Greg Guitar Case: Reminiscent Of Those Old Acoustic Blues

Today, I decided to finally write about a personal favourite of mine. His name is Greg, and he's a modern day blues man. He's got a handle on the blues that's so rare and respectable (especially for youtube). He's not a big shot youtuber, like some others with millions of views and huge amounts of subscribers. He's an artist in his own right and follows the classic blues tradition of playing the music, for the sake of the music and his emotions. He mostly does guitar covers that blow me away and has a personal style of growling while playing that gives him a very distinctive edge. He plays acoustic guitar as if it were electric, as he supplies the electricity from his soul.

I first came across Greg, while looking up covers of Jimi Hendrix's masterpiece "Little Wing". Greg's version grew on me and I must admit I was mystified by it at first. I wasn't sure if I liked it or not, but I can definitely say he pays the song respect and gives it his own tone with his acoustic guitar and growling. Talk about playing with emotion...check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbEGGrlnGyg

I'm so glad people like Greg remind the world of how great and important, people like Jimi Hendrix are today. I get extremely frustrated when I come across people nowadays who say "I love Bruno Mars!", and when I say "Have you listened to Jimi Hendrix or even some older bluesmen like Howlin' Wolf?" they cringe, even though they haven't given it a chance. Well, if people actually liked artists like Bruno Mars, they would know that he wishes he could meet Jimi  Hendrix (as stated in an interview). 

Apologies for going off topic with this but I guess Greg's cool and stylish approach to good "old" music, and the fact that he isn't viewed as much as other youtube artists, frustrates me. Well, there's nothing better than blowing off a little steam with the Robert Johnson classic "Come On In My Kitchen". Greg covers this track on what looks to me like a National guitar and reminds all the young guitar players that they've got a long way to go to reach Robert Johnson's blues! Have a listen if you dare!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrL_Fm_qb5s

I absolutely love that track and Greg's cover is superb! Vocally, he gives in to the guitar, which some may find distasteful, but to blues listener like myself, it's just right! It's quite hard to get such a neat tone using a slide on a National guitar but I must admit, he does it well. And, speaking of playing the blues on a National with a slide, an original of his caught my attention a little over a week ago called "When The Blues Calls Your Name". If you like the blues and wish more people wrote original tracks today, that are reminiscent of the old acoustic blues, you'll love this! Don't forget to subscribe to Greg on youtube and support the blues! Check back tomorrow for another fantastic artist!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BS1-GNnh94

Alex Hamel