Michael Gregory - Guitar Instructor
Guitarist Michael Gregory is a sideman with academic credentials and decades of diverse experience. He studied guitar performance at Cal State Fullerton and the Cal State Guitar and Lute Institute, for which he earned a bachelor's degree.
Michael's current band, Blaq, plays everywhere R&B is played in Kansas City, including a residency as the house band for The Juke House' famous Soul Sessions in the historic 18th and Vine district. Blaq plays embellished, instrumental versions of R&B, classic soul, and NeoSoul standards. Though Gregory is the melodic voice of the group, he learns vastly more than he teaches. The considerably deep harmony is woven, warped, torn apart, and reconstructed by young gospel keyboard virtuoso Anthony Harvey. Local jazz drumming phenom Eugene James provides the most sophisticated rhytmic treatment the group's book will likely ever receive. All of this rides on a deep, soulful tsunami of funk conjured by bass veteran Tim Newton.
Michael Gregory also plays in pickup bands, mostly for casual gigs but also to back national acts performing in Kansas City. As a pickup player, Michael has backed every type of singer, from quiet folk artist Alicia Grant to Grammy-nominated powerhouse Tank. He has performed in opening acts for varied artists, from jazz legend Eric Marienthal to multiplatinum R&B artist Avant.
His performance resume lists solo classical concerts in front of audiences of 5,000+. A timeline of Gregory's bands from the 1980's to present features sundry groups Rodrigo Lopez, Southern California big band legend The Bernie Farr Orchestra, and New York party band Monday Version.
Gregory spent a seemingly sempiternal succession of nights and immeasurable miles on the casino circuit, playing variety shows five nights per week in every backwater of the United States with sufficient population to support a gaming establishment. He insists that the dirty, sweaty casino circuit is more fun than the description suggests.
Michael's recording experience spans decades, from early "computer music" on the Apple II+ to productions at Hollywood's famous Westlake studios. His current recording endeavors span a typically broad range, from R&B sessions as a guitarist for independent producers to his original alt-country act Junk Lust, for which he serves as cowriter and producer-engineer.
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