there!
Fairgrounds Gaming and Raceway Clubhouse. Erie County Fairgrounds,
5600 McKinley Parkway (use South Park entrance), Hamburg. 646-6109.
Friday, 10/13 @ 6 p.m.
Filippo's. 1264 Hertel Ave. 447-5683. Friday, 10/13 @ 11:30 p.m.
Griffin's Irish Pub. 81 Abbott Rd. Saturday, 10/14 @ 10:00 p.m.
Have a great week gang!
"You can explore the universe looking for somebody who is more
deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself,
and you will not find that person anywhere."
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
I'm Back!
Hi Everyone!
Well, after a great 4 days (90 degrees every day) in Oklahoma City with Lisa and my son (it was an awesome birthday for him) I'm back and ready to go! This week is kind of strange but fun...I will be at the Dunkirk Moose Lodge of all places this Friday (I spoke about places like this with Michael Bly last week...we laughed pretty hard). The lodge is open to everyone and I guess it's a blast.
Saturday is a private show so I guess you'll have to travel to Dunkirk on Friday or wait until next week when I am in North Buffalo and South Buffalo....I'll keep you posted. Here's the skinny on this week:
Dunkirk Moose Lodge. 296 Lakeshore Dr. Dunkirk. (716) 366-5322. Friday, Oct. 6 @ 9:00 p.m.
Saturday is a private gig so I might be able to check out other friends shows...That would be a treat for once!
Check out my full schedule at:
Gregg's Calender (Click Here)
Have a great week. I'll see you all over the next couple weeks (I hope)!
Gregg
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